The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Ava’s POV-

1 didn’t move.

I didn’t blink.

I was frozen.

“Hello, sister.”

$13

The words echoed in my head, a sound that didn’t seem real, like a cruel joke | couldn't quite understand. My

grip tightened on Grayson’s arm, my knuckles white as | tried to process the shock that was crashing over me

like a tidal wave. Every inch of my body trembled.

| was sure | had heard her wrong. Surely, this couldn’t be happening.

My sister? Her?

I hadn’t even noticed the subtle shift in her features at first-how her hair that used to be blonde now seemed to

match my own dark strands, how her eyes, which | had always avoided looking at, were now piercing through me

with a familiarity | couldn't shake. | had thought they were just plain brown, but no, they held flecks of gold in

them, just like my mother’s.

It was like a switch had been flipped. Suddenly, everything fell into place, like a jigsaw puzzle | never knew was

missing a piece. Like how it took my mother askingabout a cryptic pregnancy forto realize that | was

pregnant.

Crystal was my sister?

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and tight. My mouth went dry as my breath caught in my chest. The truth was

crashing down on me, one cruel revelation after another.

“You're...”

My voice cracked, the words barely making it past my lips.

“You're my sister?”

The silence that followed was deafening.

She smiled at me, that scold, mocking smile | had cto loathe. It was like a mask she wore so

effortlessly, and | had never seen it more clearly than | did now.

Crystal walked towards Damien, her heels clicking sharply against the cold floor, every step calculated and

deliberate. She leaned in and kissed his cheek-soft, affectionate, whispering something in his ear. The anger in

Damien's eyes didn’t

nod. disappear, but it seemed to cool just enough for him to give a small, almost approving

“Can | sit down? Pregnancy is so exhausting,” She sighed tically, placing a hand on her stomach as if her

mere words should demand sympathy. Damien nodded, but his eyes never left me, his dark gaze boring into me

like a warning.

| shook my head in disbelief, as if doing so would somehow make her disappear. Would make the reality of the

situation fade into a bad dream | could wake up from. But no matter how many times I blinked, she was still

there. Still smiling that smile that made my skin crawl.

Crystal-my sister.

How could this be? How could it be her? Why was it her?

FTI, Feb 21

Chapter 223

| pushed myself shakily to my feet, my legs unsteady as | rose. My eyes flicked between Damien and Crystal,

desperately searching for answers, for something that would make sense of this nightmare. Grayson stood

silently behindbut his quiet only amplified the storm of confusion inside me. He was there, but in this

moment, | felt utterly alone.

“This is supposed to be a family reunion, Ava,” Crystal continued her voice dripping with mock sweetness. “You

wanted to meet me, didn’t you? You were so eager to find out who | was. So don’t look so repulsed by the

thought that you and I-my darling Ava-are blood sisters. More connected than you can ever think to be.”

| felt the words hitlike a punch to the gut, leavingbreathless. My mind was a whirlpool of questions, none

of which made sense, none of which could possibly explain the twisted reality that was crashing down on me.

“How?” didn’t even know if | was asking her’or myself. My eyes darted between her and Damien, as if expecting

one of them to tellthis was all ssick joke.

Crystal's lips curved into an almost playful smile, “You should know how twins are formed. It's not that

complicated.”

She paused, as if waiting forto catch up, to realize the ridiculousness of my question.

“You are a Doctor, after all,” she added mockingly, her eyes gleaming with a cruel glint.

| opened my mouth to snap at her, but Damien's low chuckle interrupted me, like the sound of distant thunder in

the storm that was already too loud.

“You wanted to meet her, Little Dove. Here she is.”

But | didn’t even glance at him. | kept my disbelieving gaze on Crystal, “You knew? All this tyou

knew?

Crystal smiled wider, her expression smug. But there was something else there, something cold in the way her

eyes flicked to her stomach.

A laugh escaped me, hollow and bitter, “Thats why you knew exactly when my birthday was,” | whispered, the

truth dawning

were born.” onin a flood, “Because it's the sday you

Crystal's lips curled into a slow, knowing smile, but there was something darker behind it, “You're catching on.”

I shook my head, the realization cutting deeper. Everything, every horrible thing she had done to me, every

moment of torment-she had been my sister this whole time.

“Why did you do it?” | demanded, my voice cracking under the weight of my own disbelief. My eyes burned with

unshed tears, my throat tight as | tried to swallow the lump forming there. “Why all the horrible things? Why

make my life a living hell if you were my sister?”

Crystal sighed tically, her head tilting slightly as she turned away from me, looking at Damien instead.

“She is so exhausting, Damien,” She drawled, her voice dripping with mock irritation, “It givesa literal

headache.”

Damien chuckled, a low and amused sound that made my stomach turn. Then, to my utter disgust, he reached

out and patted her head like she was swell-behaved pet. His pet.

He turned his gaze back to me, his expression indifferent, as if none of this-none of my agony, my confusion, my

betrayal -mattered in the slightest.

“Considering the little stunt you just pulled,” Damien said, voice smooth as silk but laced with warning, “I'd say

my offer is declined. You have no interest in standing by my side.” He let out a low sigh, shaking his head

slightly, “Maybe | should have taken the both of you that night. It would have sayedthis stress and

confusion.”

| flinched. My stomach twisted into knots at his words.

That night.

10:24 Fri, Feb 21 **

Chapter 223

The night he stole her. The night my mother lost one of her daughters. The night that could have rewritten

everything.

| clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms as | took a shaky step forward.

“So you could brainwashtoo?” | spat, Turninto the svile human being that she is?”

“Hey, don’t insult me,” Crystal scoffed, rolling her eyes like a petulant child, “I'm glad | wasn’t raised by those

good-for- nothing parents of yours.” She lifted her chin, eyes gleaming with something twisted-pride. “Damien

raisedto know the truth. He never lied to me. | knew exactly who you were from the moment | was old

enough to understand, and | saw that he was right. Right to despise every single one of you.” She smiled, slow

and cruel, “Just like | do.”

So she had always known.

While | had spent my life completely oblivious to her existence, she had known about me. She had known we

were sisters. And she had still chosen to hate me. She had still chosen to destroy me.

My stomach churned, bile rising in my throat. | couldn't comprehend it. | couldn’t-

Crystal folded her arms across her chest, tilting her head slightly as she watched me.

“And if anyone should be sad about how they turned out,” She mused, “it should be you, miss high-strung

perfectionist.” She

away from you the moment | stepped into the smirked, her eyes flashing with amusement. “It’s no wonder Dylan

turned pack.”

My entire body locked up at the mention of him while Damien's expression darkened, his jaw tightening as he

turned to her, “Crystal,” He said, his tone sharp. A warning.

Crystal huffed, rolling her eyes like she had crossed a line but didn’t care, “Fine,” She muttered, waving a hand

dismissively. “Sour topic. | forgot-no mentioning him.”

| barely heard them. My mind was already spiraling, a thousand thoughts crashing into each other. | had never

considered it before.

If Damien was the mastermind behind everything... if Crystal-my sister-had been a part of it all from the very

beginning...

Then was Dylan in on it too?

Had he known who Crystal really was all along?

My breathing grew unsteady, my vision tunneling for a moment as the weight of it all crushed down on me. | felt

like | was suffocating, drowning in this sick, twisted truth that | never asked for.

| couldn’t stand it. | couldn't be here anymore.

And then-

A firm, steady hand wrapped around my wrist.

“This charade is over.”

Grayson.

His voice was sharp, his presence suddenly grounding, “We're leaving.”

Helt him tugback, pullingaway from the nightmare unfolding before me. | wanted to resist because | still

didn’t want him savingbut my legs felt weak beneath me, my body betraying me, and as Grayson pulled me,

I let him.

Damien's dark eyes gleamed with something almost hungry as they met mine as Grayson pulled me, “Why leave

when the show is just beginning?”

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Chapter 223

And then-

A sound. A deep, grinding shift from somewhere in the walls.

1 barely had tto react before the room moved.

Stone slabs slid apart with an eerie, mechanical precision, revealing dark, hollow recesses within the walls. My

breath hitched as a chilling whir filled the air, then, out of the darkness, they emerged.

Arrows. Dozens of them. Their tips

And they were all aimed directly at me.

med like obsidian, coated with something that shimmered in the dim light-silver.

Grayson swore under his breath, his body shifting to shield me, but it was too late.

The trap had been sprung.

And Damien's smirk widened.

“Now,” He murmured, voice laced with amusement, “Let’s see if you can fly, Little Dove.”,”

Then-

The arrows released.

+13)

AD

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