The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 422

He never looked at me like that. Not once.

And then Avery turned her head while she was dancing, just briefly, and her eyes found Gideon across the room, and I saw her smile stretch just a little further.

My stomach dropped.

So it wasn’t just Gideon. She was doing it too. Whatever was happening between them had escalated.

I’d had a suspicion ever since I found her in the woods last week, harvesting the same plant that I had cut just a few moments prior. But I’d chosen to give her the benefit of the doubt, because she had made it so clear that she wasn’t reciprocating Gideon’s affection for her.

I was wrong. It seemed to me now, as I watched their gazes lock across the room, that she had the same idea I did.

If that was true, then I had very little time. By the end of tonight, if Avery got to him first with that aphrodisiac and seduced him before I could, then it was over. Everything Katya had helped me plan would be meaningless.

The powder had taken me two days to make. I had followed Katya’s instructions exactly, double-checked everything, and the result was a fine, pale, nearly invisible powder that dissolved in liquid without leaving a trace. I had tested it in a glass of water in my room just to be sure.

I stood near the drinks table and waited. A server moved through the crowd with a tray of champagne, weaving toward Gideon. I flagged him down before he got there, pressed the folded paper into his palm along with a sizable wad of cash, and murmured the instructions once, quietly.

He glanced at me, glanced at the money, and moved on without a word.

I watched him cross the room with my heart in my throat.

Watched him stop beside Gideon, offer a glass of champagne. Watched as Gideon took it.

The thing I hadn’t let myself think about all week came up again now, briefly, uncomfortably… The image of Gideon’s face in the morning, confused and betrayed. I knew what Katya had said, that he would be enamored, that the bond would make him forget.

But before I could reach him, someone else appeared at his side. A woman. Dark hair, sharp features, a red cocktail gown that hugged every curve.

Katya.

I froze, watching as she touched his arm and said something. He nodded, then let her guide him away.

What the hell? Why was Katya stepping in now, when it was supposed to be time for me to make my move? I took a step, trying to follow them, but just then, a figure stepped in my way.

Colt, Sebastian’s Beta, looked down at me. “Fiona,” he said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“I’m sorry Colt, but I have to go.” I tried to move past him, but he moved into my path again. And then I saw Gideon and Katya slip through the door, and then they were gone.