The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 518

Avery’s POV

“It’s fine,” Gideon said. “Just a scratch.”

He said that as he pressed the cloth to his side, the fabric staining with blood.

I huffed, uncapping the small tub of ointment that I’d used for my neck earlier that night. Outside, crickets chirped beneath the window and an owl hooted somewhere, the pack otherwise quiet. In the bathroom, my mind felt like it was screaming.

“It’s more than a scratch,” I said, gently peeling away the cloth to look at the wound. The three gashes were deep and angry, already raising into long, thin welts on either side of them. “I can’t believe I did this to you.”

“It’s not your fault,” he insisted. “You must have been having a nightmare, that’s all. Your wolf surged and you clawed at me.”

I furrowed my brow, wracking my mind to recall the dreams I’d been having before Gideon’s shout of pain woke me up. I didn’t remember much. Just the typical, nonsensical dreams I normally had. No prophetic dreams, and certainly no nightmares.

“I don’t know,” I murmured, gently starting to dab at the wound with my fingertip covered in ointment. “I don’t remember any nightmares.”

“Sometimes people have night terrors without even realizing it.”

I looked up at him through my brow as if to say that I really didn’t think that was the case, then got back to work.

After that, he let me work without saying anything, which I was grateful for, because I didn’t have anything to say. My hands were shaking, my claws now retracted but the memory of what I’d done still burning at the forefront of my mind. Gideon sat still, occasionally hissing through his teeth, but didn’t complain at all.

Finally, I smoothed the last of the salve over the uppermost line and stood, washing my hands in the sink. Once I’d dried them, I helped Gideon wrap his torso in clean white bandages with gauze to cushion the wounds.

Gideon lifted his head, propping his chin on my shoulder, and met my gaze in the mirror. “Don’t sweat it, okay? Let’s go back to bed.”

With that, he gave my hand a tug, and I reluctantly let him lead me back to the bed. I made a mental note in my wolf’s direction: “Do that again, and you’ll be sorry.” But she was just as confused as I was.

…

By the time the house stirred with the sounds of early morning, I’d already been downstairs, left a note on the kitchen table for Gideon, and slipped out the back door with a canvas bag over my shoulder and my collecting kit tucked under my arm.

The forest was the only place I could think straight after last night. I’d hardly slept at all after what happened. I had never done that before. In all my years with a wolf, my claws had never come out in my sleep, and I’d certainly never hurt someone in the process. It was unsettling, especially after the weird stuff with the pendant. Maybe work and everything else was stressing my mind and body more than I thought.