Chapter 195 Ava: A Familiar Face

I never expected to add my former boss being held up by a flock of bodyguards, a solid thousand miles from Cedarwood, to my list of fucked up shit that happened today.

So it takes a minute for me to process what I'm hearing.

"Mrs. Elkins?"

Selene flattens against the ground, her ears going back as she belly-crawls her way to my bench.

Her bizarre demeanor doesn't even register in my head, because—well, frankly, she's been weird as hell for the past several hours.

"Ava! My dear girl."

Those familiar rheumy eyes and her welcoming smile have me so intensely, terribly homesick for Cedarwood that I have to blink like a maniac to keep the tears at bay. "Mrs. Elkins, how did you get here? And on pack lands?"

Vanessa follows behind as I push my way through the bodyguards, who refuse to let me get too close.

"Calm down, boys. She's a friend of our Luna."

Vanessa's at least forty years younger than any of these men, but they respond to her words anyway, letting me through their human barricade.

I've got to figure out how to wield whatever flimsy authority I have. Even Vanessa gets people to listen to her. Granted, she's a healer—no one wants to get on a healer's bad side. Not even the alpha.

Reaching the old woman, I can see that she's carrying a huge parcel, hugging it to her chest.

"Ava, my dear. Are you all right?"

Her hand shakes as she reaches for my face, as though reassuring herself I'm really alive.

"I'm fine."

soft against my palm. My mind is still working at wrapping itself around her being

I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you,

weary and drawn out. "Oh, Ava, it's a story for the ages. But that can wait." Her eyes, sharp despite their age, sweep over me with a critical gleam. "You've lost weight, Ava. Have you

my head, a rueful smile tugging at my lips. "Actually, I've gained weight. Even though I look skinnier. Must be all the muscle I've put on

brows knit together in concern. "And you're here of your own will? These people..." She glances warily at the stoic bodyguards flanking

Mrs. Elkins," I assure her quickly. "None of these people are the ones who took me from

before turning to Mrs. Elkins with a polite smile. "Why don't we

tense, their postures shifting subtly to block the path. Vanessa's eyes narrow, and she takes a moment, her gaze unfocused. Mind-linking, I realize.

afraid we can't let you inside without approval from the head

waving a hand. "Of course, of course. I understand completely." She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a small ziplock bag. "Here, Ava. I brought

Homemade, of course."

with a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Elkins. You have

my fingers can close around the

whirl on the bodyguard in question. "What the hell? Give

my glare with a stoic expression. "I'm sorry, Luna, but we'll have to check these

never hurt me. She saved me in Cedarwood. She's a genuinely

can you explain how you entered pack lands without detection? And how

tense from the corner of my eye. Mrs. Elkins looks

are you in

my guards, all on alert and intent on saving

the same things. Not to mention—Selene's hiding

feeling that I'm about

this situation, for an old woman to have accidentally stumbled

more

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