The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 428

Fiona’s POV

It took me a good while to slip away from Colt. He seemed awfully dedicated to taking up my time tonight, despite the fact that I was making every effort to make it clear that I was disinterested in a conversation.

Finally, while he was briefly distracted by me “accidentally” bumping into a waiter and making him drop his tray all over the floor, I managed to sneak away.

My first instinct was to follow Katya and Gideon. But just as I was hurrying down the hall that I’d seen them enter, I spotted Tegan, Gideon’s Beta, rushing toward me. I just barely managed to slip into a small alcove before he spotted me.

“Tegan?” Sebastian’s voice came from the end of the hall. “What’s going on?”

“Have you found Fiona?”

My stomach dropped.

“Not yet. My Beta said he lost track of her.”

“Well, apparently now we need to be looking for Deirdre.”

“Deirdre… As in…”

“Yes. That Deirdre.”

I held my breath until their voices faded down the corridor. Only once I was certain they were gone did I poke my head out from the alcove and look around. The corridor was empty.

So. They were looking for me—which meant that the drugging had been discovered.

Deirdre, on the other hand… The name rang a bell, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Whoever she was, I just hoped she would distract the others long enough for me to get the hell out of dodge.

Picking up my skirts, I hurried down the hall in the opposite direction Tegan and Sebastian had gone. At the end of the corridor was an intersection going four ways, and I stopped, turning quickly to figure out which way to go.

“Fiona!”

The sound of Katya’s voice made me turn. I spotted her rushing toward me, her face pale.

I looked at the direction Katya, or Deirdre, or whatever the hell her name was, had run off to and bit my lip. I could escape now, while Sebastian and Tegan were still looking for her. Go home, try to come up with an alibi.

But I knew it wouldn’t work. Colt had seen me already, and the way I’d disappeared would seem too suspicious. Not to mention the day Avery saw me in the woods, clearly collecting the same plant she had been.

An idea struck me then. I’d seen Avery collecting the aphrodisiac, too. Maybe I could pin this on her, frame her for conspiring with Deirdre. Two birds with one stone. Gideon would have no choice but to reward me after that.

Before I could think twice, I was moving in the opposite direction of the exit.

I wasn’t sure where I was going. I didn’t know how to find Gideon in this enormous house, but I knew I had to.

I hurried through corridor after corridor, the floorplan of the house turning into a dizzying maze the further I went. Eventually, I found myself in a narrow, dark hallway, and at the end of it, I heard voices.

The deep timbre of Gideon’s voice made me exhale with relief. I hurried toward it, already rehearsing what I was going to say.

I stopped outside a dark wood door and smoothed down my skirt, composing myself.