Chapter 382

Chapter 382

Chapter 382

Gideon’s POV

I felt like a coward as I watched Avery just… walk away. Get into that car with another man and that child that I was pretty certain was my own. And leave.

Fiona was standing beside me, tugging on my arm and saying something, but I couldn’t hear whatever it was over the sound of my wolf howling.

Avery was my mate. Sebastian very well might have her at the moment, but one thing was for certain—we were still bound in the most meaningful of ways, whether she liked it or not.

And I knew she still loved me. She had to. Even after all this time, even after ten years of space and a world of hurt, I knew that for certain. Avery still loved me, even if she was too afraid to admit it. ・

I could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at me—that faint sparkle that she always tried to hide but couldn’t fully. I could see it in the way her cheeks instinctively flushed when I looked at her, the way she always angled her body toward me when we were in the same room, even if she didn’t notice it.

Most of all, I had heard it myself. That night at the lounge, when she was in danger, she had called for me. Not Sebastian. Not anyone else.

Me.

She was lying now. I was certain of that; when she said those words just now, they were designed to sting, nothing more. She didn’t believe them. Maybe she thought she did, but she didn’t.

She was just trying to push me away.

I still couldn’t put my finger on whatever misunderstanding had made her believe that she needed to hide from me, but that was neither here nor there at this point. I was going to convince Avery of the fact that did love her, I did care for her, and 1 never intended to hurt her. a

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, she would understand.

She had to.

“Ahem. Gideon p>

I blinked, refocusing my eyes on the parking lot beneath my feet. Fiona was standing there, her black pumps with the red bottoms tapping impatiently against the

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asphalt. I slid my gaze up to see that her face had gone beet red and her lips were pursed. She had her arms folded so tightly it made it look like she was trying to push her breasts up into her ears.

“What?” I asked.

She made a sound, then gestured vaguely with one hand. “Were you seriously not listening that whole time p>

“No. Not really p>

Fiona huffed. “Gideon, she doesn’t love you anymore! She probably never did. You heard her; she’s married with a son and she wants you to move on. So move. On.” She took a step closer. “Move on with me. Make this real p>

As she spoke, she held up her hand, displaying the fake engagement ring so that it caught the gray afternoon light.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew that her father had hoped for me to cave and make the engagement official when he put that fake ring on her finger. They thought they could wear me down.

But they couldn’t. I had made up my mind ten years ago when I lost Avery for the first time, and nothing in the world could change it.

Instead of answering, I said calmly, “Since you showed up unannounced today, did that count as our third and final date p>

Fiona’s lips worked, but no words came out. Her eyes seemed to darken like a cat’s eye’s when it’s royally pissed off. I almost expected her to drop her claws and slash me across the face.

But she didn’t. She just stared at me, silent, clearly at a loss for words.

“One more date,” I said, turning away. “Then that ring comes off, and I don’t want anything to do with you p>

“But Gideon p>

“You deliberately passed around copies of a ten year old’s expulsion letter,” I said over my shoulder. “You’re not Luna quality, anyway,” a

Fiona didn’t call after me, but I could feel her staring at me all the way back to my c

By the time I got home later that evening, I had made up my mind. Avery kept using her marriage to Sebastian as a barrier between us, but I’d had bad feelings about it from the beginning. It was just a hunch, but was pretty certain that they were both

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lying, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

I called my Beta to my office right away and explained the situation to him, not that he didn’t already know. Tegan listened quietly as I spoke, one brow arched. When I was finished, he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and looked at me levelly.

“Are you sure you want me to look into this?” he asked. “You might not like what we find p>

I nodded curtly and without hesitation. “I want to know everything. Marriage records, timelines. Even a DNA test if you can get a sample of the kid’s hair. I don’t think those two are really married, and I think Bjorn is mine, and I won’t rest until I find out for certain p>

“And what if you’re wrong?” Tegan asked.

That question struck me square in the chest because honestly, I hadn’t allowed myself to think of that possibility. But my Beta was right; it wasn’t concrete yet, and I needed to be practical.

“If it’s true,” I said, “and Avery really did move on and have another son, and if she truly loves Sebastian, then I’ll let her go p>

My Beta looked at me like he thought I was full of shit. We both knew I’d never be able to let go; that ship had sailed a decade ago. But he didn’t press the matter, and left.

By the next morning, he returned. I hadn’t slept well, spending most of the night in my office, going over paperwork that I barely noticed. Really, I spent most of my time pacing, going over all the possibilities in my mind.

Tegan burst into the room around eight in the morning, startling me from a near- sleep in my armchair. I stood, waiting impatiently for the news.

My Beta walked over to me, and it was only then that I noticed he was empty- handed, No documents, That could either be a really good sign or a really bad one.

“Well?” I asked,

Tegan took a deep breath. “I looked into their marriage and found… nothing,” he said. “No photographs, no public marriage records from either of them; just som woman from his past that didn’t work out.

“Who was she?” I asked.

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“I’m not entirely sure. I tried to find her, but she wouldn’t speak to me p>

“Anything else p>

My Beta went on, “I did manage to ask around Evergreen. Everyone I spoke to said that they had never even seen them together before Avery showed up in his pack a few months ago p>

“But Bjorn is ten,” I said.

Tegan nodded.

The implications swept over me like a wave. I sat down in my chair, staring at my Beta in shock.

Avery and Sebastian were not married. Bjorn was very likely not their son.

Did that mean that she was lying after all? Was she single? Was Bjorn mine?

I should have been happy, but right now, all felt was betrayal.

Why was Avery doing this to us?

P

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