Chapter 350
Chapter 350
Avery’s POV
My heart shuddered in my chest.
“I think you might have me confused with someone,” I said quickly. Too quickly.
Fiona, despite her young age, had eyes that were as sharp as her father’s. She stepped closer to me, studying me. The way her gaze swept over me made my blood run cold.
“No,” she said. “I don’t think I do p>
I kept my face neutral and my grip on the glass steady. The kitchen was quiet behind me. Down the hall, I could still hear her father and Sebastian talking in low voices.
“I’m not going to say anything to him,” she said. “I just want to talk to you. That’s all p>
I blinked. “Why would you say something to him? Do you know him p>
She nodded slowly.
“Gideon told me he found you,” she said. “The night of Sebastian’s event. He told me you were alive and that he intended to make you his Luna again p>
“How do you know him p>
“I’m supposed to marry him. On my eighteenth birthday p>
I stared at her.
She wasn’t even eighteen yet, and she was supposed to… marry him? How long had this been arranged for? And most of all, why the fuck was Gideon agreeing to it? Had he been the one to arrange it?
The thought made me sick. Gideon was older than me, and this girl was little more than a child.
Over the years, I’d expected him to eventually take a new Luna. In fact, I almost hoped he would, because it might mean that he would relax in his efforts to find me, even if the thought made my wolf snarl with jealousy.
But an eighteen year old girl?
“How long?” I blurted out.
Fiona looked at me. “What p>
“How long has this been in the works p>
“Two years,” she said calmly,
Two years. Two fucking years. That meant that Gideon arranged a marriage to this girl when she was sixteen. Even if they were waiting for her to come of age, that was still disgusting and creepy.
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I tried not to show my reaction, though, for multiple reasons, although my insides were burning hot. It wasn’t jealousy that I felt, but pure disgust. Gideon had a lot of problems, but I never thought he would do something like that p>
Fiona cleared her throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I’m sure this comes as a shock to you,” she said. “But once Gideon and I get married, I hope you know you’re still welcome to be his mate. I won’t get in the way p>
Goddess.
She was a child bride and she was talking like she needed to think about her husband’s mate.
“I have no intention of going back to Gideon,” I assured her. “I’m here for my son’s health, and when he’s better, I’ll go back to the human lands and you’ll never have to think about me again. Your arrangement is safe p>
I wanted to tell her that I thought her arrangement was a horrible idea, but I hardly knew this girl, and it wasn’t my place. If anything, though, it solidified my desire to keep as far away from Gideon as possible. I wouldn’t let Bjorn be influenced by a man who thought it was okay to marry barely legal girls.
Fiona studied me for a moment longer with that discerning gaze that was beyond her years. I studied her, too, wondering if her father had anything to do with this little arrangement-and her strange, grown- up behavior.
“So you don’t love him anymore?” she asked.
I’d been expecting the question, or something like it, but the words still made me flinch. My hand tightened around the glass I was holding.
“No,” I said, swallowing the sudden lump that had formed in my throat. “And I don’t think he ever loved me p>
Something passed over Fiona’s face at that. I couldn’t tell if it was relief or something else, but she nodded.
“Then I won’t say anything,” she said. “To Gideon, or to my father. You have my word p>
I wasn’t sure how much her word was worth given that she was eighteen and her father was potentially the kind of man who made arrangements for his teenage daughter with older Alphas, but I nodded anyway,
“Thank you,” I said.
She held my gaze for a moment longer, then unfolded her arms and straightened. She nodded curtly and left.
I stood there for a long moment after she was gone. It wasn’t until I felt something cold and wet on my hand that I looked down and realized my hand was shaking so much it made me spill a few drops of the water.
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Shuddering, I turned and headed upstairs.
My wolf had been restless the entire conversation. The jealousy she felt was palpable, but I tried my best to ignore it. Ten years had passed since I’d naively loved Gideon. I was beyond the age where I allowed myself to feel jealous.
But Fiona, on the other hand…
She was hardly more than a kid. Just eight years older than Bjorn which, at that age, really was a drop in the bucket. It made me sick.
Gideon was a lot of things, but I never thought he’d be the type of man to arrange a marriage with a sixteen year old. I wasn’t sure if it was Fiona’s father’s idea or his, but it didn’t matter. He’d agreed to it.
He couldn’t possibly have always been okay with that kind of thing, could he? Maybe he’d changed a lot more over the past decade than I expected.
Pushing the thoughts away, I left the water on Bjorn’s nightstand and pulled his blanket up to his chin, then retreated to my room. After a scalding hot shower, I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and went to bed.
Sleep was dreamless that night.
When I woke, I went straight to Bjorn’s room to check on him and get him ready for the day. I opened the door, expecting him to still be asleep since it was relatively early. But to my surprise, his bed was empty.
A maid was in the room, making his bed. She looked up when I entered.
“Is my son around?” I asked.
She shook her head, then pointed to the window. “Last I heard, the Alpha was taking him outside p>
I nodded, thanking the maid, then got dressed and headed out. I made a pit stop in the kitchen for some coffee-the human lands had certainly stoked my addiction to caffeine-then took my mug out into the back garden.
The morning air was soft and warm, the sun still climbing over the horizon. It must have rained at some point during the night because the grass was wet and the air steaming faintly, but I could already tell today would be nice and sunny.
I padded across the lawn, scanning the area for Bjorn, but I didn’t spot him. I did, however, spot Sebastian standing by a large oak tree in the distance.
“Sebastian!” I picked up my pace, a small pang of worry spiking through me when I didn’t see Bjorn with him. “Where’s Bjorn p>
Sebastian turned, smiling, and pointed. I looked over to see a familiar pup racing across the field, snapping his jaws at butterflies. Upon seeing me, the pup turned and ran over, panting. He shifted, revealing Bjorn, breathless and smiling.
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