Tangled

1 Ava Grey, Pack Defect”

Author Note: The first two chapters have had a

complete overhaul, for a better reading experience. Please enjoy. [May 28, 2024]

What are you supposed to do when your pack–your family–has decided you’re worthless?

Get a job.

Save money.

Dream of getting the hell out of there.

It’s a futile thing to hope for, but it’s the only thing I have that keeps me going.

Until then? I’m just me. Ava Grey. Wolfless. Weak. The shame of the Grey family.

Which is why I’m spending another Friday night working at Beaniverse, a popular coffeeshop in the middle of White Peak, a solid hour’s drive away from

pack land. No shifters, no drama, no bullying; the only people I run into all day are humans with a caffeine addiction. Or social media addictions. People love to

1 Ava Grey, Pack Defect

use our lobby as a backdrop for their latest reel.

“Come out with me tonight.”

Lisa pops her head into my field of view as I wipe down the espresso machine.

I have no major attachments to my job outside of my pay, but it is my favorite place to be because of her. Lisa is my best friend–okay, my only friend–and she makes me dream of something more than the Blackwood Pack and my uncertain future in it.

“Can’t. Dad wants me home as soon as I can.”

The grimace that twists her face gives me a warm little tingle in my chest. At least someone gets me.

Even if she’s a human and has no idea that I come from a family of wolves.

Dad–our pack beta and an expert at curt text

messages demanding my presence home–only allowed me to get a job because he was tired of seeing me at home, I’m pretty sure.

And because every single cent of my paychecks that didn’t go to gas went to the thousand dollars I’d borrowed for my beat–up old clunker Taurus in the

1 Ava Grey, Pack Defect

parking lot. It’s my baby, and I love it, but I’m one weird splutter away from wrecking on the highway.

Still—the little freedom it allows me is worth it.

Anything is better than being home.

“You should just move out. We can get an apartment together and party all night.” Lisa says this just about every day we work together, and it never grows old. I want that life, too. I don’t even need the partying. I just want to get away from my pack.

But wolf shifters don’t just let go of their own. Even wolfless defects like me.

I shove my glasses up the bridge of my nose, hating how they slide. I probably need a new prescription, but I haven’t had the time–or extra money–to pour into that. I’m still wearing the same glasses Mom got me (much to her disgust) several years ago.

It’s like a neon sign saying she doesn’t belong with us.

eyesight. It’s like a gift from

wolves.

I don’t have a

dirty towel in her direction, watching

Ava Grey,

and jump back. “I would if I could, and you know it. Aren’t you supposed to be restocking our cups? Our dinner rush is going to come in any minute.”

still think one night of telling him to fuck off won’t hurt. Maybe it’ll teach your parents that you’re an adult and they can’t

Hah.

won’t ever

he says. The only person above him in the pack is our alpha- also not someone I’d like to cross on a daily basis.

cultural thing,” I mutter, and she drops it. For

now.

showing me apartments for rent, coming up with mock budgets,

notice the control my family

Ava Groy. Pack

first person to

say words that I still can’t

loud.

family is abusive. Who the hell does this?”

I came of age and they realized I had no wolf at all.

warm memories. Sweet memories. Memories

I bring out at night during my lowest times. Memories of Mom when she used to smile and laugh

me when I cried. Memories of Dad when he

his shoulders and tell me I

of Jessa and Phoenix when they would call me their baby

Good times.

Gone times.

a little less if I hadn’t shared that affection with them once. Maybe it would hurt a little less if it hadn’t simply… disappeared. If Mom’s blue eyes hadn’t gone

no food and no

C

Grey,

the hardship would bring me what I wanted most, what I was

My wolf.

work. He’s still

***

half in worry that my car will break down (and honestly, I have the same fears), and the other half because

she grabbed my hand

I love her.

one and only friend, my ride–or–die girl, I have yet to admit that I’m a shifter. I haven’t explained to her

thinks I’m neglected and abused from a

14:32

6/11

Grey, Pack Defect

and I have to convince her

the cops at least twice a week. Especially

be able to

laws. No part of the government

to guarantee my escape from my family and pack is to find my fated mate in another. I

to even think about

there’s always the chance that

my life in a new pack is just like my life

but the crisp scent of rain is carried on the breeze, telling us all that a temperature drop is coming.

the bright, artificially lit business strip to the quiet neighborhoods of White Peak, occasionally lit by a street lamp

14:33

7/11

Ava Grey,

way to an unlit rural road that

territory.

driven it countless times in my life, but tonight,

trees seem to close in on me, casting long shadows across the road. My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I navigate the twists and turns, feeling my anxiety wriggle about in my belly, like a fish

silence in my car is palpable, almost suffocating. My eyes dart to the rearview mirror every few seconds, half expecting to see glowing eyes or shadows lurking in the darkness behind

means you’re also the pack punching bag. One of the young wolves‘ favorite pastimes is