The Heartless Alpha’s Beloved Luna (Avery and Gideon) novel Chapter 317

Chapter 317

Avery’s POV

The boardroom windows overlooked the city. At this hour, the other buildings around us were catching the light of the afternoon sun, the gleaming metal facades turning the rays almost blinding. I rubbed my hands over my face, staring at the report laying in front of me.

“Business Proposal: Evergreen Pack.”

The last thing I ever wanted was to make business with a werewolf pack.

It had been ten years since I’d arrived in the human lands with nothing but the clothes on my back, my mother’s hand in mine, and a baby nestled in my belly. Now, I owned one of the fastest-growing supplement companies in the country. “Avery?” My assistant, Claire, cleared her throat. She was standing by the projector, remote in hand. “Should I continue with the presentation?”

I nodded. “Go ahead.”

Claire clicked through the slides. Sales projections. Market expansion. Distribution networks. The numbers were good. Better than good. We were on track to double our revenue this year.

All because of one plant.

I’d created it five years ago by splicing my own DNA into the seeds of a common medicinal herb on a sheer whim one day, trying to see if my Lycan healing powers could be imbued into the herb,

The result was extraordinary. The plant could accelerate healing in humans. Wounds closed faster. Infections cleared up overnight. Even viruses that would normally take weeks to recover from were gone in days,,

I called it Lycan Root. Everyone thought it was just a cool name. They didn’t know the true source of the DNA that made it possible.

The supplement had taken off immediately, and over the past five years, it created my legacy. My business became a household name in the human lands.

Unfortunately, it became too famous. Now, the packs were taking an interest, and I had just received my first business proposal from an Alpha.

“This is a huge opportunity,” Claire said. “If we accept the Alpha’s offer, we’ll be

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looking at a thirty percent increase in revenue. Maybe more.”

I stared at the papers in front of me and sighed.

Working with werewolves meant risking exposure. It meant the possibility of running into someone from my old life. Someone who might recognize me.

Someone like Gideon.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t like working with werewolves.”

Claire frowned. “You’ve said that before. But this is an incredible opportunity. You can’t keep avoiding the werewolf market forever.”

“I can if I want to.”

“Avery.” Claire set down the remote and sat across from me. “I know you have your reasons. I’ve never pushed you on them. But this is too big to pass up. We’re talking about millions of dollars. Expansion into new markets. Long-term contracts.”

Of course she felt that way. Claire was young, ambitious, and human. She looked at the numbers before anything else. In the human lands, having this much money was the most important thing.

Over the past ten years, it had become just as important to me. For my son’s future. But it was still risky, and dredged up a past life that I had worked damn hard to bury.

“I’ll think about it,” I said after a moment.

Claire sighed but nodded. “That’s all I’m asking.”

She gathered her things and left. I stayed in the boardroom, staring out at the city.

This wasn’t the life I had imagined building ten years ago.

I’d planned to buy a small cottage. Live remotely. Grow a garden. Raise my son in

peace,

But life had other plans,

In the early years, I’d taken a job as an herbalist, working under an old woman named Margaret who ran a small shop. She taught me how to mix remedies, and how to read people’s ailments just by looking at them. I was good at it. Better than good. I was perfect,

Within two years, I’d surpassed her. When she retired, she left the shop to me.

I expanded. Started growing my own plants. Experimenting with different

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combinations. And then I’d had the idea to splice my DNA into the seeds.

It had been a gamble, but it worked.

The business grew. I hired employees. Opened a lab. Started distributing to hospitals and clinics. Before I knew it, I was running a company.

I’d bought a house in the city rather than a cottage. A beautiful, expensive house with marble countertops and a view of the river. My mother lived with me, and Bjorn, my son, had his own room filled with toys and books.

We weren’t just comfortable; we had everything we needed and then some. We wanted for nothing. Bjorn went to the best daycare in the city, then the best schools. He had top tutors in all of his subjects, including piano. His teacher said he was a prodigy. Life was perfect.

But somewhere along the way, I’d stopped dreaming.

The Moon Goddess had never visited me again. Not once in ten years. I didn’t feel her presence anymore. Didn’t feel the pull of the moonlight like I used to.

And maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was easier this way. The Moon Goddess didn’t exist in this land of metal and cash.

I stood, walking over to the window. The city stretched out below me, an endless sea of steel. I could hear cars honking even from this fiftieth-floor room.

This was the human lands. People here were individualistic and materialistic. Everyone only cared about making as much money as possible to get ahead, even if it meant stepping on others on your way up the ladder.

It was so different from the packs. There, it had been about community. About taking care of each other. About the collective good There were bad things, of course. Bad people who wanted to put others down-like Deirdre. But it was still a lot to get used to at first.

Over the years, though, I’d adapted. I’d done what I needed to do to survive. To provide for my family,

But sometimes, late at night when I couldn’ sleep, I wondered what my life would have been like if I’d stayed.

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