The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 276

-Ava's POV-

Grayson.

It was Grayson.

The massive blur of fur, the weight that had slammed into Dylan-it was him.

I could barely process it. My heart pounded so hard it hurt, my body frozen where Dylan had just almost killed me. Everything around me was chaos. The ship rocked beneath me, the wind howled, and the ocean crashed against the sides.

And then-

Footsteps. Heavy. Rushed.

Men poured onto the deck from both sides, their movements sharp, purposeful. I hadn't even thought about it-if there had been anyone else on the ship-not with everything happening. But Dylan's wolves were here.

A deep growl rumbled from somewhere ahead, then another, and another. My breath caught. The scent of wolves filled the air, thick and suffocating. My body tensed on instinct.

I tried to move, tried to think, but I was still reeling-Grayson and Dylan fighting, the fear clinging to my skin, the exhaustion dragging me down like dead weight. My limbs wouldn't cooperate, my mind struggling to keep up-

Then suddenly-a hand grabbed me.

I screamed.

My body jerked back, my pulse exploding in my ears. My hands scrambled against the slick deck, ready to fight, to claw, to do anything to get away.

"Ava! It's me!"

Rickon's voice.

I blinked, breath still coming in sharp, uneven gasps. My eyes locked onto his, the icy blue of them grounding me for just a second. He was crouched beside me, his hand still gripping mine, his expression tight with urgency.

I shook my head, trying to clear the panic, but my body wouldn't stop trembling. Everything was happening too fast, too loud-

"Come on," Rickon urged. "We have to move."

I nodded-shaky, unsteady-but I pushed against the deck, trying to make it easier

for him to pull me up. My legs wobbled beneath me, my grip on his hand tightening as the world around me spun.

More growls. More movement. Dylan's wolves were closing in. Men were firing at them.

And Grayson-Grayson was still fighting.

hard, my fingers tightening around Rickon's as I forced

"Grayson-"

to be fine, so

"But

snapped,

91%

overhead, a deep, rolling sound that shook the very air. Lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the chaos-dark figures moving, wolves snarling, bodies crashing against the

gaze ahead, I could feel it-Grayson was winning. Every time I glanced

that sliver of relief that kept me moving forward, pushing through the storm. The wind whipped against my skin like knives, cold and

almost at

the rope still tied, bobbing

below.

Then-

A gunshot fired.

split the air, so close I felt it more than

through me-white-hot and searing-ripping into

until my knees buckled

in ragged gasps, my hands pressing against

Rickon started, but his voice cut off as another

It missed.

We both turned-

Crystal.

wild with fury. She gripped the gun tightly, her hands steady despite the storm raging around

had it with

every line. He didn't hesitate. He

against the pain-but then

fading. My breath caught as I looked down,

healed in

a second, his breath hitching

Another gunshot fired.

body jerking as the

to scream before his arms gave

He fell

Straight into the water

my arm outstretched, fingers barely

"No-no, no, no-

rain pounding, against my skin. My heart was hammering,

time to process it before another

heart hammering as I scrambled behind a stack of wooden crates near the ship's railing, My breath came fast and sharp, my fingers pressing against the cold, rain-slick surface. The ship groaned beneath me, tilting, sharply

the moment everything,

violently that the fighting wolves lost their footing, I could barely see through the rain and darkness, but the moment stretched, slow and terrible. Dylan's wolves-some still in human form, others fully shifted- slipped over the edge, their bodies swallowed by the raging sea. Grayson and Dylan-locked in brutal combat-stumbled toward the edge, their growls lost beneath the