The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 186

-Ava’s POV-

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It felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. Myngs refused to draw in air as her words echoed in my mind, sharp and unrelenting like shards of glass.

Maria reached out, as if to steady me, but I took a step back, shaking my head. “No,” I whispered, my voice hoarse, trembling under the weight of disbelief. “He wouldn’t-he couldn’t have meant that.”

But the look on her face told me she believed otherwise.

My wolf stirred inside me, a low, agonized growl escaping from deep within. It wasn’t anger-it was pain. Grayson’s words, delivered through Maria, felt like a rejection that cut deeper than any wound I’d ever endured. I took another shaky step backward, my head shaking harder now as if sheer denial could make this nightmare unravel.

He didn’t mean that.

I didn’t do this.

This was just… a misunderstanding.

Suddenly, it felt as though the entire world had frozen. Conversations hushed, and every gaze was heavy with pity, their eyes searing into me. The walls seemed to close in, suffocating me with the weight of judgment.

It was all too much. The stares. The whispers. The words.

I turned, desperately searching for something-or someone-familiar, and my eyes landed on Isabella. She stood there, her gaze soft yet piercing, filled with that glaring pity I despised.

I swallowed hard, forcing words out before she could speak. “Everything is going to be fine. He didn’t mean it. Please, just go home. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Lilian.”

I didn’t even realize I was crying until my hand instinctively reached up to wipe at my face. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Bels.”

I didn’t wait for her reply. I turned on my heel, ignoring the heavy silence that followed me, and made my way back to the mansion. My feet carried me to his room like they were on autopilot.

The second I entered, the faint scent of him hit me-warm and comforting. It lingered on everything. I picked up a pillow from his bed, the scent clinging to the fabric, and hugged it tightly to my chest. My knees buckled, but I forced myself to sit down instead of collapsing entirely.

I didn’t think. I didn’t blink. I didn’t even allow myself to prepare for the storm I knew was coming.

I just… stared.

I don’t know how long I sat there, paralyzed, before the knock on the door jolted me from my trance. My movements were sluggish as I stood and dragged myself to the door, opening it to find Brianna standing there, her head bowed low.

“I just thought you should know that His Highness just returned

My heart stuttered, hope clawing its way into my chest. “Where is he?”

2010 Sat, rep

“His study

Ididn’t waste a second. My feet moved faster than my thoughts, carrying me down the hall toward his study. But as I neared, something made me stop dead in my tracks.

The air was frigid, oppressive, as if his anger and hurt had seepe through the walls and manifested into something tangible. My wolf whimpered, but I steeled myself.

It was Grayson. My Grayson.

I inhaled deeply, summoning every ounce of courage I had, and crossed the remaining distance. My trembling hand pushed the door open.

There he was. Standing by the window, his back to me. The tension in his shoulders was palpable, a fortress I wasn’t sure I could breach.

“I told you to leave,” he said suddenly, his voice devoid of warmth.

It wasn’t the words that froze me-it was his tone. It wasn’t icy or furious. It was void. Empty. Hollow. And somehow, that was worse than any anger he could’ve directed at me.

“Grayson,” I whispered, taking a hesitant step

forward.

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