The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 240

-Grayson’s POV-

The room went deathly silent, save for the echo of Damien’s voice lingering in the air like a taunt, curling around us with a suffocating grip. My muscles tensed instinctively, my mind already working through every possible scenario, every potential way this could play out.

I shifted my focus back to Ava. She was still seated on the floor, her posture stiff, her eyes sharp but guarded. She scanned the room, her gaze calculating, before her voice rang out, cutting through the silence like a blade.

“I have never met anyone more hypocritical than you. You spent all this time hiding and causing so much chaos, and now you’re still a coward, putting us in here and hiding behind a wall? You’re not some mastermind, Damien. All you are is pathetic.”

A beat of silence followed. No one spoke. The tension thickened like a heavy fog.

Then–a slow, creaking sound filled the air, low and drawn–out, reverberating through the walls. A section of the room, one that had appeared solid and seamless, began to shift. A hidden doorway. Shadows bled into the dim light as the corridor beyond was revealed, and then–Damien stepped into view.

But there was still a barrier between us and him, and his gaze settled on Ava with a slow, serpentine smile.

“I know your parents were insufferable, Little Dove,” He mused, his voice smooth but laced with poison, “but maybe you should remember their lessons on respect. Or perhaps I should take a page from their book on how to keep you in line.”

Ava didn’t flinch. She didn’t even blink. Instead, she pushed herself up to her feet with measured grace, tilting her head slightly as she met his gaze.

“I have told you to stop calling me that,” She said evenly, her tone like ice over steel.

His smile didn’t falter, but something flickered in his expression–annoyance, or maybe amusement. He let out a slow breath, like he was reigning something in, then his eyes swept across the room before settling on me.

“You’re awfully quiet, Your Highness,” Damien drawled, tilting his head. “I expected more from you. Maybe some threats, some defiance? No?”

I met his gaze without so much as a flicker of emotion, “Everyone else has something better to do. Why don’t you skip the theatrics and get to the part where you intend on killing us all?”

His smirk deepened. “Oh, I intend to.”

Then, without warning, he snapped his fingers.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, deliberate and heavy. Moments later, another figure was dragged into view–a figure bound, bruised, and battered.

Raina.

Her hair was tangled, her lip split, her wrists bound tightly. Whoever had handled her hadn’t been gentle. But her eyes- despite everything–still held a spark of defiance as they landed on Ava.

A sharp intake of breath from Evelyn broke the silence.

Damien, reveling in the reaction, let out a low chuckle. “You see,” He said, gesturing toward Raina as though she were nothing more than an inconvenience, “I thought about killing her. She was… difficult, to say the least. Stubborn. Annoyingly so. And impossible to find, until your little meeting with her helped us along.”

No one spoke.

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Chapter 240

to say? No outrage? No dramatic declarations?” He spread his arms. “No one? Not

silence hung

Evelyn stood, “What do

before his eyes flicked back to Ava. “I want

ice in my veins.

front of Ava instinctively. I heard her sharp inhale behind me, but I didn’t look back. My eyes never left Damien.

you think that’s happening,” I said, my

his head, “Oh, but I think

for a second?” Isabella cut in, waving a hand as if she were a director pausing a terrible scene. “First of all this is going to come off as selfish but I think everyone should

wall with a deadpan expression, sighed. “I have a headache, but yeah, I’d like to know. Also,” she turned her gaze lazily to Damien, “do evil psychopaths have access to water? Dehydration is terrible for my skin, and I learned that firsthand during my time

too,” Isabella added, nodding

in. “Actually, just bring the whole bottle, if you may,

and Evelyn shook their heads in exasperation at the same time.

patience finally snapped.

through the room, eyes flashing with rage. His jaw clenched so tight I

closer to me and whispered, “I thought

bit back a smile despite the

But silence fell.

For a moment.

Maria and whispered, “So… does that mean

Maria pressed her lips together, fighting

exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples like a man on the verge of a breakdown. “I swear to all that is unholy, if one more person-”

in a deep breath, visibly restraining himself, before a slow, cruel smile spread across his face.

get to it. I’ve always enjoyed moving you all around my chessboard, so now… we are going to do exactly that. And this time,” His grin sharpened into something wicked, “I get front–row seats. Now split into

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Chapter 240

Ava blinked, “What?”

passed through the room, a tangible hesitation that

head as if he were dealing with disobedient children. Then, in one swift motion, he turned–and did

The sick satisfaction gleaming in Damien’s expression made my hands twitch with the urge to rip his

do it immediately,” Damien said, his voice deceptively calm, “then she will

to her mouth, horror settling in her

to speak before thinking, snapped,

the High Priestess your mother and the love of your life went seeking. But I think Evelyn might have forgotten to mention…” he tilted his head, letting the words linger, savoring

entire body

gaze snapped toward Evelyn, her mother, her expression a war between disbelief and betrayal. Evelyn looked torn- caught between glaring daggers at Damien and the deep, undeniable worry for her mother.