The Heartless Alpha's Beloved Luna Novel

Chapter 30 Avery's POV I lay stiff and awkward as Gideon's mouth moved on my thigh. I stared at the stars overhead and tried to think about anything else. Not about how I could feel the slight scratch of stubble on his cheek where it scratched on my delicate skin. Not about how hot his lips and tongue felt. Not about how his strong hands gripped my thigh so firmly. Finally, he finished. I flinched as his hands tore the fabric of my clothing to create bandage strips. Deftly, he wrapped my leg and hauled me to my feet. "Tha-... Thank you." I hissed as my leg flared with pain.

It was better than it had been but still hurt to put weight on it. In a fluid, powerful motion, Gideon pulled me into his arms and lifted me. "Do not run off again." He growled as he carried me out of the forest. I slept exhaustedly on the ride back to Nightwolf. My body ached from my night in the forest and the poison's effects. I woke up to Gideon opening the door to the sedan and lifting me out into an early morning sunrise. Tegan and others moved in to help but he growled at them and they backed away until he'd set me on my feet in the courtyard.

Despite Gideon's usual dour expression, there was some applause and cheering as I stepped out. I looked around at their smiling faces, recognizing Gideon's family, the pack cook, Anna, and Melody, my friend from gardening. They were all looking at me with genuine affection. Anna stepped forward and handed me a small cake she'd baked. "Welcome back!" she said, while Melody touched my arm in greeting. This is so weird, I thought, it's exactly like my dream I had when those rogues drugged me...

I didn't know what to say, but the strange feeling of deja vu persisted until I left the courtyard and limped towards the house. I had never felt that feeling this strongly before. Could it be that I had some sort of prophetic vision? And if so, what could have caused it? The rogues had hit me quite hard on the head, and they had also drugged me in some way. Could that have somehow induced clairvoyance? I had never heard of that happening to anyone I knew, and if I mentioned it, these people would probably think I was crazy.

I swallowed the thoughts swirling in my mind, and allowed Gideon to lead me firmly to a seat at the dining table. "I have questions." Gideon seated himself across from me as other pack members filed into the room. "The rogues who took you have perpetrated other kidnappings. What do you remember?" Haltingly, I told him what I knew. About the blow on the path, the strange taste in my mouth. I skipped over the part where my mark had repelled my kidnappers, but I did tell him about how they'd tied me up and released the bug that attacked me. "Did you see any girls your age?" Gideon demanded.

His eyes were fierce and his tone imperative. "No, I didn't see anyone. It was dark, and I couldn't see the rogues' faces at all." Gideon slumped back in his chair, disappointed. "Alpha, the prisoners are ready for interrogation," Tegan said after a moment of silence while Gideon was thinking. "I am on my way" Gideon rose from the table and walked out the door without a backward glance, leaving me sitting awkwardly alone in front of the assembled group of pack members who began to talk to each other excitedly.

Jessica slid into the seat across the table from me, her beautiful face wrenched into its usual arrogant expression. She leaned across the table and said, "Do you know why Gideon cares so much about this?" I ignored her, turning my head away, but I admit, my ears were perked for her following words. "Because," she said sweetly, "He already has a Fate Mate, but the rogues captured her. Gideon loves her very much, and you're just a nuisance to him." I had known that he'd had a marked mate already, but I hadn't known she'd been kidnapped.

I had assumed he'd done something awful to her, but the truth was much sadder than that. No wonder he didn't care about me. I wanted to dismiss what Jessica was saying, but there was the ring of truth to it. My heart sank and I felt a pang of bitterness. If Gideon truly cared about his fated mate, then we truly were never going to work out.