The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 85

-Grayson’s POV-

“I think it’s time for you to go home.”

The words cut through the silence like a knife, dragging my attention away from the glowing laptop in front of me. I snapped my gaze upwar

was

speaking. Liam stood in the doorway, watching me with a look that said he wasn’t going anywhere until I acknowledged hirri

I tried to ignore him, but his next words made it impossible. “It’s been five days.”

I raised an eyebrow, keeping my voice controlled but not quite masking the irritation that crawled through me. “And how would you know tha

“Elaine told

me,” he said casually, as though his point were already clear. “And, well, given the recent circumstances. I’m sure your rotten attitude has

My jaw tightened, and I resisted the urge to stap back with something bitter. Instead, I let my gaze darken, my tone low and hard “She’s fucky she’s not fired. No one can do anything right

“Have you ever thought that maybe you’re the problem?” Liam voice was unwavering, despite the sharpness in mine.

The ice in my stare froze him in place, but he wasn’t done. “I mean, you’re clearly upset about something that happened. with Ava, and now I opened my mouth, ready to tell him to watch his tone, but he cut me off, waving his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I should watch powerful and scary. He didn’t wait for me to respond, turning on his heel and leaving without another word, leaving me with nothing but the s “I killed then”

The words rang through my mind as if I were still standing in that room. It was bad enough that this sentence haunted me in memories that I don’t know why I said it. Maybe I needed her to understand the darkness I carried, the horrors of what I was capable of. Maybe I wanted h know just how deep the monster inside me ran, to see if she would stay despite it-

or because I didn’t want to hide that part of anything anymore.

It wasn’t a spur-of-the-

moment thought; the words had formed before I even thought them, and her shock mirrored. everything I needed to know about how she sa

me now.

İ

That’s why I’d been avoiding her. As much as Liam irritated me he was right. My anger was a fire that would consume everything around me But as I walked through the door of my mansion, my first instinct was to find her. The need to seek her out was stronger than the urge to re

My feet carried me faster than I intended, driven by something I couldn’t name—

something that pulled me to her

despite the chaos inside me. But what I found there was a conversation Chadn’t expected, one that instantly set my blood boiling

it was disrespect–pecially from my pack.

If there was one thing I would never tolerate

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24.92

I stood in the doorway, storing at the old man who was so clearly afraid of me that he looked seconds from soiling himself

And then, I heard her voice-soft and questioning, cutting through

the tension. “Who is a great king that everyone likes,

I will.”

With that, she turned on her heel, walking away, and then shouted back in Italian, “Tu sei assolutamente impossibile!” (You) are absolutely i And just like that, she was gone. Leaving me standing in the hallway, speechless, unsure of what to say- or what to do next.

I let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through my hair as I tried to shake off the suffocating tension that had built up inside me

still trying to digest all her words. So, I decided to go with the original plan and headed for the exclusive open held on my estate, where I usu

The familiar breeze hit me as I began to undress, the cool air against my skin comforting in its own way. But as I started to stretch, somethin

Nothing.

1 paused, trying to ignore the strange

tug in my chest, brushing it off as nothing. I reached again, this time with more urgency, more focus. Still, nothing. The emptiness stretched his presence- becoming clearer, more distinct.

My breath hitched, my body going rigid as the full weight of the situation hit me. I reached out again, my heart hammering in my chest

Silence

No growl, no sharp, instinctual pull. Just an overwhelming void.

And then it hit me. A cold, paralyzing realization that crashed through me like a wave. I couldn’t feel him. I couldn’t sense

him

It was like my wolf… was gone.