The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

hapter 194

Chapter 194

-Grayson'’s POV-

“Anyone can be a king, but not everyone can be a king.”

| looked up at my father from where we stood on the balcony, staring out at the endless expanse of land below.

His words always felt heavy, like they were meant to anchorto the ground or chainto an idea I couldn't

escape. Most of the time, | tuned him out, knowing that every lesson was a thinly veiled command or warning

about power and weakness. But this time, his words lingered.

“What does that mean?” | asked, half out of curiosity and half out of a need to fill the silence.

He turned to look at me, his gaze sharp and calculating, as though he were measuring every word before

speaking. For a brief moment, | thought | saw pride flash in his expression-a rare softness in a man who seemed

incapable of tenderness. But my hope was fleeting. He wasn’t proud. He was never proud.

“It means,” He began, voice low and deliberate, “that anyone can wear a crown and call themselves king, but to

be a true king, you must own everything that comes with it. You are not ordinary, Grayson, and you wouldnt

need a crown for people to know it. But remember this: even though an actual crown doesn’t exist, people will

do anything to take it from you. Anything. Sometimes, even those closest to you.”

His words should have struck something deep within me, but instead, | felt my attention drift. Why did he have

to turn everything into a power struggle?

“Grayson, hey! You ready?”

The sound of Liam's voice snappedout of my thoughts. | looked down from the balcony and saw him waving

atfrom below. A wide grin spread across my face, and without thinking, | moved to head downstairs.

“Where do you think you're going?” my father’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

| stopped mid-step, sighing. “To play with my friend.”

“Kings don’t have friends,” he said sharply. “They have competition. And if you keep showing that boy your

weakness, one day he'll be the one to rip the crown right out of your hands.”

| glared at him, or as much of a glare a ten year old could muster as | turned back to him. “You're wrong. Liam is

my friend, and Mum said | could play if | spent stwith you-even though I didn’t want to.”

His eyes flashed with anger, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh. “One day, you'll see that I'm

right.”

But | was already running down the stairs, his words fading into the background as | chased after the freedom

Liam's presence always seemed to bring.

The memory dissolved as | stirred, my body heavy and uncooperative. My head throbbed, and my eyes felt like

they were weighed down by lead, but | forced them open. Everything cback toin a rush-the image of

Elaine crumpled on the floor, the sound of my own voice struggling to call her name, and the feeling of

helplessness as everything went dark.

Now, as | struggled to lift myself, the sharp, metallic scent of the vault hit me. My arms shook as | propped

myself up, and my gaze landed on Elaine, lying still just a few feet away. My throat burned as | rasped out her

name.

“Elaine,” | croaked, my voice barely audible.

She didn’t move.

Chapter 194

| gritted my teeth and dragged my body toward her, my arms trembling with the effort. “Elaine,” | tried again,

louder this time, but there was no response.

Before | could reach her, the vault door creaked open, and the sound of approaching footsteps echoed in the

small, confined space. My vision blurred, but | focused on the shoes stepping into view-shoes | recognized all too

well.

Liam.

“You woke up faster than | thought you would,” He said in a tone so neutral it made my stomach turn.

| stared up at him, too exhausted to muster anger or even surprise. Maybe | would've felt betrayed if | had the

energy to feel anything at all.

“So this is it?” | rasped. “Your big reveal?”

A faint smile curved his lips. “Or maybe | just missed us spending quality ttogether.”

let out a bitter laugh, the sound weak and hollow. “Why don’t we skip the theatrics? Just tellwhy you brought

us here, what your plan is, and all the things you've been doing to get to this point.”

His smile faltered, and for a moment, something unreadable flashed in his eyes. “You've really becso

empty, haven't you? | do all of this, and you don’t even care?”

| didn’t respond.

He glanced at Elaine, his smile returning, though it was colder now. “I guess I'll just have to wait for her to wake

up. | didn’t go through all this effort for the big moment to go to waste because you're dead on the inside.”

Turning back to me, he tilted his head. “Stay comfy, Grayson. I'll be back in a couple of hours.”

He stepped out of the vault, the door slamming shut behind him.

| let out a shuddering breath and let my body fall back against the cold, unforgiving floor. My limbs refused to

cooperate, and my mind felt like it was sinking into a fog.

| closed my eyes, too tired to fight it anymore, and let myself drift away. My thoughts unraveled, and | slipped

into a dream so vivid that it almost felt like reality.

| was standing in the middle of a sunlit meadow. The sky stretched wide and blue above, with clouds lazily

drifting by. A soft laugh pulled my attention, and when | turned, | saw her.

Ava.

She was barefoot, her dark hair flowing freely down her back, her white dress catching the sunlight as she ran

through the tall grass. She looked back at me, her smile brighter than the sun itself.

“Are you going to stand there all day, Grayson?” She teased, her voice warm and full of life.

| felt a laugh bubble up in my chest, the kind of laugh that didn’t weighdown but liftedinstead. “I'm

trying to figure out if I'm dreaming,” | said, half-joking as | started walking toward her.

Ava stopped running, tilting her head as if pondering my words. “Dreaming, huh?” she mused, placing her hands

on her hips. “Well, if you are, it's a good one, isn't it?”

I nodded, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my face. “Yeah. It's a damn good one.”

Wir traded * tell hall, wird die taggeddom to a beade her the website who

Mirici endirdy in every direction for * moment, wher of gut on there, SAN by she was the conte 00

“You've been carrying too much? die weid sedly whier a while, ker tone stunk now “Kvetnes for you

him of

1 softened, the weight of reality creezing in the edge my ben “We nothing | can’t handelund, pago homies

Aww turned to face me, her hand resting on my arm. “Crajum, de ska, her voice gente box firm “You don’t have

‘handle Everything on your own. You never did”

“I don’t have a choice? 1 murmured, looking down at my hands. “That's the role 1 was born into

She reached up, cupping my face and forcingto meet her true, “Shaybe that’s what they told you, but it's

not true. You're not just a title or a responsibility. You're so much more than that?

Her words hitharder than | expected, and 1 felt my throat then. “I don’t know how to be anything else. |

admitted

She united then, a smile so full of love and understanding that it made my chest ache. “You don’t have to figure

it out along she said, “I'm here, I've always been here?

| wanted to tell her how much those words meant, how much she meant to me, but before | could, the edges of

the dream began to blur. The meadow faded, and her face becharder to we

“Awa” 1 called, reaching out for her.

She smiled one last time, her voice echoing softly as the dream dissolved. “You'll find your way, Grayson. |

believe in you.”

“Grayson!”

| woke with a start, my heart pounding and my breath ragged as my eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light

around me. For a moment, | wasn’t sure if | was still dreaming. Then my nwas called again-sharper this

time-and | realized it wasn’t a dream at all. It was Klaine,

1 turned to her slowly, my body heavy and sluggish, and saw her mirroring the sexhaustion | felt.

“What is going on? Where are we?” she asked, her voice trembling with confusion and fear.

| sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady myself, trying to piece together an explanation despite the haze in my

mind. Before 1 could answer, the sound of the vault door creaking open sliced through the tension.

Liam stepped inside, his presence cold and deliberate.

W/A

Chapter 194

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She grinned, extending her hand to me. “Then stop wasting tand cenjoy it with me.”

| didn’t hesitate. | crossed the meadow in a few strides and took her hand. Her fingers intertwined with mine, and

it was as if the entire world shifted.

“Do you remember the first twe cto a place like this?” She asked suddenly, glancing up atwith

those bright, curious eyes.

“How could | forget?” | replied, my voice soft. “You draggedout here, claiming you'd found a piece of

heaven.”

“And wasn’t | right?” she said with a smirk.

| chuckled, shaking my head. “You always are.”

We reached a small hill, and she tuggeddown to sit beside her. The grass was soft beneath us, and the world

seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. For a moment, neither of us spoke. We just sat there, side by

side, watching the clouds drift by.

“You've been carrying too much,” she said softly after a while, her tone serious now. “It’s written all over you.”

| stiffened, the weight of reality creeping in at the edges of my dream. “It’s nothing | can’t handle,” | said, trying

to dismiss it. Ava turned to face me, her hand resting on my arm. “Grayson,” she said, her voice gentle but firm.

“You don’t have to handle everything on your own. You never did.”

“I don’t have a choice,” | murmured, looking down at my hands. “That's the role | was born into.”

She reached up, cupping my face and forcingto meet her gaze. “Maybe that’s what they told you, but it’s

not true. You're not just a title or a responsibility. You're so much more than that.”

Her words hitharder than | expected, and | felt my throat tighten. “I don’t know how to be anything else,” |

admitted.

She smiled then, a smile so full of love and understanding that it made my chest ache. “You don’t have to figure

it out alone” she said. “I'm here. I've always been here.”

| wanted to tell her how much those words meant, how much she meant to me, but before | could, the edges of

the dream began to blur. The meadow faded, and her face becharder to see.

“Ava,” | called, reaching out for her.

She smiled one last time, her voice echoing softly as the dream dissolved. “You'll find your way, Grayson. |

believe in you.”

“Grayson!”

| woke with a start, my heart pounding and my breath ragged as my eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light

around me. For a moment, | wasn’t sure if | was still dreaming. Then my nwas called again-sharper this

time-and | realized it wasn’t a dream at all. It was Elaine.

| turned to her slowly, my body heavy and sluggish, and saw her mirroring the sexhaustion | felt.

“What is going on? Where are we?” she asked, her voice trembling with confusion and fear.

| sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady myself, trying to piece together an explanation despite the haze in my

mind. Before | could answer, the sound of the vault door creaking open sliced through the tension.

Liam stepped inside, his presence cold and deliberate.

15:01 mu, 6 ted

Chapter 194

000. 46%

The relief on Elaine's face was immediate, and for a brief disorienting second, | almost believed it too. But then |

saw the way Liam's smile grew, sharp and cruel, feeding off her misplaced trust.

It was the kind of smile that cright before the ground was ripped out from beneath you.

“Well,” He said, his voice dripping with mockery as his gaze flicked between us, “shall we begin?”

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