The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 200

Chapter 200 Chapter 200

-Grayson’s POV-

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A tiny smile tugged at my lips as Elaine exaggerated her movements, trying to mimic some Disney princess I couldn’t even guess. She raised her hand dramatically, twirling in place and then jumped a little, shaking her head in mock frustration.

“Come on, jumping? Frogs? Tiana,” she laughed, collapsing onto the floor opposite me. Her hair stuck to her damp forehead, her cheeks flushed from the exertion, but there was a brightness in her expression that somehow managed to keep me grounded. “You know what? I think you’re the problem. You suck at this game, Grayson. And don’t think I haven’t noticed- you refuse to take a turn.”

I didn’t reply, but the corners of my mouth twitched again. This was….. easier. Sitting here with her, distracting ourselves. How long had we been doing this? Hours? Days? I didn’t know anymore. And for the first time, I didn’t care. With something else to focus on, I’d stopped counting the minutes and the ways this could end. Elaine shifted, lying back down on the cold floor. The sweat on her skin made her slide slightly as she stretched out. I glanced at her, feeling a faint pang of guilt. We’d been trying-I had been trying-to find a way out of here. But without my wolf and without hers, we were essentially powerless. The drugs that had kept us immobile had worn off, but even with her movement restored, her connection to her wolf was still gone. We were hurt, vulnerable, and out of options.

I’d tried everything. Every damn thing. But no amount of clawing at the vault door or searching for weak spots in the walls had made a difference. Eventually, I had to accept the harsh truth: there was nothing I could do. Elaine had suggested I stop stressing and wasting energy. She’d said if this was how it ended, we might as well make the time we had left bearable.

“Like when we were kids,” she’d added with a small smile. “You remember? The imitation game.”

And I’d agreed. Because acceptance, no matter how daunting, felt lighter than the crushing weight of failure.

Elaine sighed, breaking the silence. “You know what would be epic?” She turned her head to look at me, her brown eyes bright with that spark of mischief I had forgotten she used to carry. “One of us realizing we have, like, superpowers. You know, just out of nowhere and we can bend metal.”

I frowned at her. “What?”

She rolled her eyes and sat up. “Oh, right. I forgot you became you and stopped watching cartoons. Anyway, there’s this series where people can bend the four elements-water, earth, fire, air.”

“So where does metal bending come from?”

“It’s an extension thing! Like waterbenders can blood-bend, firebenders can control lightning, and airbenders can fly. But earthbenders? They’re the coolest. They can control sand, rocks, metal… even lava. There’s this character who thought he was going to die, and then-bam-he discovered he could lava-bend.”

She trailed off, noticing the way I was looking at her. Her playful expression faded slightly, replaced with something softer, more uncertain. “What?” she asked. “Why are you staring at me ke that?”

“Because it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you like this, I said before I could stop myself. The words hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning I wasn’t sure she’d want to acknowledge.

Elaine smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. Before either of us could say more, a sharp hiss filled the room. Gas. Again. Elaine sighed heavily, sitting back against the wall as the acrid sell filled the air.

“He’s pumping more of it in each time,” she muttered, brushing her hair out of her face. “Goddess, / still can’t believe he’s

14:58 Tue,

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doing this. I can’t believe I fell for it. I’m so stupid.”

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I shook my head, leaning closer to her. “Hey, none of this is your fault. Do you hear me?” I waited until she looked at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. made bad choices, Elaine. For fifteen years, I lost sight of everything I used to care about. I became something I hate.” My voice cracked slightly, and I took a deep breath, forcing myself to continue. “If I’d been stronger, smarter, better… maybe we wouldn’t be here.”

She stared at me for a moment before smiling again, that same sad smile that made my chest ache. “I just… I wish it wasn’t too late.”noveldrama

I didn’t know what to say to that. My gaze drifted to the vault door, still locked, still impenetrable. I had no idea how to get us out of here. My eyes fell to the jacket I’d discarded earlier, and something clicked.

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