The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 269

Chapter 269

Ava’s POV-

48

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. The pain was still there–sharp, relentless–but I forced it aside. There was no time for weakness, No time for doubt.

Crystal stood across from me, her expression unreadable, her gaze cold and calculating. But I had to try.

“I know a lot has happened, Crystal. I know nothing I say can erase what you’ve been through. But I’m pregnant.” My voice was steady, but my heart pounded violently against my ribs. “You can’t have so much hate in you that you would kill two children, too.”

Something flickered across her face–too quick, too fleeting for me to fully grasp–before she shut it down.

“And so are you,” I continued, looking at her stomach, “This isn’t a world a child–any child–should be brought into.”

She didn’t move, didn’t speak further. Just stared. Watching. Calculating.

I swallowed hard and pressed forward, “It’s not too late.”

She exhaled sharply, shaking her head with a bitter laugh, “Save the redemption speech, Ava. It’s never going to work.”

Her voice was flat, emotionless, but her eyes–they burned. With what, I couldn’t tell. Anger? Pain?

“You still don’t get it, do you?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. “I don’t care about fixing this. I don’t care about making things right. The only thing that matters to me now is taking over–with Dylan.”

I tensed. My fingers curled at my sides.

“How did that happen?” I found myself asking before I could stop myself. “Damien sent you to Dylan’s pack to dismantle it, to ruin him. So why did you stay? Why did he mark you? Why are you carrying his child?”

For a moment, she just watched me, her lips pressed together as if she was deciding whether or not I was worth answering. Then, slowly, she rose to her feet.

Her fingers trailed lazily along the edge of the table as she moved toward the window, her back to me.

“You really want to know?” she asked, her voice light, almost amused. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

She turned fully then, arms crossing over her chest as she leaned back against the wall.

“Damien thought he had me on a leash. Thought I was just another one of his pawns, a weapon he could control.”

Her eyes darkened, something venomous creeping into her tone.

“But the thing about weapons, Ava? If you’re not careful, they cut you, too.”

She exhaled, her gaze drifting somewhere beyond me, lost in memory.

“I was sent to Dylan’s pack with one goal–to ensure its downfall. To get close to him, to make him trust me, and then to destroy him from the inside. Damien wanted his pack to be the first to fall.”

dropped lower, something

at first, I did exactly what I was told. I seduced him. I played my part. But Dylan…” Her lips twisted, as if saying his name tasted different now. “He wasn’t

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Chapter 269

my

wasn’t patient. He wasn’t good and he never pretended to be anything he want. He

gaze narrowing as though

me, the way

curled into something close to a smile, but it didn’t

weapon. Dylan saw me

formed in my stomach, but I forced myself to stay silent,

“Because for the first time in my life, I wault juu

be used.

something almost amused

so I told him everything. Who I was, how Damien had sent me there with orders to undermine him. But instead of pushing me away, he welcomed it. He let me in. Let me see how he worked, how

I felt my pulse

said simply.

jaw. “So you switched

deliberate curve of her lips.

made a choice.”

closer, her voice softer, but no less lethal. “I chose him. And that’s why I had to get pregnant.”

“What?”

stay.” Her tone was matter–of–fact, as if this were just another strategic move in a long list of plays. “Damien was planning to pull the plug. He was going to take me away. But this?” She placed a hand over her stomach. “This gave

left her lips, but it lacked

He wanted me to get rid of it. And for a while, I let him believe I was considering it. Let him think I was still on his side. Meanwhile, I watched. I waited. As he tore through the realm, as he threw everything into

forward, her gaze

had to

ran through me, my hands curling into fists

Crystal. Just

eyes flashed with something

Chapter 269

She, her voice unwavering, “He sees me. And I love

my

now?” She whispered, her gaze locked onto mine, her next words

all down. Together and then from the ashes, I will stand beside him and this child I carry, he will be the future

+48)

the lingering pain warping my senses, but no–the entire space tilted, the walls shifting ever so slightly. My stomach lurched as I forced my

just enough to focus on Crystal, who was watching me with that same

we?” My voice came out hoarse,

I would’ve

in her eyes, “We’re on a ship.”

asked. “Why? What are we doing on a ship?” Her smirk deepened, but before she could answer,

sound before the door swung open, and

Dylan.

like a shadow swallowing light, his cold, calculating gaze sweeping over me before settling on Crystal. But for

A smile.

Not the ones that dripped with amusement at someone else’s