The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 115

-Ava’s POV

My head throbbed as thought my skull had been caught in a vice and my wolf growled softly in the back of my mind. She wasn’t helping. In fact, she never did. Ever since she became a part of me, it felt like she was nothing but a constant judge, standing on some imaginary pedestal, looking down on me as it were beneath

her.

“What are you doing. Ava?” she hissed, her disapproval dripping rough every syllable.

I shut her out. I didn’t need this. Not now. If she didn’t want to be helpful, then she could sit in silence. She’d been frowning, upon my every decision since the moment I got her, and tonight was no exception. She was judging me for this choice, just as Isabella had been when she’d tried to stop me from leaving with….. what was his name again?

“Come on, sweetheart. This way.”

The man tugged my arm gently, guiding me toward the shadows of the street. His voice was smooth, practiced, like someone who’d done this before.

I forced a smile onto my lips, ignoring the slurred quality of my voice as I asked, “Where exactly are we going? Where’s your car?”

The haze of alcohol dulled the sharp edge of unease that was beginning to creep in.

“We don’t need a car,” he said, still pulling me along. “My place is just around the corner.”

That little voice of reason, buried under layers of denial and intoxication, shot up one last time: This is a bad idea. Go home, Ava.

I ignored it. I shoved it down as deep as it could go, locked it in a box, and threw away the key. Instead, I let myself be led, the sounds of the night growing quieter as we left the main street behind.

We turned a corner, and before I knew what was happening, he shoved me hard against the wall. The rough brick scraped against my back, and a startled gasp escaped my lips.

“What are you-”

His hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off my words. “Don’t pretend like you don’t want this. Just shut up,” he growled. Panic shot through me like an electric shock. The alcohol fog evaporated in an instant, and my senses sharpened to crystal clarity. My wolf snarled, her presence suddenly roaring back into focus.

Push him off. Now.

I shoved him as hard as I could, but he didn’t budge. He was stronger than he looked, and the smug grin on his face told me he knew it.

My wolf growled louder, her voice becoming one with mine as I pushed again, harder this time. To my shock, he flew backward, crashing against the opposite wall with a thud.

He groaned, glaring at me as he stumbled to his feet. “You’ll regret that,” he spat, his voice laced with venom.

I took a step back, my claws extending involuntarily. “I’m giving you a chance to walk away,” I warned, my voice low and trembling with adrenaline. “You won’t like what happens if you don’t.”

He laughed, the sound cold and mocking. “What are you gonna do? Scratch me with those fake things?”

He lunged for me, and instinct took over. My claws slashed through the air before I could stop them, and the world seemed

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to slow as I watched hireyes widen in shock.

He stumbled back, clutching his neck as blood poured between his fingers. He gasped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, as though he couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

“No…..” The word fell from my lips, barely audible.

I dropped to my knees beside him, my hands hovering uselessly as blood pooled around us. “No, no, no. Please. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean

He gurgled, his eyes locking onto mine. The disbelief in thein was like a dagger to my chest. I wanted to help him, to fix it, but I knew it was too late. The life drained from his eyes, and his body went limp.

The silence that followed was deafening.

For a moment, I was frozen, staring at the lifeless body in front of me. Then the reality of what I’d done slammed into me like a freight train.

I scrambled to my feet, backing away as if putting distance between us could somehow make it less real. My hands shook violently, and my wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, her presence a painful reminder of the power I’d unleashed.

I turned, and that’s when I saw

Grayson.

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