The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 129

-Grayson’s POV-

“I call first shots,”

I groaned, the pounding in my head threatening to crack it open like an egg. Turning toward Rickon, who was looking at me with an unnerving amount of seriousness, I managed to croak, “first shots for what?”

“For who gets to eat the other person. If it comes down to us starving, I call first shots, and I’m’cating you

first.”

Despite the throbbing pain in my skull, I almost laughed. Not because it was funny-no, this was the least amusing moment of my life-but because of the absurdity. My jet had gone down, was stranded in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, and the universe had decided that Rickon would be my sole companion.

I squinted at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“Not denying it,” he said with a shrug.

I tried to sit up, wincing as the sharp pain in my ribs protested. If you’re so eager to play cannibal, start with them,” I said, gesturing toward the bodies of the pilots still strapped into their seats. They hadn’t survived the crash, their still forms a sobering reminder of how close I’d come to joining them.

Rickon made a face. “I’m not a scavenger. Besides, they don’t look appetizing. You, on the other hand-”

“Show some respect,” I snapped, forcing myself to my feet. My legs felt like jelly, but I wasn’t about to stay sitting here and let him keep talking. “They’re dead, Rickon.”

“Dead, sure. But you know what they say ‘survival of the fittest. He grinned, clearly finding some sick amusement in the situation. “And besides, it’s not my fault I’m superior. Shifting cushioned the impact. Humans, though-”

I shot him a glare. “I don’t have time for your nonsense. If you want to sit here and crack jokes, be my guest. I’m going to figure out where the hell we are.”

I started walking, brushing off the stabbing pain in my side and the pounding in my head. The sooner I got moving, the better. My wolf stirred beneath the surface, sharpening my senses, even though I felt like I’d been hit by a freight train.

“Grayson, where are you going?” Rickon called after me, his voice tinged with both confusion and panic. “Anywhere but here.”noveldrama

I heard him scrambling behind me, his shoe crunching on the debris-strewn ground. He caught up quickly, falling into step beside me. “We’re supposed to stick together, you know. Isn’t that like, rule number one of surviving a plane crash?”

“Rule number one is to stay alive,” I muttered, scanning the dense vegetation ahead. The landscape was wild–lush trees with thick, knotted roots stretched toward a pale sky. It looked like the kind of place you’d see on a postcard for some exotic getaway. Except this wasn’t a vacation.

“Great,” Rickon said, looking around. “We’re probably on some uncharted island where weird things happen, and people start going insane. I’ve seen a lot of movies like this. You know how they end, right? Dinosaurs. Or cannibals. Maybe mutant fish that crawl out of the ocean.”

I stopped and turned to glare at him. “We’re in the 21st century. Dinosaurs are extinct. And I’d prefer if you shut up so I can think.”

He

held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when a T-Rex comes charging out of those

trees.”

I ignored him, focusing instead on the task at hand. We needed to figure out where we were and how to get off this island. If the pilot had managed to get a mayday call out before the crash, there was a chance someone would be searching for us. But pinpointing our exact location? That was another story.

The wreckage of the jet was behind us, a mangled heap of metal and shattered glass. The dense forest ahead wasn’t exactly inviting, but it was better than staying out in the open where predators-human or otherwise-might find us.

“What’s the plan, genius?” Rickon asked, still trailing behind me like a lost puppy.

I didn’t answer. My mind was racing, calculating our next steps. Water. Shelter. Food. Those were the priorities. And a way to signal for help, assuming anyone was even looking.

The sound of rustling leaves snapped me out of my thoughts. I stopped, my senses on high alert. Rickon froze too, his casual demeanor shifting as his instincts kicked in.

“Please tell me that’s just the wind,” he muttered.

It wasn’t.

The rustling grew louder, and then something shot out from the underbrush-a blur of fur and claws. My wolf surged forward, my instincts taking over as I shoved Rickon out of the way.

A wild animal, some kind of oversized feline, landed where he’d been standing a second ago. Its eyes glinted with a predatory hunger that sent a chill down my spine.

Rickon, to his credit, recovered quickly. “Okay, so maybe it’s not a dinosaur, but this is definitely not normal!” “Shut up and run!” I shouted, grabbing his arm and yanking him toward the trees.

We sprinted, the creature hot on our heels. My heart pounded, adrenaline surging through my veins as I pushed through the pain in my side. The forest blurred around us, the sound of snapping branches and pounding paws filling my ears.

We burst into a clearing, and I skidded to a halt, nearly sending Rickon crashing into me. Ahead of us, a massive cliff dropped into a churning sea.

Rickon looked at me, his face pale. “So, uh, any brilliant ideas now?”

I glanced back at the creature, which had stopped at the edge of the clearing, its eyes fixed on us. It let out a low growl, pacing back and forth as if considering its next move.

“We jump,” I said, already moving toward the edge.

Rickon’s

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