The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 220

-Grayson’s POV-

Silence.

Absolute silence for exactly twenty seconds..

And then, like I could almost see the smile I always hated–the one he directed at Ava like he owned a piece of her–Damien finally spoke.

“I guess we can skip the pleasantries. We’ve met enough times, Yur Highness.”

I didn’t say anything.

‘His voice carried that irritating, easy confidence. That smugness like he knew something I didn’t, like he held all the cards.

“Can I share a story with you?”

Still, I didn’t speak.

He chuckled under his breath, unfazed, “Okay then, I’ll take your silence as a yes.”

There was a pause, a small breath of quiet, and then he cleared his throat. And I don’t know why, but I could picture him leaning back in his chair, completely relaxed, one arm draped over the side, a ghost of a smile curving his lips.

A smile filled with triumph.

Because right now, he was in control. And he knew it.

“You see, Grayson,” He began, his tone smooth, almost nostalgic, before Ava ever became the woman you know today, before she learned to keep her chin high and her guard higher, she was just a little girl. Just a child who wanted to fly.”

He exhaled softly, like the memory itself was something precious to him.

“She was five,” He murmured, “Barely tall enough to reach the bookshelves in the library, but stubborn enough to try anyway. That was always Ava–relentless, even when the odds were against her. But that day… that day was different.”

There was a pause, a shift in his voice, like he was seeing it play out in his mind.

“It was the first time she told me she wanted to leave,” He said quietly, “Not in the way children say it when they don’t get. their way. Not in a fit of frustration or childish rebellion. No, she told me in a whisper, as if even the walls had ears. ‘I want to fly, Uncle Damien,‘ She said. ‘I want to see the world! And I remember looking into those bright swirling little eyes of hers and knowing, right then and there, that they were going to try to break her.”

He let out a soft laugh, almost bitter.

“And they did, didn’t they? They held her down. Not with chains, not with ropes, but with expectations, with duties, with the crushing weight of who she was supposed to be. Her parents–oh, they loved her in their own twisted way, but love like that? It was never meant to let her soar.”

kept quiet…

on that slow, measured rhythm of someone completely lost in a memory, “Too clever for them. Too wild for them. She didn’t throw tantrums. She didn’t scream or cry when they told her no. She

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Chapter 220

chuckled, and something about the sound made

been sneaking outside for weeks, finding little cracks in their perfect little world, slipping past Omegas and guards just to breathe fresh air, to run through the gardens without someone telling

that day… that day, they caught

almost see the scene through his

Luther who found her first. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her more afraid in her life–not of him, not of the punishment,

pause, heavy and

been too easy. They made a lesson out of it. They made her stand in front of them–her parents, the council, the people who would one day dictate her every move–and they told her, in front of all of them, that she was not meant to run. That

more important than her desires. They told her that she was too fragile to survive

softened, just

he was

બનાવવાન

perfectly composed, while they chipped away at the fire inside her. And I remember thinking–this is how it starts. This is how they

then, something happened.”

again, something dark and

told her that she had no choice. That she would learn to listen. That she would

Another pause.

know what she

I

already knew.

little smile of hers the one that doesn’t reach her eyes. And she said, ‘Okay.” Silence stretched between

she said ‘okay,’ she was already planning. Already waiting for her moment. Because that’s the thing about

again, lighter

why I call her

taste settled in

my

mouth.

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Chapter 220

3

C

little bird. Delicate. Breakable. But I knew better. Doves aren’t just symbols of peace. They’re survivors. They find their way home, o matter how far they’re taken. No matter how many times you

my jaw locked so tight it ached.