The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 461

Avery’s POV

I opened my mouth, then shut it again. For a long moment, I didn’t say anything.

Gideon was still looking at me with that calm expression, waiting for an answer. Sebastian had gone rigid beside me, staring at the side of my head with a look I had come to know all too well over the past days.

The truth was, I did want to see my old workspace. More than I wanted to admit, even to myself. I had spent years in that greenhouse, cultivating plants that couldn’t be found anywhere else. It had been my sanctuary, back when I thought I could actually carve out a real life for myself at Nightwolf.

Back before everything fell apart, and I realized that the fairytale life I dreamed of was just that: a fairytale.

Which was precisely why going back there felt dangerous. Like opening a door I had spent ten years keeping firmly shut and locked, having thrown away the key.

Sex under the full moon was one thing. Stepping into an old life that was probably better left in the past was something completely different.

“Gideon, I…”

“I don’t think that's a good idea,” Sebastian cut in, throwing a withering glare Gideon’s way before lening close to me and lowering his voice. “It’s probably not all it’s cracked up to be, anyway.”

Something flared in my chest at that. Maybe it was the dismissiveness of the way he said it, or maybe it was the fact that Sebastian was making the decision for me without even asking what I thought. Either way, it brought out my stubborn streak, and before I could think twice, I turned to Gideon and said, “I’d like to see it.”

Sebastian’s eyes flickered. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

No. Not really. But I wasn’t about to admit that to him, and besides, if Gideon really did preserve all of my plants, then there were some rare species there that I might be able to use. For Bjorn’s sake, I needed to do this.

Gideon had pulled up just ahead of us and got out of his car. Sebastian tucked his hands into his pockets and grumbled something under his breath, but followed as Gideon led us inside.

The greenhouse was right next to the main house, accessible via a small stone pathway through a fragrant garden. I’d forgotten how beautiful it was. The glass walls and ceiling let in streams of sunlight, and the space was filled with rows of plants in varying stages of growth. The air was warm and humid, smelling of soil and greenery and fresh flowers.

I stopped just inside the doorway.

It was bigger than I remembered. Or maybe the workspace Sebastian had set up for me at Evergreen was just dwarfed by this one. There were long worktables along the far wall, all of them equipped with the same distillation setups and glass beakers and rows of labeled jars that I’d left behind when I ran away. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling, and the glass roof above bathed everything in the soft, natural light of the setting sun.