The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 496

Gideon’s POV

We made it back to the house sometime before dawn, stumbling through the back door half-dressed and laughing like teenagers sneaking in past curfew. I remembered walking Avery to her room, kissing her one more time, and then forcing myself to go to my own bed even though I really wanted to bring her with me.

That had lasted about ten minutes before she’d knocked on my door.

I opened the door to find Avery standing in the hallway, wringing her hands. She’d opened her mouth, glancing over my shoulder at my room beyond—the room we used to share.

Neither of us said a word. I just stepped out of the way, and she walked into the room, and when I shut the door, we were cast into darkness once more.

Now, with the morning light cutting across her face as she laid sleeping on my chest, I could see the bandage on her nose, the bruises that were still fading on her jaw. The scar would be permanent, the healers had said. A reminder of what Sebastian had done.

My jaw clenched at the thought.

Avery stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She looked up at me, and for a moment, her brows pulled together in confusion before she seemed to remember last night and her face turned bright red.

She sat up abruptly, then winced, rubbing her lower back.

“You okay?” I asked, propping myself up on one elbow. “If your injuries are bothering you, I can call the healers—”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just getting too old for having sex on moss.”

I laughed. “You’re not old.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to my back.”

She sat up, pulling the sheet around herself, and looked over her shoulder at me. Her hair was a mess, tangled and wild. She’d never looked more beautiful in all the time I had known her. My chest instantly turned hot, as did the pillar between my legs. I cleared my throat and looked away.

“I should probably go back to my room,” she said. “Before someone sees me leaving yours.”

“Let them see.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You want the whole pack gossiping about us?”

“I don’t care what they gossip about.”

She rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Well, I do—”

A sharp knock came at the door, followed by a familiar voice calling through the wood.

“It’s Tegan, Alpha. I need to speak with you.”

Avery scrambled out of bed, grabbing her clothes from the floor. I watched her pull on her jeans and sweater, trying not to laugh at the panic on her face.

“Go in there,” I said, nodding toward the bathroom. “I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out.”

She disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I pulled on a pair of pants and opened the door to find Tegan standing in the hallway with his arms folded across his chest.

“This had better be important,” I said.

Tegan’s eyes flicked past me into the room, then back to my face. His mouth curved slightly. “Apologies for the interruption, Alpha.”

“What do you want?”

“The pack is asking questions about the boy.”

“Alright,” I said. “Start preparing the ceremony. We’ll hold a banquet the night of.”

Tegan nodded and left. I stood there for a moment, watching him go, before I stepped back into the room and shut the door.

“You can come out now,” I said, trying not to let her hear the smile in my words.

The bathroom door opened, and Avery stepped out. She’d fixed her hair and straightened her clothes, but her face was pale.

“I heard,” she said quietly. “About the Claiming Ceremony.”

I walked over, then stopped in front of her, just short of touching her. Everything still felt so tentative between us that I wasn’t sure what she wanted or hoped for from me. I still didn’t know if sex with her was just that—sex—or if she had plans for the future between us, and right now, I didn’t dare to ask.

“How do you feel about it?” I asked instead.

She wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes dropping to the floor. “It’s surreal. Terrifying, honestly. Hosting a Claiming Ceremony for Bjorn makes everything feel very… concrete.”

“If it’s too much for you,” I said, “you don’t have to do it. But if you want me to claim Bjorn, curing his illness, then this might be the only way to make that happen.”

Avery was quiet for a long moment. My pulse slowed as I watched her face, her expression shifting from concern to fear to something entirely different. To my surprise, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.

“I’ll do it,” she said, her voice muffled by my chest. “For Bjorn.”

Relief flooded through me. I brought my arms up to encircle her slender frame and pressed my face into her hair, inhaling her familiar scent.

“Thank you,” I said. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”