Claimed By The Dangerous Alpha King: Betrayed Luna Novel by Gorgeous Aliyah

Aston

I lay on the cold, hard ground, my body aching all over. Dax had dragged Kira away, and there was nothing I could do. The pain in my side was almost unbearable, but that wasn’t what hurt the most. It was seeing Kira, her face covered in tears, struggling against the guards as they held her back. It was seeing the way he looked at her like he was undressing her with his eyes. She cried out my name, her voice trembling, but I couldn’t reach her. I wanted to tell her it would be okay, that I would protect her, but I could barely move.

I pressed my hand to my side, feeling the warm, sticky blood seeping through my fingers. Every breath was a struggle, and the dizziness was getting worse. But I couldn’t give in. I couldn’t close my eyes. If I did, Dax would win. I couldn’t let him get away. He’d gone too far this time, and if I passed out now, there’d be no stopping him.

Dax stood a few steps away, watching me with a smug grin on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he looked at me like I was nothing, like I wasn’t worth his time. It made my blood boil. I wanted to rip that look off his face.

“You’re not as strong as people make you out to be, Aston,” Dax said, his voice cold and mocking. He took a step closer, his boots crunching against the gravel beneath his feet. “You shouldn’t have crossed me.”

I tried to push myself up, but my arms felt like jelly. My body refused to listen to me, and I could feel the weakness spreading. My claws were out, sharp and ready, but what good were they if I couldn’t even stand? I was too weak, and it was killing me inside.

Dax crouched down beside me. “Look at you, you’re pathetic.” He said tilting his head as he looked softly, almost like he was disappointed.

“You talk big for someone who lets others do their dirty work,” I spat, my voice hoarse and weak. I hated how weak I sounded, but I had to say something. I couldn’t just lie there and let him win.

Dax chuckled, standing back up and taking a step away. “You think this is about power?” he asked, spreading his arms wide. “This isn’t about power, Aston. It’s about control. And right now, I have it. You, on the other hand…” He trailed off, shaking his head as if I was some sort of lost cause.

I glanced over at Kira again. She was still struggling against the guards, her tear-streaked face filled with fear. I could see the desperation in her eyes, and it tore me apart. I needed to get up. I needed to fight. But my body was betraying me, every muscle screaming in protest as I tried to move.

Dax noticed my gaze and smirked. “Ah, worried about her, are you?” he asked. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt her. Not yet, anyway. But that all depends on you, Aston. You see, I don’t want to kill you. That would be too easy. I want you to suffer. I want you to watch as everything you care about crumbles around you. And when you’ve finally had enough, when you’ve broken, then I’ll finish the job.”

I clenched my teeth, anger bubbling up inside me. “You think I’ll just let you do that?”. “You think I’ll sit here and let you destroy everything?”

Dax shrugged casually, as if my words meant nothing to him. “It’s not about what you’ll let me do, Aston. It’s about what you can do. And right now? You can’t do anything.”

I felt my heart pounding in my chest, my claws digging into the dirt as I struggled to get to my feet. I wouldn’t let him win. I couldn’t. But my legs were like lead, refusing to support my weight.

“You don’t have to do this, Brax,” I said through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to go down this path. You can still stop.” I threatened but it sounded more like a plead.

For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes, something like hesitation but I must have imagined it.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“I’ve already made my choice, Aston,” he said quietly. “And so have you. This is the result.”

He turned his back on me, waving a hand dismissively, “Take him away,” he ordered the guards. “Lock him up. We’ll deal with him later.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” A voice cut through the chaos like a knife. It was sharp, angry, and a little too familiar. My heart skipped a beat. Brax was here to save us. How did he know though?

I struggled to keep my eyes open as Brax stormed towards us, his footsteps growing louder and faster. I was going to kill Dax when I was free.

“Where do you think you’re taking him?” Brax demanded, his voice full of authority, aimed directly at Dax, whose guards were still holding onto me like I was a ragdoll. Brax sounded like he was ready to tear someone apart.

Dax, to my surprise, didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. His arms were crossed, and he barely gave Brax a glance. “To the. cell, where else?” Dax replied, his voice annoyingly calm. It was like he didn’t even care that Brax was furious. Like he’d been expecting this all along.

“Why the hell would you do that?” Brax barked, his voice rising in anger. For a moment, I thought he was going to stand up for me, maybe stop them from throwing me into a cage. “Hang him outside so everyone can see how the mighty have fallen.”

My stomach dropped. Did I hear that right? I blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision. My heart pounded in my chest as Brax’s words echoed in my ears. Hang me outside? Show everyone? I stared at him, disbelief flooding my entire body. I thought I had an ally. I thought, somewhere deep down, he still had my back. He was still my brother, right?

But here he was, standing in front of me, telling Dax to put me on display like some kind of defeated prize. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. My blood ran cold as the realization hit me harder than any physical blow ever could. Brax wasn’t here

to save me.

I tried to find the words, tried to make sense of the betrayal that was slamming into me, but nothing came out. My throat felt dry, my body too weak to even form a response. Instead, I just stared at him, my brother, wondering how we’d ended up like this.

Brax didn’t even glance at me as he turned his attention back to Dax. “Make it public,” he continued, his voice dripping with something cold, something I hadn’t heard before. “Let them all see what happens when someone like Aston forgets his place.”

Dax raised an eyebrow, not looking impressed in the slightest. “He’s already beaten,” Dax said with a shrug, his tone casual like he was talking about the weather. “Dragging him through the streets won’t change that.”

Brax’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as he glared at Dax. “It’s not about him. It’s about making an example. People need to see what happens to those who think they can defy me.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“You know, Aston,” Brax said suddenly, his voice taking on a more mocking tone, “you drive really recklessly for an alpha.”

The words hit me like a slap. My breath caught in my throat. He was the one following me. I’d had this feeling, this nagging sense that I was being followed and it had been him. My own brother. He’d been tailing me, waiting for me to slip up.

“You were following me?” I managed to croak out, my voice barely more than a whisper, but Brax just chuckled.

“Of course I was. How else was I supposed to make sure you’d fail?” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He stepped closer, looking down at me with that same smug smile. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist. You care too much about her. I just had to wait for you to make your move.”

You were setting me up the whole time?” I asked, disbelief still coursing through me. “You were waiting for me to drop her off somewhere?”

Brax shrugged, like it didn’t even matter. “It wasn’t that hard to predict. You always were too sentimental for your own good.”

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t just about power or control. This was personal. He had wanted to see me fail, wanted to see me broken. And I had given him exactly what he wanted.