Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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The rescue of my mother was at the top of my list. Gideon had said he had a plan, I needed to know that he would follow through with it before I willingly allowed our relationship to proceed further. 1
Gideon’s POV
I sensed Avery pulling away emotionally even before she raised her hands to halt me. There was something in her eyes that had gone unfocused and panicked. She had stiffened, the easy pliability of her body becoming hard and unyielding.
Was it because she rejected my advances? And yet, only a few weeks back, she had been quite enthusiastic as she welcomed me into her bed… and into her body. (1)
What had changed since that time? She had told me about Reynaud and the offer he had made her, but perhaps there was someone or something else she hadn’t chosen to reveal. I wondered if there was yet another person she cared about but wasn’t telling me. 1
I knew I shouldn’t feel hurt by her rebuffal, but up until this point, we had been riding the momentum of our victory in the Council chambers. A problematic Alpha had been put in his place, significantly reducing his powerful voice in the eyes of Wolven society.
Avery had been a pivotal part of that plan, and she had played her role to perfection. I had wanted to kiss her when she had spoken up in front of the council. She had been so self-assured, and had delivered her condemnation of Reynaud in a strong and ringing voice that had instantly convinced many of her rectitude.
She was gorgeous when she was full in her power. A worthy Luna for any man. I knew she had felt the pull as well, the looks and smiles that had passed between us had brightened my heart and scattered shadows that had gathered long ago.
And then she had claimed me for a dance, scattering the other women who had tried to usurp her. I remembered how she had looked in that moment, her chin raised haughtily, and her eyes flashing as she
claimed me as her own.
It had reminded me of the confidence with which she had claimed me in other ways. The night that we had sex here. Her enthusiasm had awoken my own desire, and overrode my own conflicting feelings
towards Dierdra, my mate.
Not for the first time, I wondered how it was possible to feel so empty when I was near my ‘true mate’. The accounts of other wolves who were mated made it sound as though the mate bond was incredibly powerful, tying their souls together in a way that was impossible to describe.
But when I was with Dierdra, I mostly felt… burdened. She was incessant in her demands and expectations, and it felt as though she was never satisfied by my attempts to prove that I was present
and desired her.
Instead, it was Avery who had quickened my desire once more on this trip. I found my eyes seeking her figure from across the room, and I felt my jealousy spike when I saw other Alphas notice her. There was
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Chapter 210
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a part of me that wanted nothing more than to sling her over my shoulder and haul her back to our pack quarters to continue what we had started on our last trip.
The night I had never acknowledged or admitted to her. (1)
I knew my silence on the subject had thrown her into consternation. I knew that I was being cruel on some level by not openly naming myself as her silent lover, but pride made me think that she should have known it was me, and was injured that she harbored such doubts. 1
How could she not remember, when I remembered every moment? The curve of her calf in the moonlight, the way her back had arched in pleasure, the soft, breathy noises she had made in my arms as her climax had approached, the way she clenched around me, a velvet glove, as pleasure washed over us both…
It felt irreverent to drag these moments into the light of day with someone as inelegant as words. I wanted only to relive them with hands and mouth and body.
The silence between us had stretched too far. She had murmured some apology and rushed away, lost
to me once more.
I watched her beautiful figure disappear towards the house and felt as though she carried my heart off with her.
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Chapter 21)
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