The Alpha King's Reluctant Bride (Ava and Grayson) novel Chapter 205

-Ava’s POV-

The moment the words left his lips, the room grew suffocatingly still. My mother stiffened beside me, her fingers curling into the fabric of her dress. My father-bleeding, bound, helpless-managed to lift his head just enough to meet my gaze. There was something there, something raw and desperate beneath the pain.

I couldn’t move. My body had frozen, locked in place by the weight of everything. The truth. The lies. The sheer cruelty of it

all.

Damien took his time, stepping away from me and pacing in front of us, his hands clasped behind his back like this was nothing more than a business transaction. “You know, I did consider sparing you,” He mused, “You were always the least insufferable of the bunch. But now, I see that was a mistake.”

I swallowed hard. “You think this ends with us?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady. “You think you’ll get away with this?”

Damien chuckled. “Oh, Little Dove, I don’t think-I know.” His voice was laced with amusement, but beneath it, there was a quiet certainty that sent a chill down my spine.

“I don’t know how you managed to lead them all here, but the moment I realized you were coming, I had to change my plans.” His smirk widened. “Initially, I was going to blow Grayson up alongside your father, but then I thought why not make things more interesting?”

A sick feeling coiled in my stomach.

So that was the change of plans the man outside had been talking about.

Damien continued, his tone almost conversational. “I let it play out, let the joke of a rescue unfold just to watch it pathetically fall through. I have no intention of killing the Alpha King tonight anymore.”

His gaze flickered between the three of us, sharp and assessing.

“But you three? You do die tonight.”

My mother tensed beside me. My father-still bound and blooded—said nothing, though I could see the effort it took for him to stay upright.

Damien’s lips curved into something cruel. “I’ll be generous. You have twenty minutes. Use them wisely-say your final words, make your peace.”

Then, as if he were discussing the weather, his eyes landed on me.

“You look just like her. It’s a disappointment you never saw it.”

I stiffened.

He had said those words before-at the ball.

Back then, I had thought he was talking about my mother.

But now. That means I had met her. I had met my

sister.

A sad smile touched his lips, but there was no warmth in it, “Hope you enjoyed finally flying while you could,” His voice

dropped lower, almost taunting. “It’s unfortunate that your wings will be cut so soon.”noveldrama

Then he turned away, his final words hanging in the air like a death sentence, “Goodbye, Little Dove.”

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My father’s agonized screams filled the small space suddenly, his body jerking violently against the restraints as my mother and I rushed to his side and that must have been Damien’s plan because he stepped out, slamming the vault shut behind him. Panic clawed at my chest. This wasn’t just pain–it was something far

worse.

“Hold him down!” my mother ordered, her voice sharp with urgency.

I dropped to my knees, gripping my father’s shoulders as he convulsed beneath me. My mother’s hands fumbled at the gag tied around his mouth, yanking it off with desperate force.

“Luther! What did he do?” She demanded, her fingers ghosting over his face. “Tell us! How do we stop it?”

For a moment, all he could do was gasp, his body trembling violently. His breaths were ragged, shallow. I had never seen my father-strong, unshakable Luther Pierce-like this.

“He” His voice broke off into a choked sound, his entire body seizing before he managed to force out the words, “— poison…..in the restraints. Silver-laced….. and something else-something dark. It’s inside me.”

Silver–laced. That alone would weaken him, but something more?

“What else?” My mother pressed, her hands shaking as she tried to untie the restraints, but the moment her fingers brushed against them, she flinched, a hiss of pain escaping her lips.

I looked down at my father’s wrists. The bindings weren’t just made of silver. They were soaked in something thick and dark, an unnatural black sheen coating them.

Not just poison. Magic.

My stomach twisted,

Damien had planned this. Not just to hurt him—but to make sure we couldn’t save him.

“No–no, no, no,” I whispered, my hands gripping the ties, but the second my skin made contact, a searing

pain shot through my palms. I barely bit back a cry, yanking my hands away.

My father groaned, his head lolling back as his skin grew paler by the second.

“We need to get these off him,” I said, but my mother was already moving, standing abruptly and scanning the room for anything-anything-that could help.

“We can’t just rip them off,” She muttered, thinking out loud. “Silver weakens, but this… This is something else. Damien wouldn’t have left him here unless he was sure he wouldn’t get out of it alive.”

My father let out a harsh breath, blinking sluggishly. “It’s… spreading. He said… if the restraints stay on too long… it will reach my heart.”

No. I refused to let that happen.

“What counteracts it?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady. “What did Damien use? What stops it?”

He exhaled shakily, his head tilting toward me, eyes hazy with pain. “Nightshade….

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