The Heartless Alpha's Beloved Luna Novel

---- Chapter 64 Ryan's POV The back porch was in a state of disrepair. Broken boards and railings marred what had once been a graceful wrap-around. It had seen some hard times. So had |. My chin was covered in stubble, and | think I'd been wearing the same flannel shirt for a few days now. It didn't matter. | really needed to handle some things. There was a stack of reports | couldn't be bothered to look at. There were pack dramas to adjudicate. My Beta was starting to get downright hostile about my procrastination. But all | could think about was her.

| hadn't realized how much more full she had made my life feel. She had listened to my problems and pointed out how | had the tools to make them better. She had always been in my corner. And then | had fucked it up. It wasn't that | hadn't found her attractive. Avery's beauty had ---- always been striking, but her status in the pack had been low and | was ashamed to admit that it had effected me. My ego wanted to be the best Alpha Silvermoon had ever seen. Despite her support as my girlfriend, Avery had felt like someone | would move on from. | knew she had dreams of us becoming fated mates.

She had talked about securing our bond by having sex, but she was still young and so we had waited. And | had been angry about that. | had seen her as withholding herself from me, and as the future Alpha, it infuriated me that she was holding herself back from me. So when Zara, her half-sister, had been there on the Mating Moon, | admit | had thought more with my dick than with my heart. hadn't expected Avery to barge in on us while we fucked. The betrayal on her face was seared into my mind.

| knew that Zara and Avery had a history of hatred between them | admit | hadn't even thought about that when | was between Zara's legs. Now, that was the only place my brain would shut up about it. | was sleeping with Avery's enemy, and she had trusted me. And | felt betrayed as well. She had immediately moved on to ---- another Alpha. And Gideon was such an insufferable Alpha. He was always going on about the importance of patrols, and of making sure our warriors were well trained. He was much bigger on structure and logistics than vibes. It was so much work.

| admit I'd never been much of a warrior alpha in the art-of-war way. | loved a brawl or a scrap, and sinking my teeth into an opponent's throat was the best feeling in the world. My wolf was savage in that way, but not so very calculating. Being in a room with Gideon was like knowing that the bigger predator was across the table, and | hated feeling inferior to him. His pack was slightly smaller due to losses they'd suffered, but still managed to field the best army of warriors in the kingdom. | wanted so badly to see him fail. And | wanted Avery back.

She had rejected me at the Alpha Ceremony, and it made me burn with fury. If Gideon hadn't interfered, | knew | could have convinced her to marry me instead of Zara. | had realized how much | needed her. And she had rejected me. | took a pull of my beer and belched into the night air. ---- Somewhere in the house behind me, Zara was waiting. She was always complaining that | didn't spend enough time with her. The sex was fine, but | wanted something else. | wanted Avery. Something was stirring in the woods. My wolf senses sharpened in alert.

| stood up and stomped down the cinder blocks that functioned as makeshift stairs into the forest behind the house. | stood on the forest path, looking around in the darkness. The alcohol was a constant buzz in my system. It dulled my senses and | shook my head to clear it. Then froze as five razor sharp claws grabbed my throat. "If you just listen, you will live." A low voice growled. | snarled and threw myself away, feeling the razor sharp scrape from that hand dig into my neck drawing blood. "Who the fuck are you?" | should have howled for backup, but my brain wasn't moving that quick.

This intruder was in my territory, but what he had said was sinking in. "I'll listen. Speak." ---- The figure who had grabbed me stepped into the moonlight. | could tell from his build that he was a powerfully built Alpha, but | didn't recognize his scent at all. "I have a business proposition for you, friend." "Most friends don't start conversations with violence." | pointed out. The man gave an expansive shrug. "Most don't have me as their friend." "What's the business?" | asked, curious. "There was a girl in your pack. About 19.

She left some short while ago, and | need to find her." "People come and go all the time." I said nonchalantly. "What do you want with her?" "Have you heard of the Moon Goddess Heir?" The man asked. "The old legends? What of them?" "She's real. She has incredible healing powers she can unlock, with the right training. And more than that, she can bear an extremely powerful heir. Far superior to any fated mate." "I've heard the fairytales, but why are you telling me this?" | asked, curiously. ---- "The girl you let go bears the Moon Goddess bloodline. | have been tracking her down.

So I'll ask again, what happened to her?" Avery. He was talking about Avery. The thought hit me with a shock. "| see you know who I'm talking about." The man nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Tell me where she is." "Why should | tell you?" | snapped. "She's gone now." He laughed. "Well, we're going to get her back, of course." "We?" | said skeptically. "Oh yes. You're going to help me." "And why exactly would | do that?" | crossed my arms. "Because, friend, | am going to help you conquer Nightwolf." | froze at what he said. "You?

| don't even know who you are." He stepped closer, at this distance now | could tell he had an eyepatch over one eye. There was something strange about his scent as well. He looked and moved like an Alpha, but his scent shifted in waves, sometimes intense and other times less so. "I'm the Rogue King." ---- Zara's POV From where | lurked on the second floor of our house, | could hear the voices from out back clearly. So Ryan was going to try and get Avery back. That bastard. | knew he had some scene with her at the Alpha Ceremony, but | had hoped he had moved on.

My hatred for Avery intensified. She'd always acted so smugly superior. She'd been the one dating the Alpha, and pretending like she was so obsessed with doing the right thing. Everyone knew she was a freak. She couldn't manifest her wolf. She wasn't any Moon Goddess Heir, just a broken and flawed mutant. | wasn't going to let her steal Ryan away from me. He would learn his mistake when | revealed her for the weak, pathetic human she truly was. | imagined Avery kneeling before me, sobbing, and smirked.