The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 42

-Ava’s POV-

I could practically hear my mother’s disappointed voice echoing in my head as the fog began to clear.

“This is what happens when you don’t follow the rules. Ava

As much as I hated to admit it, they were right this time. Because here I was–kidnapped, tied up, and completely at someone’s mercy. The rope tightened around my body, and every inch of me felt heavier by the second. My limbs were sore, my wrists were raw from the coarse binding cutting into my skin, and the dim light from above only made the situation feel more suffocating. My eyes barely adjusted, enough to see Luca moving around the room like a shadow. The stench in the air was thick, pungent–something rotting, and it made my stomach churn violently. I gagged, trying to keep together.

“You’ll have to forgive the smell,” Luca’s voice drifted toward me casual, almost amused. “I would’ve taken you somewhere nicer, but this was last minute. Needed to get you tucked away fast.”

I swallowed, trying to wet my dry throat. “Why why are you doing this to me?” My voice cracked, the words slurred as the drug in my system slowly wore off.

Luca moved closer, tightening the ropes even further, leaving ng room for me to even attempt to struggle. There was no point. I was completely helpless, at his mercy, and he knew it. He backed up just a little, his eyes gleaming with something

twisted.

“You did this to yourself, Ava,” he said, his tone flat. “The moment you decided to marry Grayson Blackwood, you sealed your fate. I’m only doing a job, sweetheart. You’re worth a lot of money to Ricardo Sylvester.”

I blinked. Who the hell is that?

Luca let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair like this was all just another inconvenience to him. “You’re lucky. though. He wants you alive and all your parts intact

My stomach twisted. All my parts intact? What the hell was happening? Panic gripped my chest, squeezing the air out of my lungs. He was going to sell me off to some guy that has a vendere against Grayson.

I had royally screwed up.

I took a shaky breath, trying to calm myself down, forcing my thoughts into something coherent. “L–Look,” I stammered, “whatever this Ricardo person has offered you, Grayson–Grayson is rich, wey rich. e could pay you double, triple even. I can convince him to-”

Luca cut me off with a sharp, cruel laugh that echoed in the empty space. “Oh, honey,” he drawled mockingly, shaking his head. “You really don’t understand how this world works, do you You think Grayson Blackwood would reward me for kidnapping his wife and letting her go? You’ve gotta be dumber than I thought for following a complete stranger like me?

His insult hit hard, like a slap in the face. I had been stupid. Stupid and reckless. And now look at where I ended up–tied to a chair in some goddess forsaken warehouse, waiting to be sold off like a piece of property.

“Ricardo’s men will be here soon,” Luca continued, his tone shifting from casual to cold. “Do yourself a favor, keep that pretty mouth shut, or you might just annoy me enough to sell you in pieces”

The dread colled around me like a vice, squeezing tighter with every second. The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Grayson will find you, and he will kill you.”

box, rummaging through it before pulling out a gun. He held it up, inspecting it like it was nothing more than a toy in his

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Chapter 42

that so?” His voice dripped with

I had felt trapped before–caged by life’s circumstances–but death had always seemed like a distant thing. Now it loomed over me, inches away, ready to pounce. The cold reality of it settled over me like a

mocking voice pulled me from my thoughts. “You lost your nerve?

was going to die, I wasn’t going out a coward. No way. I open my eyes, glaring at him with everything I had left in me, “I do have something to say,” I spat, my voice trembling but full defiance. “It doesn’t

regained his composure, tilting his head. “Brave words, Ava. But you’ll b long gone

cold sweat broke out on my skin as I tried to make sense of his words. He seemed so damn sure that Grayson wouldn’t reach me in time. Fear clawed at my insides, but I shoved it down. I had to stay calm, had to stay

warehouse made Luca pause. His brows furrowed as

tightening on the gun, “They are here. This

FI

“Screw you.” I spat.

My heart hammered in m chest. The room felt too small, the air too thick, and

of

pain to tear through my leg. But it never came. I opened my eyes slowly, trembling, my mind struggling to catch up with my body. Luca let out a

itself in the floor, inches between

his voice dripping with mockery. “Next time, I will aim for an actual

happened

off mid–sentence, transforming into a

his arm. time to see Grayson dark, lethal, his presence

–

that had been holding the

and raw. Blood gushed from the mangled stump where his hand used to be. I was frozen, my mind torn between shock, relief, and a terror that slithered down my

hadn’t looked at

in silence, save for Luca’s guttural screams. Grayson aura was

a casualness that terrified m Grayson picked up the dismembered hand still clutching the gun, pried the

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Chapter 42

–

in the air, deafening. Luca’s scream was the most horrifying thing I’d ever heard a primal, desperate sound as he writhed

think anyone could scream

was unbearable to even witness. Luca’s body spasmed on the ground, his screams ringing in my ears. My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat, but I couldn’t tear eyes away. I should’ve looked away. I should’ve closed my eyes,