Chapter 218

Chapter 218

I whirled on my heel to face my deceitful mate and struggled through gritted teeth to grind out what I had to say to her.

“You have one chance-one chance only- to explain to me why you lied about this p>

Avery’s POV

As much as I had hoped for this day to come, it was still extraordinarily painful watching realization break over Gideon’s face.

I felt vindicated in my suspicions, but as I watched Dierdra’s house of cards collapse around them both, I had the thought that if I could have spared Gideon this pain, I would have.

He still had no idea how deep her deception went. I could tell.

A part of me wanted to let the illusion persist. As Dierdra stumbled into a clumsy explanation about how she had thought she was pregnant and then when she discovered she wasn’t, she had been too scared to tell Gideon for fear that he would hate her… it was painful to listen to the continued lies pouring from her lips in a torrent, and even more painful to watch Gideon swallowing them with the look of a man who wanted to believe.

He wanted to believe that she had done this thing for love. Misguided, yes, but the tale Dierdra was spinning was one where she was still playing the maiden who was so eager to please that she hadn’t wanted to admit the truth to him, or to herself.

I knew the depth of her manipulation. He didn’t. He didn’t want to even consider it.

And wouldn’t it be kinder to leave it where it lay? To let him struggle on for a time, still believing tha mate’ was naive, but kind-hearted.

No.

As much as I wanted to give him that mercy, I knew the truth. That poison would fester unless it was totally cleaned out.

My love for Gideon made me want to maintain the convenient coverup, but my respect for him as my husband and Alpha meant that I could not do so.

“Gideon,” I said softly as I rose to my feet.

Dierdra’s words stopped mid-flow, and her eyes took on a new haunting expression. I genuinely think she had forgotten I was there, so engrossed had she been in spinning her new web of lies for Gideon.

All it took was one look from me and she knew.

She knew that I was going to tear it all down now.

In swift steps, I leaped across the room and seized the satchel she had carried as a purse.

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Chapter 218

+25 Bonus

“No!” Dierdra screamed, as I snatched it up a second before her hand clawed the air where it had been.

I upended the bag on the bed, and out poured pieces of paper.

“What is this?” Gideon said, picking one up. Then his eyes fixed on the words and he read silently. First one note, then the next. Then the next.

I knew what he was seeing. Notes addressed from the Rogue King, and from my half-sister. Notes that instructed Dierdra on what to do next. Notes that asked her to send them information about Nightwolf Pack-our military strength, deployments, Gideon’s schedule, my location…

After our encounter in the parking lot, I knew that I needed to find more proof. There was no way that Dierdra was depending on finding her way offsite to meet the Rogue King every time they needed to strategize. There had to be another way they were exchanging information.

After a bit of searching, I had found it. The stash of notes that Dierdra kept in her satchel, and which she should have burned earlier. I wondered why she had bothered to keep them.

“How long have you been in contact with our enemies??” Gideon’s voice was rising as Dierdra shrunk beneath the hospital sheet.

“Silvermoon Pack are our allies…” she protested weakly, “I wasn’t doing anything wrong p>

It was obvious from Gideon’s face that he wasn’t buying it, and she quickly changed tactics.

“I just missed you so much,” Dierdra let out a sob, “and I was lonely when you were gone. Rea had been around and spent more time with me, I wouldn’t have felt so bad p>

Gideon’s eyes narrowed to black slits, “You are my mate. I have always tried to treat you fairly, obvious that in doing so I trusted you further than I should have p>

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“I did it all for you! To make you happy!” Dierdra yelled, “I was afraid you would leave me p>

Furious, Gideon turned his back on her and stalked out of the room.

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