The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

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Chapter 258

Chapter 258

-Grayson’s POV-

I knew how I felt, but I didn’t know how to feel.

Relief? Maybe. But it didn’t settle the way relief should.

It sat in my chest like an unfamiliar weight, something I didn’t know how to carry. The fight was over–at least this one was— but the battle inside me hadn’t quieted. The past clawed at my mind, demanding to be acknowledged. The present was pressing in, urging me to move forward. And the future… the future was there, waiting, uncertain but possible.

Ava. My children.

That was where my mind needed to be, where my thoughts should have stayed. Not in the wreckage of what had been, but in the promise of what could be. I had spent so much of my life in the dark, consumed by war, by vengeance, by survival. But this–they–gave me something different. A reason to step out of the shadows. A reason to be more than just the man who fought, who won, who lost, who bled.

For the first time in my life, I saw a future where I wasn’t just existing. I saw a future where I lived.

But there were things to do first.

The realm needed to know I was alive. My enemies needed to know. My allies, too. Silence had been a weapon in my arsenal, but now? Now, it was time to break it. I had spent too long in the war–too long allowing it to shape me, to define me–but I wasn’t going to do that anymore. Not in the same way.

And then there was Damien.

I exhaled, rubbing a hand over my face as I leaned back in my chair. The study was dim, the only light coming from the fireplace in the corner, casting shadows along the walls. The weight of everything pressed against me, and I let my gaze drift to the ceiling, as if the answers I sought would be written there.

Then, the silence broke.

The sharp, insistent ringing of the phone on my desk cut through the stillness.

It rang once.

Twice.

I stared at it.

I could let it ring. Let whoever was on the other end sit with their questions, their assumptions. Let them wonder if the rumors were true, if I was truly gone.

But I already knew who it was.

With a slow breath, I reached for the phone, bringing it to my ear. I didn’t say a word.

Neither did he.

Silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, filled with everything that didn’t need to be spoken then Carter finally exhaled, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. Lacking its usual easy drawl. Stripped of anything unnecessary.

“You are alive.”

I didn’t answer.

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Chapter 258

what was I

begun to process the fact that I was standing here, breathing, still a part of this world even though I kind of had. And yet Carter already knew. I didn’t even know how he had found out so fast. News traveled quickly, but this? This felt

instant.

tried to gather my thoughts, tried to piece together something to

felt like a moment. One I didn’t quite know how to

didn’t fill the silence like he normally would. He let it linger,

this time.” A beat of

in me

I hadn’t even realized was there loosened,

hear the truth in his voice. The relief. The understanding. Carter had never been one for sentiment, but

even attempt to form

shame to have lost

tugged at my lips then, just like that, he ended

the phone for a long moment before setting it back down and then

The plans forming in my head weren’t just about the realm. They were bigger than that. The world as a whole was shifting, and as much as I hated owing anyone, I knew there was

alive and

Alessia.

had shut her out completely, without remorse, after promising her an exclusive interview in Italy. I owed

heads bowed in my direction. The shock on their faces was evident, their eyes wide, their expressions frozen between disbelief and awe. It was understandable. Grayson Blackwood was dead. Or at least, that’s what they had believed. But now I was here, very much alive, and their world had just tilted

didn’t acknowledge their reactions. I just kept

until I reached the outside that I realized where my feet had carried me.

Elaine’s apartment.

in front of her door, my hand already raised before I fully processed what I was doing. This wasn’t

beat of

of the lock turning.

open, revealing Elaine’s startled expression. Her lips parted slightly, her brows furrowing

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Chapter 258

her doorstep, “Grayson,” She breathed, like she wasn’t sure if she was seeing a ghost. “What

let

out before I could stop them, raw and

wasn’t sure what I expected–hesitation, confusion, maybe even rejection.

eyes softened, her gaze searching mine for something unspoken before she finally

in,” She said, stepping back, “Let me change into something

only a second before stepping inside and the moment I did, my wolf

sound resonated through me, a presence I had

was broken and he