The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

FD

Chapter 258

Chapter 258

-Grayson'’s POV-

I knew how | felt, but I didn’t know how to feel.

Relief? Maybe. But it didn’t settle the way relief should.

It sat in my chest like an unfamiliar weight, something | didn’t know how to carry. The fight was over-at least this

one was— but the battle insidehadn't quieted. The past clawed at my mind, demanding to be

acknowledged. The present was pressing in, urgingto move forward. And the future... the future was there,

waiting, uncertain but possible.

Ava. My children.

That was where my mind needed to be, where my thoughts should have stayed. Not in the wreckage of what had

been, but in the promise of what could be. | had spent so much of my life in the dark, consumed by war, by

vengeance, by survival. But this-they-gavesomething different. A reason to step out of the shadows. A

reason to be more than just the man who fought, who won, who lost, who bled.

For the first tin my life, | saw a future where | wasn’t just existing. | saw a future where I lived.

But there were things to do first.

The realm needed to know | was alive. My enemies needed to know. My allies, too. Silence had been a weapon in

my arsenal, but now? Now, it was tto break it. I had spent too long in the war-too long allowing it to shape

me, to define me-but | wasn’t going to do that anymore. Not in the sway.

And then there was Damien.

| exhaled, rubbing a hand over my face as | leaned back in my chair. The study was dim, the only light coming

from the fireplace in the corner, casting shadows along the walls. The weight of everything pressed against me,

and | let my gaze drift to the ceiling, as if the answers | sought would be written there.

Then, the silence broke.

The sharp, insistent ringing of the phone on my desk cut through the stillness.

It rang once.

Twice.

| stared at it.

| could let it ring. Let whoever was on the other end sit with their questions, their assumptions. Let them wonder

if the rumors were true, if | was truly gone.

But | already knew who it was.

With a slow breath, | reached for the phone, bringing it to my ear. | didn't say a word.

Neither did he.

Silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, filled with everything that didn’t need to be spoken then Carter

finally exhaled, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. Lacking its usual easy drawl. Stripped of anything

unnecessary.

“You are alive.”

I didn’t answer.

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Chapter 258

Because what was | supposed to say?

I hadn't even begun to process the fact that | was standing here, breathing, still a part of this world even though

I kind of had. And yet Carter already knew. | didn’t even know how he had found out so fast. News traveled

quickly, but this? This felt

instant.

| tried to gather my thoughts, tried to piece together something to say, but nothing came.

It felt like a moment. One | didn’t quite know how to handle.

Carter didn’t fill the silence like he normally would. He let it linger, let it settle.

Then, finally, he said, “I don’t know what magic spell you used this time.” A beat of quiet, and then, softer, “But |

am glad you are alive, Grayson Blackwood.”

Something inshifted.

A tension | hadn't even realized was there loosened, just a little.

| could hear the truth in his voice. The relief. The understanding. Carter had never been one for sentiment, but

this wasn’t about words—it was about the meaning behind them.

Before | could speak, before | could even attempt to form a response, he exhaled a quiet chuckle.

“It was a shto have lost my biggest client.”

A slow smile tugged at my lips then, just like that, he ended the call.

| stared at the phone for a long moment before setting it back down and then | didn’t think-I just moved.

My body took over, my feet leadingout of my study before | even registered the decision. The plans forming

in my head weren't just about the realm. They were bigger than that. The world as a whole was shifting, and as

much as | hated owing anyone, | knew there was only one person who could break the news properly.

That | was alive and back.

Alessia.

I had shut her out completely, without remorse, after promising her an exclusive interview in Italy. | owed her.

And | wasn’t the kind of man who left debts unsettled.

As | walked through the halls, heads bowed in my direction. The shock on their faces was evident, their eyes

wide, their expressions frozen between disbelief and awe. It was understandable. Grayson Blackwood was dead.

Or at least, that’s what they had believed. But now | was here, very much alive, and their world had just tilted on

its axis.

| didn’t stop. | didn’t acknowledge their reactions. | just kept going, letting my instincts driveforward.

It wasn’t until | reached the outside that | realized where my feet had carried me.

Elaine’s apartment.

| stood in front of her door, my hand already raised before I fully processed what | was doing. This wasn't

planned. It wasn’t calculated. And yet, | knocked.

A beat of silence.

Then the soft click of the lock turning.

The door swung open, revealing Elaine’s startled expression. Her lips parted slightly, her brows furrowing as she

took in the

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Chapter 258

sight ofstanding on her doorstep, “Grayson,” She breathed, like she wasn't sure if she was seeing a ghost.

“What are you

1 didn’t let her finish.

“Do you want to go somewhere together?” The words cout before | could stop them, raw and unpolished,

“We never got a chance to before. And | promised.”

| wasn’t sure what | expected-hesitation, confusion, maybe even rejection.

But her eyes softened, her gaze searching mine for something unspoken before she finally nodded.

“Cin,” She said, stepping back, “Letchange into something more appropriate.”

| hesitated for only a second before stepping inside and the moment I did, my wolf stirred-growling low and

deep.

The sound resonated through me, a presence | had almost forgotten to focus on.

The curse was broken and he was back.

| hadn't realized how much | had missed him until now. The silence in my mind had been unnatural feeling the

absence of something that was supposed to be there. But now, that void was gone, filled instead with the

steady, familiar weight of him.

His growl rumbled again, not out of anger, but something else.

Recognition. Awareness.

The scent of Elaine’s apartment hitthen, warm and familiar, stirring something deep in my memory. It

remindedof my mother and it smelled like home-not the place, not the walls or the furniture, but the feeling.

And then it clicked.

| had never been inside her apartment before. Not once.

| clenched my jaw, forcing myself to focus as my gaze swept over the space. It was small but lived-in, cozy in a

way that felt strangely not what I'd have pictured it to be.

Books stacked haphazardly on the coffee table. A half-drunk cup of tea resting on the windowsill. A blanket

draped carelessly over the arm of the couch, like she had been

up there just moments before | knocked.

I could hear her moving in the other room, the soft rustling of fabric as she changed.

My wolf growled again, quieter this time.

l inhaled deeply, steadying myself.

A minute later, she stepped back out, now dressed in something more casual-jeans and a sweater that hung

loosely over her frame. She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, watchingwith a mix of curiosity and

something else | couldn’t quite place.

“So,” she said, crossing her arms, “Where are we going?”

I held her gaze, letting the silence stretch before | finally spoke, “You did save my life by shooting Liam even

though I still ended up and you once toldyour favorite princess was Merida,” | added, watching for her

reaction.

Her brows lifted slightly, like she hadn't expectedto remember. But I did.

“And?” She prompted, tilting her head.

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“I heard what you said to Ava and we're going to pay Liam a visit.”

A beat of silence then, leaning in just enough for my words to hit their mark, | added, “And this time, | have

arrows that will hurt a werewolf a hell of a lot more than regular bullets ever could.”

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