The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 129

-Grayson’s POV-

“I call first shots,”

I groaned, the pounding in my head threatening to crack it open like an egg. Turning toward Rickon, who was looking at me with an unnerving amount of seriousness, I managed to croak, “first shots for what?”

“For who gets to eat the other person. If it comes down to us starving, I call first shots, and I’m’cating you

first.”

Despite the throbbing pain in my skull, I almost laughed. Not because it was funny–no, this was the least amusing moment of my life–but because of the absurdity. My jet had gone down, was stranded in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, and the universe had decided that Rickon would be my sole companion.

I squinted at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“Not denying it,” he said with a shrug.

I tried to sit up, wincing as the sharp pain in my ribs protested. If you’re so eager to play cannibal, start with them,” I said, gesturing toward the bodies of the pilots still strapped into their seats. They hadn’t survived the crash, their still forms a sobering reminder of how close I’d come to joining them.

Rickon made a face. “I’m not a scavenger. Besides, they don’t look appetizing. You, on the other hand-”

“Show some respect,” I snapped, forcing myself to my feet. My legs felt like jelly, but I wasn’t about to stay sitting here and let him keep talking. “They’re dead, Rickon.”

“Dead, sure. But you know what they say ‘survival of the fittest. He grinned, clearly finding some sick amusement in the situation. “And besides, it’s not my fault I’m superior. Shifting cushioned the impact. Humans, though-”

I shot him a glare. “I don’t have time for your nonsense. If you want to sit here and crack jokes, be my guest. I’m going to figure out where the hell we are.”

I started walking, brushing off the stabbing pain in my side and the pounding in my head. The sooner I got moving, the better. My wolf stirred beneath the surface, sharpening my senses, even though I felt like I’d been hit by a freight train.

“Grayson, where are you going?” Rickon called after me, his voice tinged with both confusion and panic.

“Anywhere but here.”

I heard him scrambling behind me, his shoe crunching on the debris–strewn ground. He caught up quickly, falling into step beside me. “We’re supposed to stick together, you know. Isn’t that like, rule number one of surviving a plane crash?”

“Rule number one is to stay alive,” I muttered, scanning the dense vegetation ahead. The landscape was wild–lush trees with thick, knotted roots stretched toward a pale sky. It looked like the kind of place you’d see on a postcard for some exotic getaway. Except this wasn’t a vacation.

“Great,” Rickon said, looking around. “We’re probably on some uncharted island where weird things happen, and people start going insane. I’ve seen a lot of movies like this. You know how they end, right? Dinosaurs. Or cannibals. Maybe mutant fish that crawl out of the ocean.”

I stopped and turned to glare at him. “We’re in the 21st century. Dinosaurs are extinct. And I’d prefer if you shut up so I can think.”

He

say I didn’t warn you when a T–Rex

trees.”

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Chapter 129

where we were and how to get off this island. If the pilot had managed to get a mayday call out before the crash, there was a chance someone would be searching for us. But pinpointing our exact location? That was another

us, a mangled heap of metal and shattered glass. The dense forest ahead

genius?” Rickon asked, still trailing

calculating our next steps. Water. Shelter. Food. Those were the priorities. And a way to signal for

stopped, my senses on high alert. Rickon froze too, his casual demeanor shifting as

tell me that’s just

It wasn’t.

out from the underbrush–a blur of fur and claws. My wolf surged forward, my instincts taking over as I shoved Rickon out of the

landed where he’d been standing a second ago. Its eyes glinted with a predatory hunger that sent a chill

“Okay, so maybe it’s

I shouted, grabbing his arm and

pushed through the pain in my side. The forest blurred around us, the sound of snapping branches and pounding paws filling

burst into a clearing, and I skidded to a halt, nearly sending Rickon crashing into me. Ahead of us, a massive cliff dropped

face pale. “So, uh, any brilliant ideas now?”

clearing, its eyes fixed on us. It let out a low growl, pacing back

jump,” I said, already moving

Rickon’s

widened. “You’re

a better idea?”

didn’t wait for him to. Taking a deep breath, I leapt off the

a moment, time seemed to freeze–a single, suspended heartbeat of fear and adrenaline. Then I hit the ocean, the impact slamming into me like a wall. The

was strong, pulling me down, twisting me in every direction. I fought to right myself, the pain in my ribs flaring as I struggled to swim. The weight of exhaustion dragged at me, but instinct drove me upward, toward

me back under. Gritting my teeth, I fought against the pull, forcing myself to break

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Chapter 129

away failing wildly,

and swim!” I shouted back, though my own

us, jagged and unscalable, but a narrow strip of beach stretched out in the distance. It

for the beach!” I yelled,

argue, thrashing his way in the direction I’d pointed. I followed, my muscles screaming with every stroke. The waves fought us every inch of the way,