“Avery and I are half-siblings.” I pointed out, “We share the same blood.”
“My bride must be capable of running the pack in the event of my absence.”
I just tapped his chair, waiting for a real challenge. Who did he think had been running Silvermoon while Ryan had spent his time nursing six-packs of beer on the porch?
“She must be capable and willing to bear me an heir.”
I nodded, biting my lip. I admit, I was a bit turned on. The thought of bearing Gideon’s children, of being bred to him, was stirring.
“She must be capable of bearing my mark, renouncing any previous marks or claims any other may hold on her.” Gideon intoned.
“Mark me as you wish.” I said breathily.
“And finally, and most importantly.” Gideon rose to his feet, and I found myself staring up at him from below his collarbone. Had he always been this tall? Even in my high heels, I felt tiny next to him.
“Yes?” I swallowed.
“She needs to not be a cruel, self-centered, selfish, bitch who is only out for her own gain and doesn’t care who she stomps on.” A harsh smirk stole over Gideon’s features as I flinched back.
I stepped backwards and shook my hair over my shoulder with a haughty flip.
“Touch?.” I seethed through gritted teeth. “I don’t suppose you have any flexibility on that last point?”
Gideon stepped close and leaned down to whisper in my ear. His breath raised goosebumps on my skin.
“None.”
He straightened and met my furious gaze with his icy one.
“Now, I must ask you to leave, before my bride finds you here and destroys you.”
“Ha.” I laughed at that, “Avery doesn’t have it in her.”
“You’d be surprised.” Gideon said mildly, sitting back down in his chair. “I know I constantly am.”
That comment stopped me in my tracks. Could this bastard actually be interested in Avery? I had been under the impression that theirs was entirely a marriage of convenience.
Why would anyone actually be interested in her? I just didn’t understand these men and their attraction to useless, broken things.
“Then, since you are rejecting my proposal, heed this warning, Gideon Nightwolf. Silvermoon has more allies than you know of, and they are all coming for your throat.”
He flashed his incisors at me, “Making threats at me on my own territory isn’t wise, little she-wolf.”
The menace that oozed into the room as he said that made my skin clammy.
Gideon turned in his chair to stare out the window into the fallen night.
“Not a threat, just… let’s call it an oracle of things to come.” I gave a tight smile at his broad back, “One day, when you least expect it, you will find the thing you value most has been taken from you, and you’ll know who took it.”
And, with that, I turned and left.
Oh, and I took his jacket with me. That wasn’t part of the threat, but his
Avery’s POV
I stared in disbelief at the jacket tossed on my bed. It was clearly Gideon’s, but the room reeked of a familiar perfume, and the note that had been sitting on top of the leather left no room for guesswork.
“Dear Avery,
Oops, I did it again.
Guess you just can’t keep a man to save your life. Are you even trying? Your Alpha was practically begging for me after having to deal with you for a few weeks. I just had to let him get a taste. He was soooo thirsty.
I guess Nightwolf pack might get a new Silvermoon Luna after all.
I would be gone before that happens, if I were you.
Xoxo
Zara”
What did this mean? Had Zara slept with Gideon?
I couldn’t believe it, but here was his jacket, saturated with her perfume.
Panic pounded in my ears. The room swam around me. My thoughts were scattered as my eyes scanned the note over and over again.
I wanted to believe that this couldn’t happen again, that I was safe here. But it was becoming obvious that I would never be safe so long as Zara knew where I was. Even if she was lying, she was devious and persistent, and it was only a matter of time before she did manage to ruin my life again.
And why wouldn’t Gideon consider her as his Luna instead? She had all the same advantages I had to fulfill his traditional requirements. She would probably be happy to do it, whether he had a true mate out there or not!
Zara had never let being a homewrecker stop her yet.
I supposed it was admirable, in a fucked up way. She went after whatever she wanted with all she had. And here I was, trying to play it safe in the middle.
Would I ever just choose for my own happiness and stop trying to please people who kept hurting me?
The thought cut me to my core. I had wanted to believe, after seeing how he ran his pack, that Gideon was some rare sort of honorable Alpha.
But he wasn’t.
He was just doing what he needed to do, and he didn’t care if my life was destroyed in the process either.
Hot tears spilled from my eyes and I wiped them on the back of my hand angrily.
“Congratulations, Zara. You got in my head.” I whispered, dropping the note on the floor and going to my closet.
I pulled out a duffel bag and starting throwing the few things I cared about taking with me into it. I couldn’t stay here any longer. I was just a bird in a cage.
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