The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 174 Avery's POV "alpha? What is your decision? I can call security right away." The doctor clearly was siding with Dierdra, turning his back to me frostily and crossing his arms, treating me as though I was beneath his notice. He was as hard and cold as the hospital tiles that ran beneath my feet. I wondered, if he really had considered me a threat, would he still have turned his back on me? It seemed like his actions didn't match his words if he was ready to dismiss me so easily. The silence stretched as Gideon considered what he wanted to do.

At first I stared at him, my eyes full of emotion, then I stared down at my feet, feeling ashamed and terrified. To be dragged away as a feral wolf would be just as deadly as to be subjected to the Culling. No community wanted a wolf that could not control their violence. Such a person would be ostracized, and effectively exiled once they had a reputation for such behavior. Unfortunately for me, Gideon seemed to be seriously considering the question. Did he truly believe that I was a dangerous wolf who would have pushed Dierdra in an attempt to hurt her pup?

He, more than anyone, would know what the effect of bearing the 'feral' label would have on my authority if I was ever restored to Luna. I would be humiliated, and would have no standing to ---- enforce pack law. The worst part was that I knew I had screwed up. My panic about my mother had driven me to Gideon's office, and added an urgency that I should have known Dierdra would exploit. She had a fantastic ability to sense weakness in others and exploit it.

That terrified me. T hated her, in my heart, but I equally hated myself for wanting to be like her. If Iwas a stronger person, a stronger wolf, then I wouldn't need to fear the way in which she managed to twist everything

on me, and those things which I had built that I had thought were good had been stripped away from me. Now I stared at Gideon's tense posture. Shoulders back, fists clenched. Everything about him oozed the threat of violence and repercussions for my actions. He had seen Dierdra go flying at my shove. He knew that, on some level at least, I was guilty. Would he ever

far-off place his mind had inhabited. Slowly, he turned to stare at me, finally meeting my tear-streaked gaze. "No," he said slowly, as though he, himself, was uncertain about his decision, "Leave her unchained." "What?!" Dierdra raged

though Gideon's words had granted me a new lease on life. "You coward!" Dierdra raged, struggling against her bedsheets in her attempt to storm at Gideon. He held up a hand, and she quieted as he spoke. "Avery will not be chained, on one condition,"