The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 382

Gideon's POV

I felt like a coward as I watched Avery just... walk away. Get into that car with another man and that child that I was pretty certain was my own. And leave. Fiona was standing beside me, tugging on my arm and saying something, but I couldn't hear whatever it was over the sound of my wolf howling. Avery was my mate. Sebastian very well might have her at the moment, but one thing was for certain-we were still bound in the most meaningful of ways, whether she liked it or not. And I knew she still loved me. She had to.

Even after all this time, even after ten years of space and a world of hurt, I knew that for certain. Avery still loved me, even if she was too afraid to admit it.

I could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at me-that faint sparkle that she always tried to hide but couldn't fully. I could see it in the way her cheeks instinctively flushed when I looked at her, the way she always angled her body toward me when we were in the same room, even if she didn't notice it. Most of all, I had heard it myself. That night at the lounge, when she was in danger, she had called for me. Not Sebastian.

Not anyone else. 1 Me. She was lying now. I was certain of that; when she said those words just now, they were designed to sting, nothing more. She didn't believe them. Maybe she thought she did, but she didn't. She was just trying to push me away. 1 I still couldn't put my finger on whatever misunderstanding had made her believe that she needed to hide from me, but that was neither here nor there at this point. I was going to convince Avery of the fact that I did love her, I did care for her, and I never. intended to hurt her.

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, she would understand. She had to.

"Ahem. Gideon!?" I blinked, refocusing my eyes on the parking lot beneath my feet. Fiona was standing there, her black pumps with the red bottoms tapping impatiently against the asphalt. I slid my gaze up to see that her face had gone beet red and her lips were pursed. She had her arms folded so tightly it made it look like she was trying to push her breasts up into her ears.

"What?" I asked. She made a sound, then gestured vaguely with one hand.

you seriously not listening that whole time?"

"No.Not really." Fiona huffed.

She probably never did. You heard her; she's married with a son and she wants you to

it caught the gray afternoon light. I wasn't stupid. I knew that her father had hoped for me to cave and make

the first time, and nothing in the world could change it. Instead of answering, I said

worked, but no words came out. Her eyes seemed to darken like a cat's eyes when it's royally pissed off. I almost expected her to drop

more date," I

that ring comes off, and I don't want anything to do with you."

"But Gideon-"

passed around copies of a ten year

not Luna quality, anyway." Fiona didn't call after me, but I could feel her staring at me all the way back to my car. By the time I got home later that evening, I had made up my mind. Avery kept using her marriage to Sebastian as a barrier between us, but I'd had

and explained the situation to him, not that he didn't already know. Tegan listened quietly as I spoke, one brow arched. When I was finished, he leaned forward, bracing his

you sure you want me to look into this?"

what we find." I nodded curtly and without

a DNA test if you can get a sample of the kid's hair. I don't