Chapter 170
Chapter 170
Avery’s POV
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My mother was being held in the Rogue King’s prison, and I had no power, no ability to rescue her.
I hadn’t grown up close to my mother- my father had seen to that. From the time I was weaned, I had been removed from her care. He had hated my mother, claimed she seduced him, and she was relegated to the position of omega slave while I was raised in the Gamma’s household.
And yet, my mother was still dear to me. She had looked out for me as best she could, though
sometimes she was too downtrodden to do more than advocate for survival. She was a simple woman
in some ways.
But she had never made me doubt that she loved me.
At times in my life, I believe she was the only one who did. Certainly, my belligerent father had lost all interest in me once my wolf had failed to manifest. My step–sister was my greatest enemy, and her husband was the man I had once thought would become my mate.
So to know that the only person who had unconditionally loved me was now in the hands of an evil man- a man who would do anything to make me his – it tore at my heart and horrified me.
I needed to find a way to save her. It was the primary reason I had lingered here as Luna. Gideon had promised that he would help rescue her if I did so.
Now I was no longer Luna, thanks to my injuries. Would he still deliver good on his promise?
My tear–filled eyes flickered to his across the table in my apartment.
“Gideon,” I begged, “Please save her p>
My heart sank further as he hesitated. What was he waiting for? His face was twisted in contemplation, as though he was weighing the decision in his mind.
“Avery,” he said finally, with a heavy tone, “The dungeon is heavily guarded. To attack it in open onslaught would result in heavy losses for our pack. It would be seen as a formal declaration of war p>
“So declare war then!” I exclaimed, “Do you not want to eliminate the Rogue King? Have you not been fighting his forces for the entirety of my stay here p>
Gideon looked as though his own words tasted bitter in his mouth. He grimaced, then looked at me directly.
“The cost would be too dear. I cannot send my warriors to die in a bloodbath. I wouldn’t ask it of them if it was any member of my own pack imprisoned, I couldn’t ask them to do this thing for a woman who is not even one of our own p>
So that was it then. All his promises had been worth nothing.
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Chapter 170
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I was surprised at how shocked I was. Somehow, I had still believed that at the end of the day, Gideon would do the right thing. I had thought he was an honorable man, but in every way that mattered, he had
let me down.
Grief tore at my heart, at the idea that I had exhausted my last chance at saving my mother. That because I had trusted the wrong man, I would now lose the one person who had ever truly, selflessly,
cared for me.
I was the worst sort of daughter to leave her to that fate.
“But our contract,” I whispered, as tears poured down my face, “You promised p>
Gideon looked anguished as he rose and went to the door.
“It’s not possible, Avery,” he said firmly.
“Then you have deceived me,” I said, my voice low, flat, and dead.
He only stared at me as I turned away from him, and then I heard his footsteps descending the stairs.
Heartbroken, I threw myself onto my bedspread and gave in to despair. I cursed myself for being so naive, for giving so much of myself, and for what? At the end of the day, Gideon had used me, just like everyone else.
The only person I could trust to solve my own problems was myself. It was up to me to find a way to rescue my mother.
I marched to my desk and pulled out paper and ink and began to write.
There was one warrior who I still considered a friend. A man who had once showed me kindness. Perhaps he would be willing to do so once again.
“Stay away from my man,” Jessica’s hand rose in the air and I flinched. She had barged into my apartment the next day, holding my letter in her hand.
“ That letter was not for you,” I pointed out. I wasn’t sure how she had intercepted the letter intended for lan, but it was obvious that she had.
lan was Jessica’s true mate, but she had rejected him. Now, seeing that she was intercepting his mail, I began to wonder if there wasn’t more to her feelings than she let on.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s mine now,” Jessica said, lowering her hand and leaning over me with a smirk, “And I wonder what Gideon would think about you writing to one of his warriors and begging for his help p>
“ Gideon doesn’t care about what happens to me,” I said, truthfully. Jessica’s eyes widened. That had not been what she expected to hear.
“He’s not willing to stick to our bargain,” I said, bitterly.
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Chapter 170
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“ So, ” Jessica crossed her arms, cocking out one of her curvy hips. The woman had a figure that would put an hourglass to shame, and, not for the first time, I wished I looked more like her, “The high–and- mighty Luna is brought low p>
Of course she would delight in my downfall, but I found myself unwilling to rise to her taunting. I had lost everything that mattered, her words were unable to hurt me further.
“Yes,” I said simply.
Jessica looked as though she was thinking for a long moment, “Why did you want lan to help you? ”
“Because I have no one else.” I ground out.
“lan is mine,” Jessica snapped, “Don’t come running to him to fix your problems for you p>
“I thought you rejected him?” I pointed out, tilting my head, “Didn’t you p>
Astonishingly, Jessica’s cheeks flushed. Perhaps she wasn’t as indifferent to her connection with lan as she pretended.
“Ah,” I nodded, as some things slid into place in my mind, “I see I wasn’t the only one whose plans went awry p>
“ Mind your own business!” Jessica snapped, tucking my letter back into her pocket, “I’m not here to talk
about me p>
“Why are you here then?” I asked, curiously.
“I… ” Jessica looked uncharacteristically off–kilter, “I will keep this letter from Gideon on one condition. There is a promotion that I require a recommendation for. If you write the commendation, then I will let it go p>
So it was to be blackmail then.
I blinked at her in astonishment. The meangirl was asking me for a letter of recommendation. Truly, that would be abandoning whatever honor I had left.
It was a clever request. If I later tried to expose Jessica for what she was, she could point at the letter of recommendation as proof that I didn’t truly feel that way. I would look like a liar.
But she had me over a barrel, and she knew it. If she took my letter to Gideon he would know that I had tried to go behind his back and against his wishes.
Growling, I grabbed my pen and paper once more.
“How long does this letter need to be? ”
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