The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 42 Avery's POV Gideon's fingers twisted in my hair, pulling me upright. My head tipped back, exposing my throat. "Now," Gideon leaned closer. I could feel his breath on my cheek, "Let's talk about punishment." I didn't like where this was going. I tried to look him in the face, the whites of my eyes showing, but he pulled harder and I couldn't look at him properly from this angle. "What is the role of violence in a pack?" He asked. I struggled to think of an answer. Violence had always been something that came to me by virtue of who I was, not what I'd done.

My father had reached for violence the way others reached for a cigarette. He craved it, and it soothed him. My violence had always been a defense mechanism. Something I used when all my other options were gone. Did Gideon want me to fight him? I struggled feebly and his hands tightened until I stopped. "A tool, Avery." He continued, in the same patient voice. "A poor tool in the hands of a fool, but a deadly one regardless. You're not a fool, are you?" "I try not to be." I ground out through gritted teeth.

I won't marry a fool." "Jessica will be disappointed." He laughed and released me. "Yes, I expect she will be." I rubbed my head ruefully and watched him as he circled back around his desk. He began rummaging through drawers. "So...you're not punishing me?" He looked up with a

a long moment. When he did, he didn't answer directly, but instead told me a story. "When I was learning to be Alpha, I made a lot of mistakes. The Old Alpha was patient with me, but direct. He would tell me what I had done wrong, and then he would expect me to re-do it. He said, the act of doing it right would be a better lesson than if he'd punished me severely. He was right." Gideon held something out to me, I reached out my hand

need a better, safer place to work until we get you your own office." Gideon said. "Use here, until then." 1/2 Stunned, I could only nod. "And, Avery? No one gets to threaten my pack." Gideon's glower was thunderous, "That includes you as Luna. I expect you to tell me if something like that happens again." I didn't ask how he knew about the incident in the cellar. I