The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 468

Gideon’s POV

The rain was relentless, turning the forest floor into a slick, muddy mess that made every step treacherous. More than once, the path became washed out from the water, making it nearly impossible to traverse without slipping and falling.

Anyone with half a brain would have turned back by now. Waited until the weather let up, or at least went back to gather more help. A proper search party, flashlights, more people to spread out and search.

But no matter how many times logic urged me to turn around, I didn’t. I couldn’t.

Avery was out here somewhere, and she was in danger. I could feel it through the bond, that faint thread connecting us, humming with fear and desperation. There was not a single part of me that could bear to turn back now when she might need my help.

Sebastian seemed to have the same idea. He kept pace beside me the entire time without complaint, his wolf form sleek and dark against the trees, nose pressed to the ground. We moved in silence, our senses heightened, searching for any trace of her, only communicating through shared glances.

It didn’t take long to pick up her scent.

It was faint, almost washed away by the rain, but it was there. It wasn’t too deep into the forest; just half a mile, maybe less. She seemed to have been following a particularly straight and steady path, as if searching for something, like she had a destination in mind.

I followed the path deeper into the forest, my paws pounding faster now against the wet ground. The scent grew stronger as we ran, but so did something else. Something rotten and foul that made my hackles rise.

Rogues.

My vision tunneled. My wolf took over completely, drowning out every rational thought I might have had in that moment. I moved before I could think twice. Sebastian didn’t try to stop me.

The first rogue didn’t even see me coming. I hit him full force, my jaws closing around his throat before he could shift. He went down hard, blood spraying across the mud.

The camp erupted.

Rogues shifted left and right, snarling and snapping as they tried to figure out what was happening. Sebastian tore into one of them, his teeth sinking into its shoulder and dragging it to the ground.

I moved to the next one, my claws raking across its side. It yelped and tried to twist away, but I was faster. I caught it by the back of the neck and shook hard, feeling bones snap beneath my jaws.