The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 85

-Grayson’s POV-

“I think it’s time for you to go home.”

The words cut through the silence like a knife, dragging my attention away from the glowing laptop in front of me. I snapped my gaze upward, my annoyance flaring before I could even process who was speaking. Liam stood in the doorway, watching me with a look that said he wasn’t going anywhere until I acknowledged hirri

I tried to ignore him, but his next words made it impossible. “It’s been five days.”

I raised an eyebrow, keeping my voice controlled but not quite masking the irritation that crawled through me. “And how would you know that?”

“Elaine told me,” he said casually, as though his point were already clear. “And, well, given the recent circumstances. I’m sure your rotten attitude has something to do with Ava. I didn’t want to say anything, but it’s starting to affect my work. Everyone’s on edge because of you. They’re putting in effort to do things right, but everything’s falling apart. Eliza was crying when I came up here.”

My jaw tightened, and I resisted the urge to stap back with something bitter. Instead, I let my gaze darken, my tone low and hard “She’s fucky she’s not fired. No one can do anything right

“Have you ever thought that maybe you’re the problem?” Liam voice was unwavering, despite the sharpness in mine.

The ice in my stare froze him in place, but he wasn’t done. “I mean, you’re clearly upset about something that happened. with Ava, and now everyone else is suffering for it. Why don’t you go home, figure this out, and give us all some breathing room? It’s bad enough that you’re angry about something on a normal day, but now that it’s related to her, it’s just another level Go home, fix it, and tone down the broodiness.”

I opened my mouth, ready to tell him to watch his tone, but he cut me off, waving his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I should watch my tone because you’re all–powerful and scary. He didn’t wait for me to respond, turning on his heel and leaving without another word, leaving me with nothing but the silence of my office.

“I killed then”

The words rang through my mind as if I were still standing in that room. It was bad enough that this sentence haunted me in memories that I would never forget. Not the part where I drove a silver blade through my father’s chest, the part where I stared at my mother’s blank eye knowing I was responsible.

I don’t know why I said it. Maybe I needed her to understand the darkness I carried, the horrors of what I was capable of. Maybe I wanted her to know just how deep the monster inside me ran, to see if she would stay despite it–or because I didn’t want to hide that part of anything anymore.

It wasn’t a spur–of–the–moment thought; the words had formed before I even thought them, and her shock mirrored. everything I needed to know about how she saw me now.

That’s why I’d been avoiding her. As much as Liam irritated me he was right. My anger was a fire that would consume everything around me until I did something reckless. I didn’t want to burn her, too.

find her. The need to seek her out was stronger than the urge to retreat. She was in

faster than I intended, driven by something | couldn’t name–something that pulled me to her despite the chaos inside me. But what I found there was a conversation Chadn’t expected, one that instantly set

disrespect–pecially from

there was one thing I

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Chapter 85

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at the old man who was so clearly afraid of me that he looked seconds from soiling

heard her voice–soft and questioning, cutting through the tension. “Who is a great king

what she was doing. It was a distraction–a deliberate attempt to steer me away from what was happening. But before I could react, she grabbed my hand, pulling me

resist as she led me away, though I could feel the heat of boy gaze still burning a hole through the old

i

Ava turned to me. her face suprisingly calm, free of the disgust I had expected. Instead, she was smiling softly as if

her smile. But the weight of the conversation I had just interrupted

the kitchen?” I demanded, my voice more forceful than

didn’t falter. “I wanted to meet the Omegas. It was going well. They even invited me

up instantly. “What

one you and I will be attending this evening. It’s so you can meet your pack members.

will be no feast. My voice was low and dangerous, the anger inside me nsing, “I didn’t sign off on anything. If I find out

that old man back there if I hadn’t stepped in?” She crossed her arms, glaring at me with a mixture of disbelief and frustration. “You didn’t even know what he was going to say, but you were already thinking

words were like a slap in the face. I tried to speak, but she cut me off, her tone unwavering “Things were going well until you showed up and ruined it with

stunned.

met mine, unflinching. “You have a terrible attitude. Let’s start with the fact that you’ve been disappearing for five days, without a word. Don’t even tell me you texted me. She pulled out her phone and started scrolling. Tuesday: I won’t be coming back. Full stop Wednesday:

I pushed too far with asking about your past. But you need to understand something. You can’t keep acting like this. Elaine punishes Omegas

in a long while, I felt exposed. “The people in this pack–the Alphas in this realm- they make you king. And they’re people with feelings. You act

not through fear, but through understanding. There will be a teast, and I’ll make sure it happens. You can choose to be there and show them that you’re human,

paused, looking at me with a finality that left no room for argument. “And you tell Elaine to stop punishing