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 supposed to say?

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.

instant.

thoughts, tried to piece

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

like he normally would. He

this time.” A beat of quiet, and then, softer, “But I am

in me

even realized was there loosened, just a little.

The relief. The understanding. Carter had never been one for sentiment, but this wasn’t about words—it

to form a response, he

have

slow smile tugged at my lips then, just like that, he

at the phone for a long moment before setting it back down and then I didn’t think–I

weren’t just about the realm. They were bigger than that. The

I was alive and

Alessia.

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

evident, their eyes wide, their expressions frozen between disbelief and awe. It was understandable. Grayson Blackwood was dead.

didn’t stop. I didn’t acknowledge their reactions. I just kept going, letting my instincts drive me

I reached the outside that I realized where my feet had carried

Elaine’s apartment.

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

of silence.

click of the

expression. Her lips parted slightly, her brows furrowing as she took

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Chapter 258

on her doorstep, “Grayson,” She breathed, like she wasn’t sure if she was

didn’t let her finish.

somewhere together?” The words came out before I could stop them, raw and unpolished, “We never

sure what I expected–hesitation,

gaze searching mine for

stepping back, “Let me change into something

only a second before stepping inside and the

through me, a presence I had almost forgotten

and he was back.