The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 249

Chapter 249

-Grayson'’s POV-

The winds cagain.

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A violent force, howling through the in-between, ripping at anything left unanchored. | moved fast, pressing my

back against the crumbling stone wall of an abandoned ruin, pulling the tattered shirt tighter around me. The

wind was relentless, hungry, and if it touched me-if it reached me-1 knew what would happen.

It would pullunder.

It had happened before. | had been reckless, too slow to take cover, and the storm had nearly draggedinto

the nothingness beyond. | had fought it, clawed my way back, but it had leftweaker each time.

This place wantedgone. It wanted all of us gone.

“Still trying to fight it, huh?”

I didn’t turn. | didn’t need to. | already knew who was speaking.

Jonah.

A man who had been stuck here much much longer than I could imagine. A man who never shut up.

He sat on a broken column a few feet away, grinning like this was all sgrand joke. He didn’t bother hiding

from the wind. It never touched him. It had stopped trying a long tago, as if it had given up on him. That

alone madesuspicious.

“You know, you could just let go,” Jonah continued, swinging his legs like a child on a swing, “Wouldn't be the

worst thing in the world.”

| ignored him, eyes scanning the horizon. The storm was easing now, the howling fading into the distance. It had

found someone else.

Someone who wouldn't fight as hard as | did.

| exhaled slowly, stepping away from the wall. My muscles were tense, my body coiled tight, always ready.

Always waiting.

Jonah hopped off the column, stretching like he had just woken up from a nap. “So, what's the plan today, big

guy? More brooding? More glaring at the sky like you can intimidate it?”

| started walking. He followed. Of course he did.

I had found him a few days ago, or maybe he had found me. Tdidn’t work right here. It twisted, slipped

through your fingers, made you doubt what was real. | had learned quickly not to rely on it.

Jonah, however, had learned nothing.

“You're not much of a talker, are you?” He mused, hands tucked into his coat pockets. “That's fine. | can carry

the conversation. I'm great at that. People used to tell| talked too much, but | don’t think there's such a

thing, you know? Silence is unnatural. It makes people uncomfortable. It's like-"

| stopped walking, “You never shut up, do you?”

Jonah grinned, “Not if | can help it.”

| sighed, pressing my fingers against my temple. | had survived everything this place had thrown at me-storms,

illusions,

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Chapter 249

the pull-but Jonah might be the thing that finally broke me.

“I don’t see why you're still fighting.” Jonah continued, falling into step besideagain, You're strong, sure.

Probably the strongest person I've met here. But even you can’t win against this place forever. No one does”

“I'm not staying.”

That shut him up for a second. A miracle.

Jonah whistled low, “Ambitious. I like it. Got a plan?”

| didn’t answer because even as much as | had tried to cup with one, | still had nothing.

The wind had passed, but the tension in the air remained. The place never really settled, never really rested. It

was as if the entire realm existed in a state of waiting-waiting for something to happen, for something to shift,

for something to finally break the unbearable monotony of this half-existence.

| kept moving. Jonah, of course, followed.

It was the sas always. Wherever | walked, he walked. | had stopped trying to lose him. He had a way of

turning up again, like an annoying stray dog that refused to take the hint.

“So,” He started, drawing out the word like he had been waiting for the perfect moment to ask, “how’d you die?”

I didn’t answer.

He didn’t seem surprised.

Jonah sighed tically as he strolled besidelike we were out on a casual afternoon walk instead of

trapped in a place that wasn’t quite life and wasn’t quite death. “Alright, maybe that was too direct. Let's ease

into it. What was your life like before this? Who were you?”

| kept walking.

Jonah clicked his tongue, shaking his head in exaggerated disappointment. “Wow. Not even a hint? A little clue?

Con, man, you've been all broody and mysterious since | met you. That's got to be exhausting.”

Still, | said nothing. My mind was already elsewhere, calculating.

There had to be a way out of here. There was always a way.

The landscape stretched endlessly in every direction-ruins, shadows, and a sky that never changed. No sun. No

stars. Just a heavy, muted gray, like the world was permanently stuck between night and day. The air smelled

stale, like something long forgotten.

Jonah let out another long sigh, the kind that was meant to be heard, as if my silence was a personal offense to

him. “Fine. If you're not gonna talk, | will.”

No surprise there.

He kicked a loose stone as we walked, watching it bounce across the cracked ground. “You know, | was a

werewolf. Not a particularly loved one, either. People don't like it when you say things they don’t want to hear.

And me? | was always big on truth and reality. Unfortunately, the world prefers lies and comfort.”

| glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

He caught it and smirked. “Ah-ha! That got your attention, didn’t it?”

| ignored him.

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Chapter 249

Jonah didn’t take the hint. He never did. “I wasn’t a bad guy. | just... didn’t know how to keep my mouth shut.

Pack politics? Corruption? | called it like | saw it. That didn’t makea lot of friends.”

23)

He paused for a moment, his usual playful tone dipping into something more thoughtful. “One day, | pissed off

the wrong people, My own pack turned on me. Said | was a problem. Said | was making things difficult.” He

snorted. “And, well... long story short, | ended up here.”

1 didn’t ask for details. I didn’t have to.

Betrayal. It was written all over him.

Jonah kept his voice light, but there was something sharp beneath it, something bitter. “Funny, isn’t it? People

always say they want honesty until they actually get it. Then, suddenly, you're the bad guy.”

| didn’t respond.

He sighed, stretching his arms over his head like we were just out for a casual walk. “Okay, okay, I'll stop

monologuing,” he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “But seriously, man. You don’t talk at all? Like,

ever?”

| kept walking.

Jonah groaned loudly. “You are the worst person to be stuck with. The absolute worst.”

| smirked. Just barely.

Jonah noticed. His eyes widened, and he clutched his chest in mock shock. “Oh? Did | get a reaction? A tiny little

crack in that icy exterior?”

| shook my head, still moving forward.

“Unbelievable.” He threw his hands in the air. “The only person who has stayed long enough is a guy who treats

conversation like it's a crime.”

He kept talking, filling the silence with his own voice, but | had already tuned him out. My mind was focused,

working through possibilities.

There had to be a way out.

And | was going to find it. This wasn’t how things ended with Ava.

It couldn't and like the thought of her alone sparked something, Jonah sighed suddenly, “You know, | had a mate.

Well, kind of. She never actually accepted me, so | guess | was more like a stray dog following her around. But |

loved her. Stupid, right?”

Why was | not surprised?

Jonah laughed, but there wasn’t much humor in it, “I think she knew | was never gonna fit in. I think she knew |

was too much trouble. Or maybe | just wasn’t good enough. Either way, she never chose me. And then, well...

things went south, and now I'm here.”

His voice trailed off, and for the first tsince | met him, he was quiet.

The silence stretched between us.

Then, Jonah let out a sharp breath. “Alright, brooding master of silence, your turn. Con. I've spilled my guts.

The least you can do is throwa bone.”

I didn't.

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07:36 Thu, 6 Mar

Chapter 249

He let out another tic groan, opening his mouth to complain again when the wind howled.

00 70%

My body tensed. That wasn’t right. It had just passed. It shouldn't be back this fast. Then it hit-fast, sharp,

tearing through the space around us.

| moved instinctively, searching for cover, but Jonah didn’t flinch. Instead, he turned towith an almost

amused look.

23)

“Maybe | would feel bad about this,” He said, voice calm despite the chaos rising around us, “if you were better

company. The reason the winds don’t takeis because | help people face the truth.” His smirk deepened, “And

the truth is-no one is getting out of here.”

My eyes snapped to him.

And before | could react-before | could even process what was happening-Jonah shoved me.

Right into the storm.

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