The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 224

Chapter 224

-Grayson’s POV.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t speak.

I just watched.

The moment the word sister left Crystal’s mouth, I knew nothing would be the same. The air in the room shifted, charged with something raw, something electric. Ava clung to me, her grip like a vice, but I didn’t comfort her. I didn’t whisper

reassurances.

Because this wasn’t a moment for comfort. This was a reckoning

I saw it in the way Ava’s body tensed, in the way her breath hitched like she had been struck. The realization crashed into her, one revelation after another, like waves dragging her under with no chance to breathe.

And I let her drown.

Not out of cruelty. Not because I didn’t care. But because she needed this. She needed to feel every ounce of it, to understand exactly what kind of game was being played around her.

Crystal was enjoying this. I could see it in her eyes–the sharp gleam of amusement, the way she performed for an audience, dangling the truth in front of Ava like bait.

Damien was worse.

He barely had to lift a finger, and yet, he controlled the entire room. Every shift of his expression, every calculated chuckle, every glance toward Ava was like a string being pulled in a game only he knew the rules to.

I hated him for it.

Hated the way he spoke to her, like she was some fragile thing beneath his control. Hated the way he indulged Crystal’s venom, the way he encouraged it.

And still, I waited.

Because right now, I wasn’t the one in the line of fire. Right now, I was just an observer, a ghost at the edge of their war.

But then I felt when the truth became too much for her to bear so I finally acted, pulling her back. Away from Damien. Away from Crystal. Away from the nightmare they had dragged her into.

But Damien-

Damien was waiting for that.

I saw the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes the second I stepped into focus, the way his smirk curled just a little wider then the arrows revealed themselves like a trigger at his words and then they came right at her.

I didn’t hesitate.

The second the arrows shot toward her, my body moved before my mind could even process it. My arm wrapped around Ava, pulling her against me, shielding her as the sharp projectiles sliced through the air.

Pain seared through my shoulder, hot and immediate. One of the arrows had grazed me, a shallow wound, but it didn’t

matter.

1/4

Fri, Feb 21

Chapter 224

Ava mattered.

breath hitched, and I could feel her trembling against me, her fingers

with me, I ordered, my voice firm but low, meant only for

strapped beneath my sleeve the

room erupted into

Their entrance was met with an immediate response–Damien’s men who emerged like he had been two steps ahead and

through the air, deafening, a violent symphony of

I didn’t flinch.

of another hit–this time on my side. A sharp sting, the warmth of blood seeping through my shirt, but I shoved the pain

was my only concern.

I moved with precision, blocking her from

whisper, shock,

got you,” I assured her, my eyes scanning the

Damien and caught only a glimpse of him before he slipped through the fray, a smirk on his lips, that infuriating, calculated gleam in his gaze. He’d orchestrated this moment. He knew I’d move to protect Ava, knew I’d react. And while I had been focused

hissed under

to be seen either.

My men provided

her breathing uneven.

going,” I urged her, my grip on her unrelenting.

were almost there. I could see the doorway, an open path leading

Then-

A gunshot.

Loud. Too close.

cried out, and

heart stopped.

see one of Damien’s men aiming

Instinct took over.

Chapter 224

13

stepped into the line of fire without a second thought, firing my own gun before he could take another shot. He went down, but not before I felt a sharp, burning pain tear through my side

Another hit.

gritted my teeth, swallowing

let go of

Didn’t stop moving.

to get her out

the doors and into cold night air,

at the edges,

her. I had her, and I wasn’t letting

jacket, her hands reaching

her voice

out. A lie, but one she needed

me or push me away. And then something shifted in her expression. Like she suddenly remembered what we were to each other right

body tensed, and she took a step back.

before she could put real distance between us,

but my body refused to cooperate. My breath hitched as I swayed, and Ava moved faster than I expected, surging forward and catching my

much and we both

the pavement, her arms bracing against my chest. She barely had time to react before she widened her eyes, and in an

air as she slashed through my clothes, her gaze zeroing in on the wounds. I saw it the moment realization dawned in her expression–the way her breath hitched, the way her lips parted slightly, how her