Chapter 15 - Avery and Heartless Gideon: A Werewolf Romance

I was almost to my door when Gideon placed a heavy hand on the wall in front of my head. I stopped, trapped.

For a moment he stood there, just… breathing. Staring at me.

Finally he leaned close, “Everyone says you’re so well behaved,” Gideon said in a low voice, “I didn’t expect to need to lay out the boundaries so explicitly for you.”

Every part of me was attuned to his quiet words and the threat of steel beneath them.

My instinct was to cower and tell this Alpha I wouldn’t cause any trouble from here on out. That was the safest choice for my survival. My heart was pounding super hard.

But if I didn’t defend myself, who would? I gritted my teeth and forced myself to turn to face Gideon.

He was even closer than I’d thought, his face tilted down to be only inches away from mine. My heart raced with his proximity and the stress of the confrontation. I made myself meet those angry, cloudy eyes.

“Maybe if you actually bothered to have a conversation with me, I would understa-” I snapped out but Gideon interrupted me. “So you thought you’d go find a man on the side for yourself? You thought I’d let that happen?” he sneered in my face.

A fiery surge ran through my body.

“What if I did?” I lifted my chin defiantly. “I’m supposed to watch women throw themselves all over you, while I play the dutiful Luna?” I ducked under his arm and opened the door of my room.

I stepped inside and turned to close it only to find him already over the threshold.

Slowly he paced forward and I backed up, step by step, until my knees hit the back of my bed.

“If you think I’m the sort of Alpha who would watch his Luna with someone else, you’re perilously mistaken.” His gaze bored into my skull with quiet intensity. “I suggest you revise your plan.”

“Or what?” I had to ask, “You’ll ignore me? Treat me like I don’t matter? You already do all that.” My anger crackled in my questions, “You act like that’s not how I’ve always been treated. If you want to make me fall in line, you’ll need to try something new.”

“Something new?” Gideon hissed softly, “What did you have in mind?”

His eyes flickered to the side and his expression changed. I turned to look where he was staring and saw the lingerie laying on the bed.

Gideon laughed softly, “Oh, I see.”

Oh no.

I reached to flip the blanket over the sexy outfit, but his hand caught mine and held it tightly.

Avery’s POV

I struggled to pull my hand out of Gideon’s fingers, but he held me tightly.

“So that’s your angle.” He looked at me appraisingly for a long moment, “I admit, I didn’t think you had it in you to try and seduce me with petty games. How childish.”

Abruptly, he released me and bent over the bed to lift the scandalous underthings. He tipped his head towards me with a raised eyebrow.

“This is what you think I want from you?” He chuckled. “Save your efforts. I won’t sleep with you.”

Still laughing, he tossed the lingerie back on the bed and walked out the door without a second glance.

And then he was gone.

All my blood felt like it had migrated to my cheeks. I stepped to the door and childishly slammed it shut behind him. It made me feel a bit better.

Well, that was humiliating. I groaned as I scooped up the disgraceful outfit and tossed it in the trashcan.

The next few days, I found I couldn’t stand being in my room. I kept replaying the scene with Gideon in my head and coming up with things I wished I had said instead.

I need a change of scenery.

I pulled on functional outdoor gear and marched to the acres of land set aside for Nightwolf Pack’s community gardens. Although the space had once been developed, it was obvious that no one had put effort into tending or maintaining the garden beds in a long time.

Pulling out weeds was the perfect way to let out tension.

I imagined I was pulling Zara’s hair and when I finally paused in the late afternoon, my wheelbarrow was piled high.

I grinned and wiped a muddy glove across my sweaty forehead.

“You’ve been out here quite a while.” The cook, Anna, appeared at my elbow with a tall glass of iced tea, which I accepted gratefully. Her apprentice, Hailey, was at her side and handed me a sandwich wrapped in paper with a shy smile.

“There’s a lot to do here,” I said, truthfully. “Still, I think if we can get a few beds cleared out, in the next few weeks we can get some things in the ground quick enough for the fall harvest.”

“I admit, gardening has always been a bit beyond me.” Anna frowned, “I’ve got enough to do as it is.”

“It’s a lot.” I agreed, “But if we can just get a few volunteers to help with the planting, it won’t be so difficult to maintain.” Excitement crept into my voice, “Besides, if we can get a little herb patch going next to the kitchen, and a few tomatoes, corn, potatoes, peas, squash… We can save quite a bit in expenses.”

The cook stared at me in surprise, “Well, I do believe you mean that, but is that really something the Luna needs to be doing?”

I smiled at her, “It’s something I enjoy doing, and it helps the pack. Let’s just try it!”

“Your enthusiasm is infectious.” Anna laughed, and Hailey’s eyes shone as they followed me around the garden beds, listening to my plans for where plants could go and how we could rig up irrigation for the watering.

When we returned to the kitchens to wash up, I could already hear them excitedly telling the others about our plans. It felt good to contribute to something we could all work on together.

The next day I had a small group of warriors and civilians who had volunteered to help me with the labor. I quickly set them to turning over the dirt, burying compost, and sorting through the packets of seeds Anna had procured from a local farm family.

At lunch, we sat down at long tables in the shade to eat and rest a bit before the last part of our work for the day. It was definitely getting warm out. I took my empty cup over to where Anna had set up pitchers of fresh juice and a bucket of ice.

The ice had started to melt into a large lump. I thumped at it in frustration, trying to break off a piece or two.

“Mind if I break the ice?” a cheerful voice said behind me.

I turned to see a young warrior with a mischievous grin. With a smile, I indicated he was welcome to try. He swiftly chopped at the ice with his knite and dropped a few chunks in my glass.

“Thank you,” I said gratefully.

“My pleasure!” he smiled, “Stabbing ice blocks is much easier than the things they usually have me stabbing. I appreciate the change of pace,”

He gestured at the mud that was prevalent across my clothing and skin, “So, who’s winning? You, or the dirt?”

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