Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 158 Ava: From the Past

"Ava, is that you?"

The familiar rasp has me frozen, my heart lurching into my throat. Slowly, I turn around, coming face-to-face with a ghost from my past.

Our neighbor. Margot Mitchell.

Her once vibrant auburn hair is streaked with silver, her face a roadmap of wrinkles and scars. It's her eyes that haunt me. Piercing green eyes that see everything and do nothing.

"Margot," I greet, my voice tight with caution. "What are you doing here?"

She limps toward me, her gait uneven from some injury she incurred long before I was born. I remember asking about it once, and my mother slapped the back of my head, admonishing me for my rudeness. "Oh, Ava. I'm so happy to see you again."

I tense as she reaches out, half-expecting her to grab me, to drag me back to the hellscape I escaped. But she merely places a hand on my arm, her touch feather-light.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry for everything. For not intervening when…" She trails off, her gaze flickering to the ground.

The shame she tries to portray leaves me feeling dirty. Unclean from her mere presence.

Memories flash through my mind, unbidden. Margot's face in the window, watching as I was taunted and beaten, even by her own son. Listening at the front door as my parents berated me, their voices carrying through the window. Her figure rushing inside when I tried begging her for help during one particularly brutal group assault led by Todd Mason.

I was thirteen.

He broke my wrist.

I cried for hours that day. Hours. Until my parents, tired of my whining, finally dragged me to the healers.

Margot, always watching. Never helping.

I yank my arm away, taking a step back. "You're sorry?" Anger surges through me, hot and bitter, fueling my words. "Why are you even saying that? What does that do for me now?"

could help you. Please." She grabs at my arm again. "We need

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

There's a tiny part of me, almost miniscule, that was hopeful her apology was genuine. It's dead now, like so many other little

I was here?" I step back, avoiding

her head. "I am hired to clean the lodge. I didn't know until I saw you." Her eyes fill with tears. "Please, Ava. Think of your pack. So many of us are separated

the alpha. Westwood is tearing us apart. They should promote your

as I

you or anyone else

face contorts, her features twisting into an

her hackles raised, teeth bared. She positions herself between Margot and me, a

she might actually

in, and Margot's demeanor changes instantly. She straightens,

find you again later," she says, her tone clipped. "We can talk when you've settled in." With that, she

watches her go, then turns to me, curiosity etched on

"An

by sympathy. She starts to say something, but I don't hear her. I'm already sinking to my knees,

nuzzling against me as I tremble, overwhelmed by

The pain of their blows, both physical and emotional. The

You're safe now. She can't hurt

she's right, but it doesn't stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal—they swirl inside me, a maelstrom threatening to pull

through

heart, slowing down. Meeting her concerned gaze, I give the faintest smile. "I'm

eyes. "I'll be in the other room if you need me." She pauses, then adds, "Therapy isn't something to be ashamed of. If you're interested, just talk to me. Everything will be

up inside me, and I manage

Vanessa leaves, I turn my attention back to Selene, running my fingers through her soft fur. Her presence is a balm, soothing the jagged edges of my

to face that, she says, her voice a gentle caress in my mind. But you handled it with