The Heartless Alpha's Beloved Luna Novel

---- Chapter 116 Avery's POV Six hours later found me standing in Gideon's office staring at his fake-mate as she flounced out the door. Gideon had summoned me the minute | had awoken from my early morning slumber, and | had no choice but to heed his summons. | didn't have choices about a lot of things these days, it seemed. My heart was already bruised and battered. My mother was missing. Some man titling himself the 'Rogue King' wanted to make me his baby-factory, and my new 'husband' had been smooching with his mate when | had entered.

Or, at least that was what it had looked like they had been doing | had turned my head to the side immediately, flushing a bright, embarrassed red. The haughty and smug look Dierdra had shot me as she left had been nauseating, and so had been the way Gideon had stared at the door after she'd closed it. | stood there, silent, waiting for him to remember that | was present. | guess | was back to being invisible. Finally, Gideon jolted himself back to attention and rummaged through the papers on his desk.

---- "Avery." he said my name so formally, as though we hadn't been kissing passionately on his bed the night before, On our wedding night. "Alpha." | replied, matching his tone. His eyes flickered at me for a moment, then he went back to flipping through files. "| assume you had a reason for calling me." | said, after he didn't say anything further for a number of moments. "I did. Yes." Gideon snapped. He pulled out a sheaf of papers and snapped it onto the desktop. "But before we get into that, | wish to hear an accounting of your actions in the last 24 hours." | stared at him, mutely.

My lips pressed between my teeth. What did he want to hear? That I was sorry? If he demanded an apology, could | truly dare to refuse? | was. essentially his prisoner here. "What do you want me to explain, Alpha?" He looked a bit annoyed that | refused to say his name. But names were things you called your friends. We were no longer friends. Now we were husband and wife, which apparently, meant we were enemies.

"| want an explanation for why you went to Silvermoon and ---- sought out the company of their Alpha, after | expressly forbid you to do so." Gideon's body language as he crossed his arms was looming and imposing. | felt like a small child called to task in school. It took all | had not to shuffle my feet and look away from his gaze. | made myself hold his stare, unwavering. "Alpha, | did not seek out the company of Ryan." I kept my tone matter-of-fact. "I was looking for my mother." "Avery." Gideon growled, pacing behind "! don't believe you.

Every time | turn around, you are sneaking back to Silvermoon. Whatever your feelings are for Ryan, they must stop. He is an unworthy Alpha, and it is not acceptable that the Nightwolf Luna be seen resisting my orders." "You have made that clear in the past." | gritted out through clenched teeth. "I have reason to believe that my half-sister has hidden my mother in some secret place, and that she will harm her." Gideon paused, turning his head to me incredulously, "The Luna of Silvermoon has kidnapped your mother?" "Not just her." | sighed, not sure how much to tell.

While the encounter had been unpleasant, | wasn't sure that Gideon would believe me if | told him the whole story. We weren't exactly on ---- good terms at present "There was another man there. A rogue. He called himself the Rogue King." Gideon's eyebrows raised. He gestured impatiently for me to continue. "| believe they are working together, Zara and this man." Gideon's whole body was still for a long moment. | realized he was processing the information. "Did that man touch you?" He said gruffly. "No. | mean, yes." | shook my head, "I ran away.

| had gone there to find my mother after | found out Zara had taken her." "Why didn't you come to me?" Gideon growled, marching over to me and shaking my shoulders. | stared into his face angrily. Let him come to that answer on his own. He hadn't believed me about Dierdra, and he hadn't believed me when | had said I hadn't sought out Ryan. Why would | assume he would believe me if | came to him for help? "Avery." Gideon snapped my attention back to him with frustration and | realized I'd been staring over his shoulder, far away in my thoughts.

| guess | was still exhausted from my midnight adventure. ---- He stared at me a minute longer, eyes searching my face. | guess he decided to believe me because he stepped back. | stumbled as he released me. For a moment there, his touch had felt warm, and | had fought the urge to press myself against him, to let him wrap his arms around me. "| will protect you." Gideon would say, and | would nod and let myself believe it. It was a nice fantasy. "What did you say?" | mumbled, realizing Gideon had said something while | had been daydreaming.

A look of exasperation crossed the alpha's handsome face. He held a pen out in the air. "| said | have an addendum to our contract." Gideon explained again, "You continue as my Luna, and | will help you find this Rogue King and rescue your mother." My eyes widened as | stared at the outstretched pen. Gideon certainly had resources | didn't. If he agreed to help me with this, | could send his warriors to try and find her and bring her to safety.

It had been my original plan before the wedding Before | had dared to hope that | could possibly become more to Gideon than just his Luna ---- Now I just felt trapped and pressured. Being this close to him, | found my mind trying to flee the room when my body couldn't. | could smell his skin, remember how it felt beneath me the night before. It was all too much. "Avery, do you accept?" Gideon snapped. "Let me help you." Wasn't that what Ryan had said as well? All these men trying to solve my problems not realizing that they were their cause.

What was the difference between these Alphas and the Rogue King who opposed them? They each wanted to use me for their own ends. | was in a cage with three doors. Each led to a different wolf. Each would devour me if | opened them. The walls were closing in. Slowly | stepped forward and took the pen from Gideon's outstretched hand. | stared down at the lines swimming before my eyes. My fingers were shaking, | realized. | fumbled the pen and it dropped to the floor, rolling under Gideon's desk. Without thinking, | dropped to my knees to grab it.

When | looked up, Gideon was looking down at me with a frown. ---- That tension that felt ever-present between us snapped tight like a noose. His eyes were dark, heated, and oh-so irresistible. Slowly, he reached out a hand towards me. His fingers tangled in the hair at the back of my head, tilting my face upwards. "| know what you're doing."