The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Avery’s POV

What I had overheard was troubling, and I wasn’t sure what to do with the information.

Although Nightwolf on the whole seemed better run than Silvermoon, there were still those who resented Gideon’s leadership as Alpha.

And certainly wolves like Jessica were just out for their own gain.

If I was truly going to stay and become Luna, I would need to think about how I could help smooth over these rough patches.

Was the person who I’d overheard someone whose family had been overlooked for events like the upcoming Mating Gala?

I began to see the true responsibility the Old Luna had put on me, and the level of trust it had required. Any mistake I made could be the reason why a Nightwolf pack member might decide to leave, or worse, turn on their own pack.

These were sobering thoughts.

The Old Luna was not in her office at this time of night, so I would turn the list over to her in the morning.

But I didn’t want to go back to my room just yet.

So I headed towards the kitchen.

As I approached the back door of the kitchen, I heard the quiet sounds of someone crying. I stilled my footsteps and moved closer, rounding the corner quietly.

There was a girl seated on a barrel outside the Kitchen. She had her hands over her face and was holding a kitchen towel over her

eyes.

Maybe she was hurt? I thought.

Concerned, I asked, “Are you ok?”

The girl startled and swung her head to look at me. As she pulled the towel away, I realized it was one of the girls who had been with Jessica earlier that morning.

“Oh, uh.” I said, awkwardly. “I heard crying. Did you hurt yourself in the kitchen?” I didn’t see any injuries.

The girl sniffed loudly, then shook her head.

“No.” She said miserably, “I’m ok.”

Alone like this, neither of us seemed to know what to say next.

I thought about the times I had found a quiet corner to release pent-up feelings when I didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“Well, ah, if you need someone to talk to?” I offered, clumsily.

“No!” The girl said loudly, then with a grimace, “I mean… No, thank you. But I can’t talk to you.”

“Because of Jessica?” I asked, with a touch of bitterness. “You must know she started all of this.”

She nodded once, hunching her shoulders, “I know. She’s awful, but she has a lot of power.”

“More than a Luna?” I said with a cold smile.

“Of course not.” She looked at me with a look that indicated she thought I was a bit dense, “but you’re not fully Luna. Not yet. And…”

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She looked like she wanted to say something more, but trailed off.

“And…?” I prompted.

“Listen, I can’t really be talking to you. Jessica has something over me, and I can’t get on her bad side. You need to be careful. She really has it out for you.” She hopped down off the barrel and folded the towel carefully, placing it where she’d been sitting.

I reached out to touch her elbow, “Whatever it is she has, we can try and fix it.”

For a moment she hesitated, then trembled all over and shook her head violently.

“Sorry, you seem nice, and I feel bad, but it’s not safe here. For either of us. You have to do this on your own, and so do I. But…” she bit her lip, “Thank you for checking on me. I forgot there were people who would do that. Everyone here just thinks I am one of hers and they avoid me now.”

Personally, I couldn’t blame them, but I did feel a stab of pity for this girl who was caught up in something with a bad person like

Jessica.

I nodded, and watched as she walked away. Then I picked up the towel she’d left behind and carried it into the kitchen.

Anna was at the long table, rolling out the dough that would bake the morning bread.

“Do you never sleep?” I asked her.

“Not when the wolves are hungry,” she laughed, “and they’re always hungry.”

“Did you see the girl out there?” I asked, “Who is she?”

“Ah. Madelyn.” Anna sighed. “She’s not a bad girl, not really. Just… mixed up with the wrong sort.”

“You mean Jessica.”

Anna just gave me a nod, flopping a bowl of dough onto the counter and beginning to shape it into loaves. She didn’t say more. Maybe she couldn’t.

After a while she changed the subject and said, “I got an invoice for a shipment of flowers for the Gala, but there seems to have been some mix up, as we already had a shipment delivered. If you remember, you might mention it to the Old Luna when you see her.”

I told her I’d look into it. There were a lot of moving parts in the preparations and I didn’t have a firm grasp on any of them yet.

We shared a cup of tea and a slice of toast, talking about nothing much, and then I said ‘goodnight’ and headed for my room.

That night I dreamed of being tangled in vines. No matter how hard I struggled, they only grew tighter and tighter.

I kept expecting to open my eyes and find myself in my bed, but the dream stretched on.

“You are a fighter, huh?” A strange voice said.

I turned my head to see a handsome man wearing an eyepatch. He was sitting on a branch nearby, watching me.

“Help me?” I requested. The vines were starting to cut off my air.

But the eyepatch man just sat, smoking a cigarette, watching me struggle.

“The system isn’t built to help.” He said cryptically, “It is meant to tie you down.”

“How come you aren’t tied?” I gasped.

“I cut myself free.” He said.

“So cut me free!” I begged, but he only shook his head sadly.

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