The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 28

-Ava’s POV

The moment I found the perfect dress after Grayson’s impromptu declaration that I was going to the ball with him, I stared at myself in the mirror and smiled. The deep blue gown hugged my body in all the right places, the silky material shimmering under the soft lighting. The off–shoulder neckline revealed just enough skin to be alluring, while still remaining elegant. It was adorned with delicate silver beading that caught the light, adding an ethereal glow to the entire ensemble. My hair, styled into loose waves, cascaded down my back, a few strands framing my face. I’d chosen simple, yet elegant, diamond earrings and a matching bracelet. I had always known was beautiful, but tonight… tonight I felt different. Lighter. Freer.

Like something inside me was about to shift, though I couldn’t bite place what. Isabella had left after I told her how I got scolded which she found funny and now it was just me.

Strangely looking forward to tonight.

This night was going to be perfect. After all, I was going to a ball with a king.

That night of perfection washed down the drain the moment my eyes landed on my parents. Why hadn’t I thought they would be here? Maybe it was because I didn’t even know whose ball it was, and I figured Grayson wouldn’t be linked to them in any way. But there they were. Standing at the entrance of the hall, dressed in their usual lavish attire, looking down at me like I was something beneath them.

Grayson, sensing the shift in my mood, pulled me closer to him. His touch sent a wave of warmth through my body, but it did little to calm the storm brewing inside me, My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel my breath quicken.

The four of us–Grayson, my parents, and I–stood there, staring at each other, the tension thickening by the second.

“You won’t greet your parents, Ava? Is that how we raised you?” My mother’s voice cut through the air like a blade, cold and sharp. Her words dripped with superiority, as if I were nothing more than an embarrassing inconvenience.

I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I had had it with this “how you were raised” nonsense. They didn’t raise me–they controlled me. There was a difference.

“I thought I wasn’t your daughter anymore,” I replied, my voice steady but edged with bitterness. “You two disowned me, remember? I believe it goes both ways, so technically, you’re not my parents anymore.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Grayson smile. A small, approving smirk that told me he liked my defiance. I stood straighter, feeling a surge of confidence. But that confidence wavered as I saw the way my father glared at me, his eyes burning with anger.

“Watch your tone or else,” he growled, his voice low and menacing. It was the voice that had always made me shrink back as a child, the one that taught me to be obedient, silent, compliant.

Before I could say anything else, Grayson finally spoke up. His voice was cold, commanding, and the air seemed to shift around us, the power in his tone undeniable.

“I won’t take kindly to anyone threatening my Luna.”

father’s face twisted into a sneer, but he didn’t speak, while my mother–ph, she scoffed.

This little rebellion of hers won’t last.

stutter in my chest, a wave of doubt washing over me. My mother always had a way of making me feel like a child, like everything I did was just a

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Chapter 28

untouchable. And yet, a part of me–the part they’d molded since childhood–was still intimidated by

I wasn’t alone in this anymore. He was standing up for me. Even if my parents were

mother, who had the nerve to keep looking at him like he was beneath her. “Ava isn’t going anywhere. And if you think you can scare her back into your clutches,

his chest puffed out, his arrogance on full display. “You may think you’re powerful,” he spat, “and just because you managed to

blinked. He just stood there, towering over my father, his presence cold, dangerous, like a predator sizing up its prey. “I’m more than

I have entertained

was thick, suffocating. My father’s face reddened, his fists clenched at his sides, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to challenge Grayson outright. Not here. Not in front of all these

done. She stepped forward, her eyes boring into mine, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “Enjoy your little rebellion while it lasts, Ava,” she said softly, her voice a deadly whisper. “But don’t fool yourself into thinking this will

girl they could control anymore, that I wasn’t going to fall back into their grasp yet the words got stuck in my throat, choking me. I hated how she still had this

his tone even and final, “She won’t be coming back to you. Not ever.

second, and I could see the flash of anger in her

see. We always

her heel, my father following close behind, and they disappeared into the crowd, leaving a trail of tension in their

trembling with a mixture of anger,

I whispered, not sure what else to say. My parents had a way of ruining everything, even moments that

slightly as he looked down at me. His cold, dangerous exterior melted just a little,

had forgotten that we’d been arguing until his hand brushed my skin, the heat of his touch suddenly feeling more intense now that we were standing alone. The awareness of it sent a flush to my cheeks, and I instinctively moved away from his hold just as someone called

Ava!“.

I smiled back, stepping

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