The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 241

Chapter 241

-Ava’s POV-

I don’t know who screamed first.

No, I didn’t see who screamed because the instant the shot exploded in the air and Rickon’s body hit the ground, everything

slowed.

The moment stretched, suspended in time, the sound of the gunshot still ringing in my ears. The smell of gunpowder mixed with something metallic–blood. My breath caught, and my heart slammed against my ribs.

Then, just as fast as everything had slowed, it all snapped back into motion.

A scream–Isabella’s–cut through the chaos, raw and guttural. She tore herself from Grayson’s side and ran to Rickon, falling to her knees in the pool of blood already seeping from his leg. My stomach clenched when I saw the wound. The bullet had torn clean through, and crimson was spilling fast.

Rickon groaned, his face contorting in pain. Isabella reached for him instinctively, but he jerked back with a sharp snarl, his teeth bared in pain and anger.

“What is your problem?!” She yelled at him, her voice breaking.

Rickon didn’t answer, just gritted his teeth and held his bleeding leg, his fingers slick with his own blood.

The rest of us just stood there. Frozen.

I don’t know about the others, but my mind struggled to catch up with what had just happened. It was like my brain had short–circuited, unable to process the violence that had just unfolded in front of me. My gaze drifted, looking for something -anything–to anchor me..

Then, for some reason, I found myself staring at my mother.

She wasn’t looking at Rickon. She wasn’t looking at Damien. She was staring at the woman behind the glass. The woman. The High Priestess. Her mother. My grandmother.

The revelation still sat heavy in my stomach, like a weight pressing down on my lungs. I should have been shocked. Maybe I was, but deep down, after everything else my mother had hidden from me, I couldn’t even find the energy to be surprised. She had kept the existence of my twin sister a secret. Why would this be any different?

But now wasn’t the time for that.

And with that thought, came the realization that picking her just so I could yell at her for yet another secret, was definitely the wrong thing to do at this point.

Damien’s voice cut through the moment, smooth, amused, lethal, “That was a warning shot.”

He smiled, tilting his head slightly, his gaze flicking between us like a predator watching his prey squirm, “Next time a body drops, it will be permanent.”

Isabella was crying now, her hands trembling as she hovered over Rickon, unsure of what to do. Rickon’s breathing was shallow, his face pale from the blood loss, and he refused to look at her.

The air had shifted.

weight of our situation

had been lounging sat up straighter. Maria had lost that air of boredom, her gaze now sharp and calculating.

And Grayson?

Grayson hadn’t moved.

staring

Unflinching. Silent.

as if the wrong move would send

his gaze flicking to Rickon like he was nothing more than a broken pawn, “and

was still unconscious from Maria’s spell, “I guess that leaves us with

amusement in his

down the rules,

a king surveying his subjects, his expression one of amusement, like this was all some

About strength.” His grin widened, teeth flashing like a wolf baring its fangs, “I want to see what

with cruelty, each

to make sure we understood just how much control he had. He paused, letting his gaze sweep over each of us, as if

three trials.

one

team will win.”

twisted, my pulse a slow, heavy thud in

y ears.

trials?” Elaine asked, her voice steady but sharp, the tension coiled

skin crawl, “Oh, don’t worry,” he drawled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

silence that followed was

No

of his hand, he said, “Go on.

was so thick with unease that even breathing felt

Except Isabella.

her hands shaking as they hovered over his wound, tears streaking down her face as she stared at the blood spreading beneath him. Rickon kept his face turned away,

the injury that his knuckles had white.

clear that whatever it was, it had shattered something between

time to think about that because that was the moment I snapped

was bleeding out, and I was just standing

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2 Mar M

Chapter 241

him.

over, and

playing, I rushed toward Rickon, shoving aside my own hesitation because I didn’t care about Damien’s rules. I didn’t

of another gunshot tore through.

Loud. Deafening.

didn’t hit anyone, but it didn’t need