The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 117 Avery's POV "| know what you're doing." Gideon said as his hand fisted in my hair. | gasped as he hauled me to my feet. "W-what?" | winced. "| told you, those tricks don't work on me." Gideon said sternly, releasing me. Tricks? He thought... That | was trying to seduce him? | glared at him for the presumption, even as | blushed wondering what he had thought | was trying to do? "| dropped the pen." | said, pointedly. Gideon's eyebrow quirked, his expression full of disbelief. My heart ached as | saw mistrust crawl across his face.

Being so misunderstood by Gideon hurt much more than it should have at this point. He had been raised in an atmosphere of intense expectations, where even the bonds of family meant nothing when power was on the line. Gideon saw ghosts and enemies everywhere, and he always would. ---- closed my eyes and counted to ten, trying to release my anger at him, He was the creature his parents had made, twisted by his demonblood and the deaths of his childhood friends. If he couldn't recognize sincerity and authenticity when he saw it, that wasn't my fault.

At one time, that realization would have made me want to fight to prove him wrong, to show him that | was different, that | could love him differently. After the last 24 hours, | just mutely accepted it. | signed the document. It meant locking my heart away, to don the mask of Luna into perpetuity. Or, at least until the Rogue King was caught and my mother was rescued. Once she was safe, | could leave for the human world once more. We could find a quiet place to build our lives together. Have the relationship as mother and daughter that we had never been able to have.

From the time | was weaned, my father had kept me away from her. These men thought that they could dictate relationships as they pleased. As though emotions followed logic. ---- | knew otherwise. | would always love my mother. There would be a part of me that would always love Gideon. Those were parts of myself that | locked deep inside of myself so that they could no longer hurt me. As | finished my signature, Gideon pulled the papers away with a pleased expression on his face.

will be able to resume our productive working relationship." Gideon said with a firm nod as he added his own scrawl beneath mine on the contract. Working relationship. That was what pleased him the most. So, he truly had no romantic interest in me after all. That realization was a

many illusions at play. | was wife and Luna, but | couldn't touch his heart. Dierdra was his false-mate, and yet

any of those who were supposed to be there for me. Except I knew he didn't care. He filed the papers inside his desk and looked up, surprised | was still standing there. "Luna." He addressed me

bite back a sob that threatened to emerge from my throat. "As soon as | learn something, you will be the first to know." He ---- said coolly. "Now, we should both get back to work." I turned and left. Gideon's black stare followed my every step as | went. Full of more emotions than | could stand, | fled to my garden sanctuary. As spring progressed it had bloomed in joyous color,

to be decent once she'd found out that Gideon had taken me back. 1 | leaned