The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 128 Gideon's POV It was dark by the time | returned to my office. Dierdra had demanded that | bring her ice for her leg, and then one thing after another had conspired to keep me by her side. Finally she was resting and | was able to sneak away. It felt strange to think that | had to sneak away from my mate, but she was particularly insistent that everything be 'just so' and since she was hurt, it was hard for me to say 'no'. | admit | had almost forgotten about Avery until | was heading down the stairs.

My twinge of guilt was quickly followed by a renewed surge of rage that Avery had dared to push Dierdra. What in the world had come over her to do that? It really wasn't like her to lash out in that way. Waiting a few hours served her right. | couldn't wait to chew her out. | opened the door to my office. She wasn't there. | frowned into the dark room, the lights were out and the rising moon was just brushing the sill of the window. Where could she have gone? And how dare she defy my order?

---- | was just about to call for my Beta to haul Avery to me when something stirred in the darkness | whirled around to find Avery curled up in a ball in the chair in my office. She had one of my jackets over her shoulders and she looked so small underneath it. | was about to start angrily yelling at her when | realized she was asleep. Her dark lashes lay on her pale cheeks, marred by tear tracks that shone in the moonlight. For a moment my heart panged and | studied her for a long moment. She had lost weight in these last few weeks, her knees and shoulders were bony and thin.

Her fingers where they clutched the hem of my jacket were slender and fragile-looking. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were chapped where she'd been biting them. She was a mess, and it should have made me more angry that she was struggling so much, but | found pity rising in me instead. | stalked to my chair and sat, trying to sort out my feelings. Her behavior was inexcusable, as were the ways in which | had been informed by my pack that she was slipping as Luna.

voided. ---- Truthfully, | was disappointed in her, not just for what she'd done to my mate, but because the first few weeks here she had showed such promise. Then it felt like she had lost her mind over my mate's arrival and everything had become terrible. She stirred again, and | frowned. | should wake her, kick her out of my office and give her my punishment, but what would be suitable? While

should have sounded like an accusation in the circumstances. Yes,

| turned on the lamp on my desk and we both blinked as its cone ---- of yellow illuminated my desk and brightened the room At the look on my face, Avery straightened in the chair and turned towards me,

unacceptable," | scowled and watched her flinch at the harshness of my tone, * Those sorts of underhanded tricks are not suitable for a Luna." "Gideon, -," Avery began and I cut her off. "You will refer to me as Alpha." She swallowed and blinked, then slowly found

violence alone would be inexcusable, but to lie to me on top of it .. Do you wish for the harshest punishment?" My hands trembled with anger and | placed them flat on my desk to calm myself. ---- Avery had cringed from my