The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

"Avery!" I shouted. My voice echoed across the water. "AVERY!" Nothing but a silent forest answered me. I collapsed to my knees. She was gone. And judging by the blood, the severed finger, the death... She might not even be alive. 639 Avery's POV The boat ride took two days. My mother and I huddled in the bottom of the boat, taking turns rowing. The current did most of the work, but we had to steer around rocks and fallen trees. By the time we reached the human lands, my hands were blistered and raw, but we'd made it.

The town we found ourselves in was small and unremarkable: a fishing village with weathered buildings and dirt roads. The people who lived there didn't ask questions. They took one look at us and pointed us toward a boarding house. The landlady didn't ask why we were there, which I appreciated. She just showed us to a tiny room on the second floor and told us the rent was due at the end of the week. The room was barely big enough for a bed and a small table. The wallpaper was peeling, and the floorboards creaked. But it was ours. My mother collapsed onto the bed as soon as the landlady left.

sat beside her, staring at the wall. We'd made it. We were safe. So why did I feel so hollow? Over the next few days, I found work at a nearby farm. The pay was terrible, and the work was backbreaking, but it was enough to cover rent and food. My mother couldn't work much, but the landlady let her work the front desk for free dinners. A week after we arrived, I went to see a doctor. He was my first human doctor, and for the first time, I was met without discrimination. He examined me

the room, my mother was

at the street below. "And now he thinks I'm dead. Which is exactly what I want." My mother sighed, but she didn't argue further. She knew that I'd made my