The Alpha King's Contracted Luna (Ava and Grayson)

- Ava's POV-

I hated the concept of death.

How could someone be here one moment, breathing, laughing, living-

and the next, just gone? Their voice, the warmth of their touch, the familiarity of their presence, all erased as if they never been there at all.

As I looked at Mikayla carlier, the fear in her eyes had shattered me. She was so close to losing her mother. I could see how it was eating a It felt so cruel, so utterly senseless, and I despised it.

The exhaustion hit me like a wave, a heavy

weight dragging me down. I kicked off my shoes and let myself fall back onto the bed, sinking into the mattress, staring up at the ceiling as i The note crept into my mind, unbidden.

The note that Grayson had left behind. My mind went back to Tessa and I wondered if, lying there, uncertain of whether she'd see another s Would I end up having what ifs too when my time came?"

Pushing myself up, I wandered over to the window, staring out at the horizon where dark clouds were beginning to gather. 1 watched as the Isabella had gone to talk to Rickon after what happened with Tesa, the close brush with death awakening something in her, She was realizi With a sigh, I pulled out some clean clothes and decided

to take a shower, hoping it might wash away some of the weight clinging to my skin. I stepped into the bathroom, peeling off my clothes slov letting it run until it was almost scalding, and stepped under the spray.

The first rush of water cascaded over me, hot and relentless, enveloping me in a cloud of steam. It was

a shock at first, almost too hot, but as it soaked into my skin, 1 felt myself begin to relax, inch by inch. The heat seeped into my muscles, un

I focused on

the feeling, the water drumming against my scalp, tracing down the curves of my body, slipping over my shoulders, down my arms, over my go of everything-of death, of worry, of fear.

Finally, I shut off the water, stepping out of the shower into the coolness of the bathroom. I wrapped myself in a towel. feeling the contrast of as I'd expected, soft at first, just a drizzle tapping against the glass. But as I watched, the droplets grew larger, faster, merging into rivulets th

against the window with relentless fury.

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I dressed slowly, pulling on comfortable clothes, and reached for the note then climbed into bed, pulling the comforter up around me, letting Thunder cracked, sharp and sudden, and I flinched, gripping the note tighter. A strange fear bubbled up in me, an irrational but powerful urg The words stared back at me, ink smudged slightly and I started reading.noveldrama

"Kings do not apologize."

My father made sure I not only learned this sentence but understood it. In my early days, his teachings came only as words, but as time we

my

At first, it was exciting. I pushed myself to train with the older children so I could prove myself fit to rule, but then, the more father molded m into what he deemed fit to rule, the more I hated the responsibility. I just wanted to be normal. Many times. I wished I was. I wished I didn't h

But I wasn't normal, and the more he hit me, the more the hate that had begun to fester grew, and it grew into something that Host control o if I embraced the evil that had formed in me, I didn't need to feel. Giving in to the darkness and becoming the monster it wanted me to be m that is all I have known for the past sixteen years, and even as bleak as it is, I don't know how to be any other way anymore.

I thought I lost the ability to feel until I met you, and I still can't comprehend what it is-

why there is this need to protect you. But indeed, it is maddening, and for the first time in sixteen years, I don't know what to do. Sometimes

1 think I am almost out of space, so I am going to end this here. My father told me kings don't apologize, so from the little boy that once exis this long to tell you that. I hope you come back, but if you don't, I'll accept your choice, and I'll sign the papers.

I closed my eyes as tears slipped down my face. Before I knew it, I was throwing off the covers and running out of the house. Thunder rolled him, but then−1 saw him, standing there in the rain, soaked through, his eyes locked on mine.

And everything slowed for a moment.

Maybe my life wasn't a story, and maybe I'd never have an epic romance, but I wanted this moment. I wanted to be the girl who met him hal started raining. And before I realized it. I was running.

He moved, too, and we met in the middle, rain drenching us both as I jumped into his arms, crashing my lips against his.