The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 236

-Grayson’s POV-

“That’s her first name,” Raina said simply, “Lily Evelyn Waters. But she’s always hated it. Said it made her sound too delicate. Too soft. She wanted something with more power–so she made everyone call her Evelyn. She was seven when she decided that. And I knew, without a doubt, that she was destined to hold power.”

I frowned, “I’m not sure I’m following anymore.”

Raina leaned back slightly, taking a slow, deliberate breath before exhaling, as if measuring how much of the story she was willing to reveal. Her eyes, sharp and gleaming with something ancient, something far beyond my understanding, locked onto mine.

“It is a complicated story,” she began, her voice carrying the weight of generations past. “The curse that bound your bloodline was never meant to be broken easily–it was sealed in blood, written in fate, and could only be undone by a descendant of the Pierce bloodline. Not just any descendant, mind you. It had to be one whose destiny was intertwined with the Alpha King of their time. The Moon Goddess…” She let out a quiet, knowing laugh, shaking her head. “She has a way of weaving lives together, binding destinies in ways none of us could ever truly understand. That night, when I was just a child, I wandered where I shouldn’t have, and I saw her. Or maybe I dreamed her. But what I do know is that I was touched by something greater than myself, something beyond the limitations of mere mortals. That touch gave me more than just the ability to practice magic as a werewolf–it set me on a path that led me straight into the Pierce pack. And there, in that place, I had Evelyn. And as fate would have it, her predestined mate turned out to be an original Pierce himself.”

The pieces fell into place so quickly that I almost felt breathless. The connection, the inevitability of it all, suddenly seemed glaringly obvious. “That’s why Evelyn was the one to carry the child–or children–who would break the curse,” I murmured, more to myself than to her.

That’s where Ava’s middle name came from. Lily. Lilian.

Raina nodded slowly, her gaze never wavering. “Exactly. It was never random, Grayson. None of this ever was. If your father had been the Alpha King during the time my grandchildren were born, then he would have been the one bound to them. And if it had been a generation before him, or before that, the pattern would have remained the same. One way or another, the bloodlines would have been forced together.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine. “So, you’re saying I just happened to be born at the right time?”

life, in another time, you might not have been the one standing here.

her words pressing down on me. “Lucky,” I repeated, the

you’d be a little more grateful, considering all the lives that have led to this moment.” Her expression darkened slightly, the teasing note in her voice fading. “But then again,

tensed. “So you are

flicking a bit of ash from her cigar before meeting my gaze again. “Oh, I am aware of a great many things, Grayson Blackwood. But do not mistake me for someone who knows it all. There are forces at play that even I cannot predict. The Moon Goddess, as wise as she is, does not interfere in the affairs of mortals. She lets them write their own stories, make their own choices. And for the same reason, I do not meddle where I am not meant to. The paths you

a long moment, absorbing her words. “Does Ava know you exist?” I asked finally, my voice

wistful, filled with something almost like regret.

because she was simply never a child in the way others are,” Raina said, her voice carrying an odd mixture of sorrow and acceptance. “I wish she had. I wish she had been carefree, playful, innocent… but she wasn’t. She was born. serious, born with a weight on her shoulders

she found someone like her. As much as I might wish otherwise, Luther was her perfect match. They understand each other

she didn’t fight so hard to erase any part of me that might have lingered in her. She never wanted to be

herself, “that before my time comes, I get to

I hesitated.

in Italy?” I asked, “To be with

if she weren’t held down. Some might even say she’s worse

“Why didn’t you ever try to meet Ava?

her expression unreadable. “Like I said, Grayson Blackwood, it is not my path to intervene in the stories being written. If it was meant to be, I will meet her.” She hesitated just