The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 393

Avery’s POV

Gideon's jacket was already on by the time he finished making the suggestion.

“You’re really going to help us?” Sebastian asked.

“He’s a kid. I’m not just going to sit around on my ass while he’s potentially in danger.” Gideon grabbed his keys off the hook by the door and looked at us both. “Let’s go.”

There wasn’t much to argue with there. Sebastian and I exchanged a glance, and then we were following Gideon back out into the rain.

We split up the initial search between the three of us; Sebastian covered the eastern edge of the Evergreen border, Gideon reached out to his own pack members to comb the stretch of road between Nightwolf and the fields, and I retraced the trail I had followed earlier with Sebastian.

The rain wasn’t too heavy yet, but a quick look up at the rapidly darkening sky told me all I needed to know. If we didn’t find Bjorn soon, he was going to be caught in a serious downpour. I hoped he’d at least been smart enough to find shelter somewhere, but if he was truly lost, there might not be any.

Along the side of the road, the paw prints I’d spotted before were already half-washed away. I crouched down in the ditch, squinting at the mud, and tried to piece together the direction he’d gone.

Bjorn had always been an “explorer”, as my mother called him. I had lost him in crowded parks before, in grocery stores, once in an airport that still gave me anxiety just thinking about. But this was different than the human lands. At least there, there were crowds, police officers, public transportation that he knew how to use if he had to.

Here, it was remote and quiet, and the terrain, if he had ventured far into the wilderness, was inhospitable.

I stood, knees cracking, and looked out at the distant treeline beyond the fields. I swallowed hard.

“Do you think he went into the forest?” a voice suddenly asked.

I looked up to see Gideon approaching. Judging from the fact that he was alone, I assumed he hadn’t found Bjorn.

She was dressed like she was prepared for the search, but everything was still designer. Tall rainboots with an expensive logo on them. A pristine trench coat. Her dark hair was pulled back neatly and she’d clearly just put on a fresh coat of bright red lipstick.

“Great,” I muttered under my breath as she raised one hand in a wave and hurried over to us.

“I heard there was a search going on,” she said breathlessly, looking between the three of us. Her eyes landed on me. “I’m so sorry, Avery. I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose your own child. You must feel so guilty.”

I clenched my jaw and said nothing to that.

“How did you hear?” Sebastian asked.

Fiona shrugged. “Word travels fast.” She glanced toward the tree line. “I think I may have actually seen him earlier today, now that I think about it. Out near the fields. He was heading in this direction.” She gestured vaguely toward the woods. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I assumed he was out with your permission, but now I wish I had stopped.”