The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 262

Chapter 262

-Grayson’s POV

I hated you because you saw it happen again and again, and you stayed. You let it happen.”

The words hung in the air, heavier than I expected. I let out a slow breath, watching the way the wind stirred the leaves around the headstone.

It had never occurred to me–not once—to let myself think of her in any other way than how much I loved her. How much of a good mother she was. How much I regretted being responsible for her death.

“You could have left him,” I murmured. “We could have left.”

My gaze drifted to the other grave. His grave and that was when the realization settled in. Cold. Unforgiving.

“But you couldn’t, could you?” My voice was quiet, but there was no hesitation in it. I tilted my head slightly, as if seeing something that had always been right in front of me but never truly understanding it until now, “Because you were fated to him. Because you loved him. Because it didn’t matter what he did, you forgave him.”

I swallowed hard, my fingers twitching slightly against my thigh. I had spoken the words without thinking, but now that they were out in the open, they felt impossible to take back.

My jaw tightened. My gaze flickered back to her name.

“It didn’t matter how many times he hurt you,” I continued. “How many times you cried because of him. How many times you swore he would change. You stayed.”

And then, before I could stop myself, I said it, “Just like Ava always forgives me. And she stays.”

The realization hit harder than I expected. It twisted in my chest, sharp and unrelenting. My body tensed, every muscle coiling like a wire pulled too tight.

I turned back toward his grave, my expression blank, unreadable.

“I really did turn out to be just like you, didn’t I?”

The words didn’t feel like a question. They felt like a sentence.

A quiet laugh left my lips–humorless, almost bitter. I shook my head slightly, the weight of it all settling on my shoulders, “And I bet if you could see me now, you would finally look at me with pride,” I muttered, my gaze shifting back to his grave.

Then, turning to hers, my voice softened, but my words were just as certain.

“And you… you would look at me the way you always looked at him. With sadness. With hopelessness.” I exhaled slowly, shaking my head, “But you would love me anyway. Just like Ava loves me in spite of all the bullshit I put her through.”

I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore, but the words kept coming, unraveling something inside me that had been wound too tight for too long.

“I didn’t think any of this would happen when she crashed into my life when I least expected it. And I let her stay because I thought I could control it. I thought I could control her,” I admitted. “I offered her a contract. A deal. Because that’s all I knew. I didn’t believe in love. I didn’t believe in… people.”

I let out a slow breath, my fingers curling into fists.

my voice steady, certain, “I thought that part of me was dead, burned away

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down at my mother’s grave, “You would have loved her,” I murmured. “I know you would have.”

between us, between me and the stone that bore her name. Between me and the memories I had

threatening to suffocate me, “I don’t want to carry this anger anymore,” I admitted. “I don’t want to be this person anymore. Not for me. Not for her. Not for

words left my mouth, “Because I don’t want them to grow up and have to kneel

could even register it,

in sixteen

By the warmth of it against my skin.

never meant for that fire to kill you. I never meant to become this person. Someone you wouldn’t even

stood there, letting the wind carry my words. Letting the weight

turned back to his grave and I forced myself to say what I had never wanted to admit, “As much as I hate it,” I muttered, my jaw clenching, “you were

my tongue, but I didn’t stop.

made me a powerful king” I let out a slow breath, tilting my head slightly, “And now, if

my nails digging

stop that person from

who I want to be,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to be a better person and lead a realm and I am so confused. I am so stuck. I want to feel the lightness I felt when I was a child. I don’t want to feel

There

of everything I had

murmured, my voice steadier now, though the ache in my chest hadn’t lessened, “Wake up every day and try. Try

I continued, “I’ll come back here and tell you both that I finally figured it

words felt like a promise. One I wasn’t sure I could keep, but one I would

I would always be searching, always be fighting against the parts of me that felt too much like him. Maybe I would never truly outrun his shadow.

for the first time, I thought maybe–just maybe–it wasn’t impossible.

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Chapter 262

for a brief second, I almost imagined that she was here. That she could hear me. That if I closed my eyes, I would feel her fingers running through

hard, blinking against the

buzzed

the stillness, grounding me

pulling it out, my brows furrowing as I

A text.

scanning the words.

this sentimental bullshit, but

of amusement breaking through the exhaustion weighing me