The Alpha King's Contracted Luna (Ava and Grayson)
My Billionaire King 72

Chapter 72

-Ava's POV-

I let out a sharp gasp as my eyes snapped open, blinking rapidly trying to force my senses to catch up with the shock of waking. For a mom pist any houses-

they looked identical to my parents' mansion. Each one was a perfect replica, from the tall windows to the finely manicured bushes, lined up

As

A cold groan escaped my hips Really? My subconscious couldn't have dropped me somewhere with a car waiting for me, or at least some o looked down the street, the houses stretched out as far as I could see, irlentical facades disappearing into the distance

With a sigh, I started walking, my footsteps echoing softly against the empty street. Each step seemed to take an eternity, my progress feel Then, after what felt like hours, something caught my eye-

a faint detail that broke the monotonous perfection. One of the houses had a small dent at the corner of its exterior, so subtle it was barely r I'd been walking in a loop.

So... either my subconscious wanted me to enter that house, or something was keeping me trapped.

I couldn't think of any other explanation, so I took a deep

breath, turned, and walked toward it. My steps felt heavier as I approached the front door, the eerie silence pressing down around me. I rais expecting the butler from my childhood-the one who'd always looked down at me with that sneer of disdain—

to answer. But the knock echoed back at me unanswered.

No movement, no sound.

Was I really that alone? Not even a memory of my family here to greet me even though I didn't really like them? At the very least, I would have expected Isabella or Uncle Damien or someone who made this place feel like home.

Pushing the door open, I called out, “Hello? Is anyone home? Mother? Father? Ava Ugly- nose butler?" My voice sounded small, almost swallowed up by the empty house

Silence greeted me, followed by a soft slam as the door closed behind me. I took a few tentative steps forward, glancing around. The place the same furniture, the same paintings on the walls. Every inch of the space seemed frozen in time.

Then, like a tug on my heart, I thought of my room. If there was anything to replace inside my head, surely it would be there moved quickly up th

It was a nursery, filled with baby things, all neatly arranged but everything was in twos. Two cribs, two small beds, toys scattered around I fr

Td

Just as I was about to turn away, a sharp, piercing cry shattered the silence. Startled. I turned to see a small figure in one of the cribs sudde a baby-but not me seen pictures of myself as a baby, and this child didn't look like me.

I reached out hesitantly, my fingers just about to touch her, when suddenly everything started to shake violently. The ground seemed to trem Chapter 72

for impact, throwing my hands up to shield my fare.

And then, in an instant, everything stopped.

2

Lowering my arms slowly, I saw that I was no longer in the nursery but standing in the middle of a forest. The darkness around me was thick "Don't you think it would be easier if you just showed yourself?” I shouted into the sharlows. “Then we could merge or whatever, and I coul ever-after nonsense

Nothing moved. The silence pressed down on me, almost mocking in its stillness. I scowled, irritation bubbling to the

surface.

"Wolf version of me? Come on, help me out here!” I yelled, feeling my frustration grow. "You're supposed to be some powerful part of

me,

rig

A slow creak sounded from behind me, like a branch bending under pressure. I spun around, eyes scanning the shadows. For a moment, th my exact reflection, staring back at me with a cold. calculating expression.

1 blinked, my mind stumbling over the sight of her. She looked exactly like me, down to the last detail, but there was something darker, mor

back

"Is this really how you expect things to work?" she asked, her voice a low, mocking echo of my own. "I took one step toward you, and you fli

My heart raced as her words sank in, but I forced myself to stand my ground. “You don't know what you're talking about.” I said, clinging to v "Oh, don't " She took another step forward, and again, I took a step back. It was instinctual, a reflex I couldn't

control, and the look of disgust on her face grew sharper. "Deep down, you know it. She knows it. Just like you know you were never the be your parents, yourself, Grayson" Her smile twisted,

colder than before. “One day, he'll see it too. He'll see you for what you truly are—a weakling"

"What..... what are you even talking about?" My voice was shaky, my confidence unraveling under the weight of her stare

Before I could react, her eyes darkened to an inky black, and her fingers extended into sharp, claw-

like talons. She lunged forward, slashing across my face. Pain exploded, hot and

searing, and I cried out, stumbling backward. She loomed over me, her expression filled with contempt.

"You're a disgrace. Pathetic," she hissed, advancing as I scrambled back on the ground. "I should end your miserable existence right now. With desperation flaring inside me, my hand brushed against a broken tree branch. I grabbed it and swung, driving it into her leg. She let ou bolted, the pain in my face throbbing with every heartbeat.

Branches tore at my skin as I stumbled through the dark forest, her footsteps echoing close behind, relentless and quick. “Running away, "Why are you doing this?" I yelled over my shoulder, my breath coming in gasps. "We're the same person!"

“No,” she snarled, her voice dripping with disgust, "I am nothing lake you.”

Her words felt like knives, slicing through the thin armor

of couge I had left. I could hear her footsteps gaining on me, her breathing steady, unphased by the chase. My own breaths came allow and pushed myself

08:50 Tue, Dec 17

Chapter 72

harder, stumbling over roots and rocks. The darkness seemed to close in around me, trapping me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that no n She is tired of hiding in the shadows, of being shackled to someone as weak as you?" she screamed, her voice carrying a wild, vicious ene knew

Her words struck deeper than any claw could, and I could feel the hopelessness creeping in, seeping into my bones. But I forced myself to "Shut up" I shouted, though my voice was shaky. "You don't know anything! You're just a twisted part of my mind!"

"Oh, I know everything about you," she sneered, her pare quickening. "I know your doubts, your fears, the ones you're too weak to admit ev And then it felt like I was suddenly being dragged backwards and I tried to claw at the floor but I couldn't. Then the distance between us kept closing until I was right in front of her.

Her eyes- My eyes

gleamed with malice and she spat the word week before her claws glinted under the moon and she brought it down slicing across my chest