The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 470

Avery’s POV

My lungs burned. Every breath felt like swallowing glass and my muscles ached, but I forced my legs to pump faster.

Behind me, I could hear him crashing through the underbrush. He was fast, and he was getting closer. I heard his footsteps pounding just behind me. I didn’t dare to look back.

“Where are you going, Princess?” he shouted, his voice nearly lost amongst the rain. “Are you scared of me or something? You didn’t seem so scared all those years ago, when you were my King’s whore!”

I veered left, ducking under a low-hanging branch. My foot caught on a root and I stumbled, nearly going down. I caught myself on a slippery rock, palms barking with pain at the impact.

I risked a glance over my shoulder.

He was maybe twenty feet back. Close enough that I could see the gleam of his teeth in the darkness.

I pushed myself up and kept moving, my muscles screaming in protest. My wet clothes clung to my skin, weighing me down. Water dripped into my eyes, blurring my vision. It was because of this that I didn’t see the slope until it was too late.

My foot hit empty air and I went down hard, tumbling through the mud and rocks. I hit the bottom with a jarring thud that knocked the air from my lungs. My ears rang, and my vision went white for a moment.

For a second, I just lay there, gasping, my ribs aching.

The rogue appeared at the top of the slope. He grinned down at me, then jumped.

I rolled to the side just as he landed where I had been a moment before. He spun, reaching for me, and I scrambled backward on my hands and knees.

He caught my ankle and yanked me toward him.

I kicked out with my free leg, but he was ready for it. He grabbed that ankle too and dragged me closer with a grip that was like iron.

“Come here, Princess.”

“Fuck… you!”

I twisted onto my back and swung my fist at his face. It connected with his cheek, but he barely flinched. He just laughed and dropped down on top of me, pinning me to the ground.

His hands closed around my throat.

I clawed at his wrists, trying to pry his fingers loose, but he was too strong. The pressure built in my head, my vision starting to go dark at the edges.

My hand scrabbled in the mud beside me, searching for anything I could use. My fingers closed around a rock.

I brought it up and slammed it against the side of his head.

He grunted and his grip loosened just enough. I sucked in a breath and swung again, this time aiming for his temple.

The rock connected with a wet crack this time.

He jerked back, his hands going to his head. In the moment that passed, I brought my knee up hard, catching him in the jaw now. His head snapped back and he toppled to the side.

I rolled away and staggered to my feet, coughing and gasping. My throat felt like it was on fire.

The rogue was already getting up, blood streaming from the gash on his head. He spat into the mud and looked at me with those cold, hungry eyes.

“You’re gonna regret that, Princess.”

I ran.

My legs felt like jelly, but I forced them to move. The forest was a blur around me, trees and darkness and rain.

He was gone. For now.

I turned and looked deeper into the cave. It was pitch black, the darkness so complete I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face, even with my wolf’s enhanced vision.

I went to pull out my phone, but it was gone, likely lost somewhere in the mud. I glanced back at the entrance of the cave, where I could still hear the rogue’s voice in the distance. If I emerged now, he would probably locate me again. The only choice I had was to go deeper and wait it out.

The tunnel narrowed as I went, the ceiling dropping low enough that I had to duck. In the distance, I could hear the sound of water dripping somewhere in the cave. I had to press my hands against the rough stone walls, feeling my way along.

After maybe fifty feet, the tunnel squeezed down to almost nothing. I had to turn sideways and suck in my stomach to fit through, but I could see light on the other side. I held my breath and began to shimmy through the opening. The cold rock pressed against my belly, making it hard to breathe. My panic spiked, but I swallowed it down.

Just a little further.

Then, the tunnel opened up.

I stumbled out into a wider space and stopped, my breath catching.

The ceiling soared up above me, and in the center, I saw the source of the dim light: it was a pool of water that glimmered with the pale greenish color of bioluminescent lichen clinging to the rocks around the pool.

Above, there was an opening in the ceiling. Rain dripped down through it in a steady stream, and beyond I could see a sliver of sky. The was half-hidden behind the stormclouds, but it provided just a little more light, just enough to see by.

I walked forward slowly, my shoes squelching against the wet stone. The pool rippled as raindrops hit the surface, sending out perfect circles that overlapped and merged.

I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the dim light.

There. Growing around the edge of the pool, half-hidden by the rocks, were the plants from my dream. They were small and delicate, with dark green leaves that were almost black. Their flowers were pale white and shaped like little cups that were glowing faintly.

Moonveil.