The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 34 Avery's POV "No." I refused once more. Gideon frowned at me, his hand warm and heavy on the back of my neck. There were so many emotions warring in those stormy eyes. Disapproval. Irritation. Desire? The last one confused me even further and I shut my eyes. Just looking at him made me want to abandon my resolve. I fought the impulse to stay. To go through with this sham of a marriage. It wasn't fair to him, or his true mate, to need to deal with me as surrogate Luna. I was just a placeholder until the true Luna showed up. I tried to put myself in the shoes of that mystery woman.

His fated mate. If she truly was in danger somewhere, she would be wondering if anyone was coming to rescue her. She would want to know that there wasn't some other woman taking her place. I wondered why Gideon wasn't hunting her down using their bond. Maybe he had too much else on his mind? Gideon needed to be able to focus. Anything I did that distracted him was taking resources from that other Luna who needed it more. I was keeping her true mate from getting to her. It was a horrible crime, and I couldn't stand being that person. I had already decided not to interfere with their bond.

can't tolerate another wolf staking a claim on my territory." I did know that. But why on earth was he mentioning it now? "You need to purge all thoughts of Ryan from your mind." He commanded. I flinched away from

but then shut it again when I realized I couldn't tell Gideon why I was really avoiding him. I couldn't