The Heartless Alpha's Beloved Luna Novel

---- Chapter 363 Avery's POV My first instinct was to take Bjorn and leave. To run like our lives depended on it. And for a moment, | almost did. My eyes darted to Bjorn, who was on the other side of the room, talking to the other kids. | moved a step toward him, my heart pounding so hard | thought it might burst out of my chest. But it was too late. Gideon spotted me immediately, cold eyes flicking straight to me, then to Sebastian, who was still standing beside me. Gideon and Fiona beelined over.

Or rather, Gideon did, with Fiona's arm still clutching his, practically dragging her behind him. "Avery." His voice made my spine go rigid. | turned slowly, trying to will my expression into one of calm neutrality. Unbidden, my eyes moved to that ring on Fiona's finger. It looked just as large as it had the last time I'd seen her, flashing in the light. | half expected her to flaunt it now just as she had in the store. ---- But to my surprise, when she noticed me staring, she quickly pulled her hand away from Gideon's bicep and stuck it in her pocket, concealing the ring.

My brows lifted on their own. What was that about? | thought Fiona was proud of her accomplishment-or rather, her father's accomplishment. Gideon had proposed, officially, now that she was eighteen. | thought they'd be flaunting their upcoming marriage. | almost wanted to ask, but decided that it wasn't my problem to solve. | had enough of those and | didn't need one more. Besides, | just wanted to get out. | turned, but Gideon called my name again. "Avery." "Mom?" Bjorn's voice made me stiffen. | looked up to see that he was heading our way. His eyes lit up when he saw Gideon.

"Hey, aren't you the guy from the festival?" he asked. | whipped my head toward Gideon. Sebastian growled low in his throat. So it was him at the festival; | knew it! He'd snuck into Evergreen to torment my son. ---- Gideon looked at me calmly, like he knew exactly what I'd just figured out and he didn't care "Is this your son?" he asked. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Our son?" | hesitated. | could see the anger in his gaze, and it terrified me. He was furious that | had kept his son from him for a decade. He might even use this as a way to get custody of Bjorn and take him from me.

Sebastian shifted on his feet beside me, and suddenly, | had an idea. | met Gideon's gaze levelly. "No," | said. "You're not the father." 1 Gideon froze, face turning pale. | held his gaze, refusing to let him see that | was lying. Just then, Aldric walked over, smiling as if he either didn't notice the tension or was deliberately ignoring it. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Avery," he said, "| was thinking | could give you that tour now before it gets too late." "Yes," | replied immediately. Grabbing Bjorn's hand, | turned and followed the Alpha out of the room.

| didn't give Gideon a second look, although | could feel his eyes on me the whole ---- time. As it turned out, Aldric's problem was eerily similar to Sebastian's. Multiple children with sudden, unprompted immunodeficiency disorders. There were no toxins found in the water supply. No issues with the soil or air quality. It was as if these kids just suddenly developed these issues overnight. When | initially came to visit Aldric's pack, | hadn't fully intended to expand the reach of my business here.

But seeing the kids in their hospital beds, their small bodies hooked up to machines and fighting just to stay alive, made my resolve crumble. If Lycan Root could help even one child get better, then | would put aside my reservations about working with werewolves. | knew that now. 1