The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 199 There were more people here than at the last social function I had attended, which surprised me at first. I would have thought that the Ball a few weeks previously would have been the highlight of the year for most packs, but it appeared there was even greater attendance for the bureaucratic meetings that comprised this trip's agenda. The way I was treated as I drifted along the passageways was notably different as well. Nods of deference from the Alphas and Lunas, and more than a few pleasant greetings.

The last time I had been here, I had felt like chum in the water, and the sharks had been closing in. The attendees had sensed that I was on the outs with Gideon, who had brought Dierdra as his 'true mate', and they had seen me as fresh meat to be devoured. Now, word must have gotten out that Gideon had brought me, and me alone. It had secured my position in th eyes of the greater wolf society. While I felt grateful for the security it afforded, irritation flooded through me at the marked difference in treatment I received.

People only saw what they wanted to see, and they placed more stock in the titles conferred by hierarchy than by the people who occupied those roles. Once again, I was only seen as 'the Luna', not as Avery, the person. I returned to my quarters I shared with Gideon feeling somewhat discouraged. Did it matter which Alpha I chose, if at the end of the day I was just a body to fill a need? ---- I stomped towards my room and shoved open the door, then froze.

it that would make up for the off-the -shoulder drop sleeves. 1 audibly gasped at the

he said cryptically, "and I'll show you." Perplexed but intrigued, I did as he commanded. There were matching gilded flats for my feet, and I slipped them on and stared at my reflection in the mirror, staggered by the woman staring back at me. She no longer looked like an

had been dimmed, and the settling twilight seeped in through the open windows, along with a delicately cool night breeze. The mid-summer wind

black suit clung to his broad shoulders and nipped in at the waist to offset his long, powerful legs. His hair had been brushed back from his face, but