The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 238

-Ava’s POV

Dylan was a bastard.

I knew it the moment I felt the mating bond with him, and I still don’t understand how the hell that even happened. Even without my wolf, I had been sure it was him. I knew he was a bastard on the day of our mating ceremony, and every single day since then, he has done nothing but prove it over and over again.

And today?

Today, he outdid himself.

I called him. I hadn’t even gotten a single word out before he cut me off with a voice as cold as death itself, “You found your way to hell. Stay there.”

Then he hung up.

Stupid, stupid Dylan.

Well, so much for trying to rat Crystal out and hoping Dylan would have enough sense left to pull her out of whatever mess she was tangled in. He was a lost cause.

“So, I take it that didn’t go well,” Isabella muttered, still scrolling through her phone, her expression blank.

I huffed, shoving my own phone into my pocket. “He’s an idiot. And he still remains one.”

The gates ahead creaked open, and our car rolled forward smoothly. The estate was quiet, too quiet for my liking. I was the first to step out the moment we came to a stop, inhaling deeply. The air was thick, humid, like the sky was seconds away from splitting open with a storm.

Rickon, my father, and Maria would be arriving soon. Grayson and my mother–if they hadn’t killed each other yet–were supposed to be meeting us back here after tracking down the High Priestess. Once everyone was together, we’d finally sit down and discuss… everything.

Ricardo had suggested a feast for the occasion.

A feast.

The thought of it had struck me as odd when he first mentioned it, but now… now it felt like something else. A last meal before the battlefield.

A final send–off.

I exhaled sharply and started walking toward the house. My mind was already racing through everything we had to handle, every piece of the puzzle that still wasn’t fitting-

Then it hit me.

A sudden, sharp, blinding pain ripped through my body, white–hot and searing. My knees buckled. A cry tore from my throat before I could stop it and the world tilted but before I could fall, a hand grabbed my arm.

“Lilian!” Isabella’s voice was sharp, panicked. “What the hell–are you okay?”

I could barely hear her.

The pain—it wasn’t normal. It wasn’t just pain. It was something else. It burned, not on my skin, not in my bones, but inside

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me, coiling through every nerve like fire, like my own body was turning against me.

I sucked in a sharp breath, shaking my head, “I’m fine.” I forced out. “I don’t know what just happened”

Liar.

fine. I didn’t know what this was, but it felt wrong.

.

ignore it, to shake it off but it hit

84%

pain flared so violently that my vision blurred. My entire body convulsed, every muscle tightening, locking, as

me. “Lilian–what the

suffocating, like I was being crushed from all sides, my own

focus on her. Her eyes,

but the words wouldn’t come. My fingers dug into the pavement, my breath coming in short, uneven gasps. My skin burned. My blood felt

happening to me.

I could feel it–something inside me

around, shouting at the security team. “Don’t just stand there! Do something!”

guards moved then, finally, closing in, their hands reaching for their weapons. That was when

out.

through the air

Then another.

And another.

us shouted, ducking for cover, but I was still on

screamed, “What

up, blinking past the haze, past the way the

were the ones attacking. They weren’t just attacking. They were slaughtering the men Grayson had hired

hit the ground near me, blood pooling across

my arm, her voice frantic,

I

But the pain–fuck.

for her strength, for something to push past

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Chapter 238

happening to me.

body still wracked with the unbearable pain that wouldn’t let up. I clenched my teeth, trying to breathe through it, trying to focus–but

“Why the hell are Ricardo’s men shooting at Grayson’s guards?!” she hissed. “What the fuck is happening?”

had no

the crossfire? But before I could say it, another

grabbed my face. “We need to move. Now.”

trying to ground myself, trying to push through the agony still gripping me. “If Ricardo’s men are the ones shooting,” I

you out of your mind?!” Isabella cut me off, eyes flashing. “There’s a fucking war zone happening right now, and you want to waltz over

rang out, closer this time. She was right. I wasn’t thinking clearly. The pain had clouded everything.

Isabella said firmly, scanning the area. “Inside is safer than

of the house. My legs were unsteady, my muscles still trembling, but I forced myself to move, to

still cracked behind us, men shouting, bodies hitting the ground. One of Grayson’s guards was still standing. returning fire, but he was outnumbered. This wasn’t a fight. It

doors, slamming them shut behind us. She locked it immediately before

braced myself against the wall, my chest

“Bullshit.”

“Isabella-”

No.” She stalked toward me, her jaw tight with barely contained anger. “You dropped like someone yanked the fucking floor out from under you, you looked like you were about to pass out,

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