The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 6

My feet moved faster than my brain could register. One minute I was gripping onto whatever little control I had left, and the next, I was boltin How did I end up here? One moment, I was just another woman trying to survive heartbreak, and now.. now I was Luna to the Alpha King. Contracted Lama, that tiny voice in my head whispered, as if that made a difference.

It didn’t.

Grayson’s silky voice replayed in my head, like a broken record couldn’t shut off.

“I have a problem with my erection. I can’t get hard.”

The

The bluntness of his confession had knocked the air out of my lungs. Him? Of all people?

Grayson Blackwood, with his carved-from-

stone jawline and eyes that seemed to strip me bare every time they landed on

me that man had problems getting aroused? It didn’t seem possible. But that was the least of my problems.

I had no time to process the absurdity of it all before I crashed straight into someone. Hard. My body hit the floor with a painful thud, a curse formed on my lips.

“Watch it!” An annoyed voice cut through the air.

My hands stung where they broke my fall, and winced, staring at the floor for a moment before I blinked up at the woman standing over me. long dark hair, sharp cheekbones, and eyes so intense they practically pierced through me. She looked like she belonged on a runway, not

I continued to stare at her and her eyes narrowed, “Will you not apologize? Do you realize that Grayson is my cousin and

you

almost ruined a dress worth more than your life?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but a deep, commanding voice boomed down the hall. My head snapped toward it just as a tall man strode “Elaine,” he said in a tone that left no room for argument, “Grayson told you didn’t want to see you around for a while after what you did.” The woman. Elaine only smiled in return. A dark mischievous smile. “It’s nice to see you too.”

Grayson.

He called him Grayson, not Alpha. There was something almost casual in the way they spoke about him, which made me even more curiou Then the man’s gaze shifted to me, and his features softened-

only slightly. “I’m Liam, Grayson’s Beta.” He looked me up and down, his expression unreadable, before continuing, “He asked me to escort Elaine’s eyes snapped in surprise as she crossed her arms over her chest, sizing me up like I was nothing.

“His Luna?” She repeated, her voice dripping with disdain. She shot me a glare that could burn through steel. “Where the hell did she crawl Her eyes raked over me again, full of judgment, like she was searching for any weakness she could exploit. I wanted to say

Π

something-anything-but-

Qe words wouldn’t come, Not that would matter. This woman had already decided I was her

enemy,

Liam, to his credit, ignored her entirely. He gave me a polite smile, gesturing down the hallway. “This way. I’ll show you to

your room

I stood there, my

legs feeling like jelly, before snapping out of it and following him, all too aware of Elaine’s eyes burning into my back. Just as I passed her, h cold and venomou-reached my ears.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” she said, her tone as shargas a blade, “but outsiders aren’t welcome here. Count your days, Luna.”

I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t. Instead, I swallowed the lump in my throat and quickened my pace, keeping my focus on Liam’s broad back. Liam led me through the winding halls in silence, stopping in front of a heavy metal door. He pushed

it open, revealing a lavish room that looked like it had been ripped from a magazine-

“My voice trailed off, thick with emotion. I couldn’t even finish the sentence before Isabella interrupted

“Actually, you know what, scratch that. Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

The urge to let her rescue me-to finally just collapse into someone else’s arms and let them carry the weight-

was strong. But I couldn’t.

Something clicked in my brain, though, cutting through the fog I frowned. “Wait….. how did you even know I left Dylan?” There was no hesita Everyone. The weight of that single word settled in my chest like a stone. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. dragging with it all the d And if everyone knew…

when/saw. Duzzed in, vibrating through my hand like the strike of a match. I glanced at the screen, my heart clenchingnoveldrama

Another

the name.

Luther Pierce.

Father.

I let out a shaky breath, pulling the phone away from my ear. “Bels, I’ve got to go. It’s him.”

“Oh no. Lilian-”

“I’ll call you later.” I didn’t give her time to argue before switching over, another breath catching in my throat. I stared at the screen for a long “Hello, Father,” I greeted him, trying to sound composed, but my voice wavered.

The silence that followed was worse than the words I knew were coming. And when they did, they were icy enough to freeze the blood in m

“Get to the compound. Now.”