The Alpha King's Contracted Luna by Nelson Claudia

Chapter 220

-Grayson'’s POV-

Silence.

Absolute silence for exactly twenty seconds..

And then, like | could almost see the smile | always hated-the one he directed at Ava like he owned a piece of

her-Damien finally spoke.

“I guess we can skip the pleasantries. We've met enough times, Yur Highness.”

| didn’t say anything.

‘His voice carried that irritating, easy confidence. That smugness like he knew something I didn’t, like he held all

the cards.

“Can | share a story with you?”

Still, 1 didn’t speak.

He chuckled under his breath, unfazed, “Okay then, I'll take your silence as a yes.”

There was a pause, a small breath of quiet, and then he cleared his throat. And | don’t know why, but I could

picture him leaning back in his chair, completely relaxed, one arm draped over the side, a ghost of a smile

curving his lips.

A smile filled with triumph.

Because right now, he was in control. And he knew it.

“You see, Grayson,” He began, his tone smooth, almost nostalgic, before Ava ever becthe woman you know

today, before she learned to keep her chin high and her guard higher, she was just a little girl. Just a child who

wanted to fly.”

He exhaled softly, like the memory itself was something precious to him.

“She was five,” He murmured, “Barely tall enough to reach the bookshelves in the library, but stubborn enough

to try anyway. That was always Ava-relentless, even when the odds were against her. But that day... that day

was different.”

There was a pause, a shift in his voice, like he was seeing it play out in his mind.

“It was the first tshe toldshe wanted to leave,” He said quietly, “Not in the way children say it when they

don’t get. their way. Not in a fit of frustration or childish rebellion. No, she toldin a whisper, as if even the

walls had ears. ‘I want to fly, Uncle Damien,’ She said. ‘| want to see the world! And | remember looking into

those bright swirling little eyes of hers and knowing, right then and there, that they were going to try to break

her.”

He let out a soft laugh, almost bitter.

“And they did, didn’t they? They held her down. Not with chains, not with ropes, but with expectations, with

duties, with the crushing weight of who she was supposed to be. Her parents-oh, they loved her in their own

twisted way, but love like that? It was never meant to let her soar.”

| simply kept quiet... listening.

“But she was clever, even back then,” Damien continued, his voice taking on that slow, measured rhythm of

someone completely lost in a memory, “Too clever for them. Too wild for them. She didn’t throw tantrums. She

didn’t scream or cry when they told her no. She just... found ways around it.”

33)

10:48 Wed, Feb

Chapter 220

He chuckled, and something about the sound made my grip tigen.

“I remember the day it really sank in for her-that she wasn’t free. That she was never going to be free, not the

way she wanted to be. She had been sneaking outside for weeks, finding little cracks in their perfect little world,

slipping past Omegas and guards just to breathe fresh air, to run through the gardens without someone telling

her to slow down, to be careful, to act like a lady.

“But that day... that day, they caught her.”

His voice dropped slightly, and | could almost see the scene through his words.

“It was Luther who found her first. | don’t think I've ever seen her more afraid in her life-not of him, not of the

punishment, but of what it meant. Of what getting caught really meant.”

There was a pause, heavy and deliberate.

“They didn’t just scold her. No, that would've been too easy. They made a lesson out of it. They made her stand

in front of them-her parents, the council, the people who would one day dictate her every move-and they told

her, in front of all of them, that she was not meant to run. That she was not meant to dream.

“They told her her place was beside them, behind them. That the world she wanted to see was not meant for

her, that her duty was more important than her desires. They told her that she was too fragile to survive outside

of their protection. That she was lucky they kept her safe.”

Damien's voice softened, just slight!

almost like he was mourning something.

00oooon

“And Ava... she just stood there. Five years old. Small. Quiet. Holding herself so still, so perfectly composed,

while they chipped away at the fire inside her. And | remember thinking-this is how it starts. This is how they

turn her into something she’s not.

“But then, something happened.”

His voice changed again, something dark and knowing curling around his words.

“They told her that she had no choice. That she would learn to listen. That she would be what they needed her to

be.”

Another pause.

“And do you know what she did, Grayson?”

I didn’t answer. | didn’t have to.

Because | already knew.

“She smiled,” Damien murmured. “That sharp little smile of hers the one that doesn’t reach her eyes. And she

said, ‘Okay.” Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

“But | knew better,” Damien continued, softer now. “I knew that smile was a lie. | knew the moment she said

‘okay,’ she was already planning. Already waiting for her moment. Because that’s the thing about Ava-you can

cage her, you can hold her down, but she will never stop looking for a way out. She will never stop trying to fly.”

His voice shifted again, lighter now.

And that, Grayson, is why | call her Little Dove.”

A bitter taste settled in

my

mouth.

10:48 Wed, Feb 19

Chapter 220

8

©

“You see,” He went on, “everyone else saw a fragile little bird. Delicate. Breakable. But | knew better. Doves

aren't just symbols of peace. They're survivors. They find their way home, o matter how far they're taken. No

matter how many times you try to keep them caged, they always find a way back to the sky

| stared at the floor, my jaw locked so tight it ached.

Because | hated that he was right.

Because | hated that he knew her that well.

Because | hated that a part of her still belonged to him.

And worst of all?

| hated that he had toldthis story for a reason.

And | knew | was about to find out exactly what it was and it wasn’t going to be good.

“You don’t get it yet, do you?” Damien's voice cut through the silence. “You are just another set of hands trying

to hold her down. The only difference between you and her parents is that you haven't realized it yet.”

My hands curled into fists.

“I hated to be the one to have to clip those wings but as expected my Little Dove soared high.”

Aslow breath crackled through the line.

“I told you this story, Grayson, because | wanted you to understand something,” Damien murmured, his voice

like silk wrapped around steel, “You think you're keeping her safe, but you're just another cage. And the thing

about cages? They always break-one way or another.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then-

“But since you're so eager to hover outside like soverprotective shadow, why don’t you cin? Unless, of

course, you'd rather watch from afar while | remind Ava exactly who helped her learn to fly in the first place.”

A pause.

A smirk | could hear through the phone.

“Cinside, Grayson. Or don’t. Either way, by the tthis night is over, my Little Dove will remember what it

feels like to truly fall.”

AD

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