The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 148

-Grayson’s POV

“Are you sure about this?” Carter’s voice came through the line, calm yet cautious.

My wolf growled at the answer I was about to give, his disapproval ringing loud in my head. I shoved him back, unwilling to let him influence this decision.

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Carter spoke again. “I’ll say it again-you werewolves are way too complicated for my limited-interest brain to comprehend. But Based on what you just told me, I have to ask-are you sure

about this?”

It was my turn to pause, the question digging into the doubts I was trying to suppress. When I saw Dylan kiss her in the ballroom, all I wanted to do was rip him apart, limb from limb. But then there she was, Ava, standing between us again. She wasn’t choosing him, she’d said, but she didn’t want bloodshed.

But he would always be her fated mate.

That truth twisted inside me like a knife. I hated the thought, hated how much it consumed me, but it was the reality I couldn’t escape. I had chosen her, over and over again, but maybe that was the problem. Maybe there was a reason for all the back and forth, the constant push and pull between us. Maybe no matter how much we held on, we would never find common ground because we were never meant to be.

Llet out a bitter laugh. Funny how one moment, one single flash of realization, could change everything I had been so sure

about.

So I had made up my mind.

I needed to find the woman who was made for me.

“Grayson?” Carter’s voice pulled me back, impatient now.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I said, my tone firm. “Find her.”

There was hesitation on his end again, and then he said something that lit a fuse inside me. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that some things are better left as they are.”

Anger surged through me, and my voice hardened as I snapped, I don’t pay you millions to play counselor, Carter. Find Ava’s twin sister. You have a week.”

I ended the call before he could respond, my hand gripping the phone so tightly I thought it might break. My wolf growled in my head, angry and restless, as I paced the room. I wanted to throw the phone, wanted to destroy something, anything, to release the frustration clawing at me.noveldrama

It was all her fault.

Ava had unraveled everything. I was trying–trying so damn hard—to be better, to leave behind the man who had thrived on threats and hate. For a moment, I thought I’d succeeded. Things had felt lighter, clearer, like I’d finally stepped out of the darkness.

But now?

Now, anger coursed through me, hot and consuming, and all I wanted was to burn everything to the ground.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside me. That was when frantic knocking broke the silence, loud and insistent.

1026 Tue, Jan

I strode to the door, yanking open to find Eliza standing there her face pale and her eyes wide with

“What is it? I demanded, my voice sharper than I intended

panie.

She started speaking so quickly her words blurred together. “Ave the pushed someone there was blood-and then she Fan-Isabella went after her-I didn’t know what to do

I slowed my pace, ears twitching as I tried to make out the words

“There is another one!” a voice barked.

Before I could react, a sharp sting hit my side. I snarled, whipping around to see the faint glow of a tranquilizer dart embedded in my skin. The drug began to seep into my system, a sluggish heaviness threatening to drag me down. My wolf growled in defiance, shaking off the haze and forcing me to keep moving.

“Got it! Another hit!” someone shouted.

Another dart struck me, this time in the shoulder. The sharp pain only fueled my fury as I tore through the underbrush.

The voices grew louder, more distinct.

Tonight, we’re just getting lucky!” One of them exclaimed, his time triumphant.

The realization hit me-they weren’t werewolf hunters. They were regular hunters, the kind who kill wolves for sport. My rage flared, hotter and sharper than before. They didn’t know what they were dealing with, but that didn’t matter. They had Ava.

I charged ahead, ignoring the weight pulling at my limbs, the drug fighting to slow me down. My wolf snarled as another dart fired and grazed my flank, but I didn’t stop.

“Why isn’t it dropping?!” one of them yelled, panic lacing his voice.

I broke through the final line of trees, and there she was. Ava, caged like an animal in the middle of a clearing. The sight of her-her wolf form slumped and motionless, streaked with blood-sent a growl ripping through me that echoed across the clearing.

The hunters turned, their flashlights blinding me momentarily as they surrounded me, weapons aimed. There were so many of them-too many-but I didn’t care. My wolf was ready for a fight.

I lunged forward, and the last thing I heard was one of them shouting, “Take it down, now!” before a deafening crack echoed through the night.