The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 433

“Loved you,” I corrected quietly.

Gideon didn’t comment on that part. “Leave him,” he repeated. “Let’s fix this. Please.”

I was quiet for a moment, working out how to say the next part. Then I just said it. “I’m not married to Sebastian.”

Gideon was quiet.

“We have an arrangement,” I said. “He offered me protection and a cover story, and I needed both at the time. There’s no marriage.”

He looked at the floor, then back at me. Something moved across his face that wasn’t quite hurt and wasn’t quite satisfaction. “I figured,” he said flatly.

“Did you?”

“A ring doesn’t really mean anything if you and your so-called husband never had a marriage certificate.”

I tucked my chin. “Wait. Did you look into that?”

His mouth curved, just slightly, and then it flattened again. “I understand why you did it. I’m not angry.”

“You stalked me.”

“Can you blame me?” Gideon spread his hands wide. I didn’t have an answer for that.

Finally, when the silence had stretched on for long enough, I said, “I can’t come back.”

“Why not?” He tilted his head. “I told you I loved you. What’s stopping us from working the rest out? We’re mates, Avery. You clearly want me just as much as I want you.” His eyes flicked to my dress, where the seams were a little damaged from last night.

I pulled the neckline of my gown up a little and folded my arms.

“You want me,” I said. “You want me to be your Luna.”

“Of course.”

“Which means that I’d have to set aside my independence, my business, the life I’ve built for ten years—so I can be your trophy wife.”

Gideon’s jaw twitched. “What?”

“Charity galas,” I said. “Banquets. Providing heirs. Being treated as most highborn women in the packs are—as a pretty thing to put on a shelf and provide status to a man while I have to put aside my own needs and desires.” I looked at my bare feet sticking out from beneath my dress. “I spent ten years building something that was mine. I run a company. I make my own decisions. I answer to no one. I worked too hard for that to hand it over.”

“I believe that you want that,” I said. “I just don’t believe it would stay that way.”

His jaw tightened. “So that’s it, then.”

“I didn’t say that.”

He looked at me.

I had been turning something over in my head since I woke up. It felt wrong and stupid, but my wolf kept tugging on it, insisting that I look at it more closely.

The truth was, lst night had been a balm that I had badly needed for a decade. The fact of the matter was this: my wolf still had a fated mate. Gideon. And until that bond broke in one way or another, there would be no soothing it. Especially not on nights like last night, when the moon was full and all of our most natural instincts were at their peak.

At least, that was what I told myself. Because convincing myself that it was merely a practical idea and not one born of genuine desire was a lot easier than the alternative.

“I don’t want a relationship,” I said. “Not officially. Not with everything that comes attached to it.” I held his gaze. “But the full moon is every month.”

Gideon stared at me.

“We could have this,” I said. “Once a month. No more, no less.”