The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna

Chapter 429

“Gideon, I came as soon as I could,” I would say. “I saw Avery collecting aphrodisiac plants in the forest. I should have told you sooner – ”

“Avery. I love you.”

I froze.

Silence fell inside the room. My hand, which had been reaching for the doorknob, hovered midair.

“You don’t mean that,” Avery whispered.

“I do.” Gideon’s voice sounded more certain now. “I love you, Avery. I always have. And I’m sorry that I didn’t make it clear enough before. I’m sorry that I pushed you away because I was too much of a coward to say it out loud.”

My heart cracked. My hand fell back to my side, and I took a step back, shaking my head. Avery and Gideon’s voices faded, or maybe that was just the blood rushing through my ears and blocking it out.

He loved her. And the way he said it…

He meant it.

turned to dust. I thought about Avery and Gideon together, locked in an embrace, their mate bond-the bond that had never gone away, not after ten years of pain and separation-bolstered by the light of

a mate out there somewhere. That maybe, just maybe, I could be

I love you.

of me, the typical age that most people found their mates and marked each other for life. For a woman like me, it should have been simple. A happily ever

I was a child, I’d been told by my father that the most important thing, far more important than love or a mate, was marrying the right person. That my one and only duty in

luring a ten

But… did it?

back the tears that had begun to prick

As if it wasn’t bad enough I had nearly gotten a little boy killed, I was now associated with her. Scheming to drug a man all

had

to, Gideon would always love Avery. That much was clear She didn’t need the aphrodisiac he would

I was a fool for thinking it

turned away from the room and left them there, no longer rushing through the corridors but staring at the tiles beneath my feet as all of these thoughts