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.

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Chapter 224

Ava mattered.

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

with me, I ordered, my voice firm

the device strapped beneath my sleeve the moment

room erupted

immediate response–Damien’s men who emerged like he had been two steps ahead and had expected this

cracked through the air, deafening, a violent symphony of

I didn’t flinch.

even reacted as I felt the impact 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

from sight. She gasped, her breath unsteady, but she didn’t fight me. Not this

a whisper, shock, confusion and

assured her, my eyes scanning

smirk on his lips, that infuriating, calculated gleam in his gaze. He’d orchestrated this moment. He knew I’d move to

under my

was nowhere to

nearest exit. My men provided

slightly, her breathing

I urged her, my grip on her

I could see the doorway, an

Then-

A gunshot.

Loud. Too close.

cried out,

heart stopped.

see one of Damien’s men aiming right at her.

Instinct took over.

Chapter 224

13

gun before he could take another shot. He went down, but not before I felt a sharp, burning pain tear through

Another hit.

teeth, swallowing

let go

Didn’t stop moving.

anything but fight to get

we burst through the doors and into cold night air,

blurring at the edges, my breaths

shallow bursts. But I had her. I

her wide eyes taking in the blood soaking through my jacket, her hands reaching

voice laced with panic.

A lie, but one she

like she didn’t know whether to reach for me or push me away. And then something shifted in

body tensed, and she took a step back.

real distance between

refused to cooperate. My breath hitched as I swayed,

me was too much

body tense against mine as we hit the pavement, her arms bracing against my chest. She barely had time to react before she

sharp sound of fabric tearing filled the 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