The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 187

Chapter 187

-Ava’s POV-

I didn’t move.

And he didn’t count.

We continued staring at each other then I took a shaky step forward, my voice trembling but still desperate, repeating the words again because maybe if I said them over and over, then he would finally allow himself to hear and believe what I was saying, “Grayson, please. I didn’t do this. You know me. You know I would never betray you like this.”

His jaw clenched so hard I thought he might shatter his teeth, but his eyes…those beautiful, piercing eyes I had memorized every inch of–they were dead. Hollow. And that emptiness gutted me more than his words ever could.

“Do I?” He said coldly, his voice cutting through me like a blade. “Do I know you, Ava? Because everything I thought I knew about you….” He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “It was all a lie, wasn’t it?”

“No!” I cried, my voice cracking. “It wasn’t a lie! Grayson, I love you! I-”

“Stop.” He held up a hand, his tone sharper now, like a whip lashing at me. “Don’t. Don’t you dare say that word to me again. Love? You don’t know the first thing about love. If you did, you wouldn’t have stabbed me in the back!”

Tears were streaming down my face now, hot and relentless, but I didn’t care. I stepped closer, desperate to reach him, to break through whatever wall he had thrown up between us. “I didn’t stab you in the back, Grayson. I swear on everything I am, I didn’t do this. I didn’t send those messages. I didn’t feed anyone information. Please, just let me explain-”

“Explain what?” he roared, his voice shaking the very walls of the study. His fists slammed against the desk, and I flinched involuntarily. “Explain how you wormed your way into my life? How you stood by my side, looked me in the eyes, and lied to me every single day?!”

“Grayson, please,” I choked out, barely able to speak through the sobs that wracked my body. “I didn’t lie to you. You have to believe me. You have to!”

“Why?” He demanded, stepping closer now, his presence looming over me like a storm cloud. “Why should I believe you, Ava? After everything I’ve seen, after everything I’ve found, why should I believe a single fucking word that comes out of your mouth?”

“Because you love me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, yet the words seemed to echo in the silence that followed.

For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes–pain, hesitation, maybe even regret. But it was gone as quickly

it came, replaced by a coldness so absolute it made me shiver.

as

“I did love you,” He said finally like he couldn’t even believe he was actually saying the words, his voice breaking, and for the first time, I saw the cracks in his armor. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and he turned away from me, as if looking at me hurt him too much. “I loved you so much it terrified me. You were the one thing that made this….this life bearable. I would have given you everything, Ava. My trust. My protection. My heart.”

stepped closer, my hand reaching out toward him even though I was trembling. “Grayson,

it feels like, Ava? To give someone everything, only to have it thrown back in your face? To realize that the one person you thought would never hurt you was the

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Chapter 187

“Grayson-”

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ས 29%°

-5

Wondering if you would stay by my side despite everything I’ve done, everything I am?” His voice

might collapse under the weight of it all. “That’s not true,” I said,

voice raw and broken now. He ran a hand through his hair, pacing the room like a caged animal. “Do you know what the worst part is? Even now, after everything, a part of me still wants to believe you. A part of me still wants to pull you into my arms and pretend this never happened. But I can’t. I can’t because every time I look at you,

saw the tears glistening in his eyes. My own heart

give me a chance to prove it to you. Let me show you that I’m telling the truth. You don’t have to believe me right now, but don’t throw this away. Don’t throw

pain, sorrow. For a brief second, I thought he might relent, that he might let me in. But

the finality in his tone cutting deeper

even as the tears blurred my vision. “You don’t mean that,” I said, my voice trembling. “You’re just

at me, and for the first time, I saw the depth of his pain. “I wish I didn’t,”

of his own words was too much

million pieces as the man I

in place, staring at him as if somehow my silence would fix this, as if staying would undo the damage. My wolf growled this

“Go, Ava.”

glanced around the study, taking in every detail. This place had been the beginning of us, the foundation of what we had built together. Now, it was where it all

tears from my eyes with trembling hands, forcing my feet to move. Every step felt heavier than the last as I walked past the men who had been hired to

my eyes.

outside, but it did nothing to numb the ache in my chest. I walked to the gates, my head held high despite the devastation inside me, and found Ivan stationed there.

I shook my

said firmly, my voice