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.

has bad eyesight. It’s like a gift

wolves.

have a wolf.

the dirty towel in her

Ava Grey, Pack

Aren’t you supposed to be restocking our cups? Our dinner rush is going to come in

fuck off won’t hurt. Maybe it’ll

Hah.

won’t ever happen.

The only person above him in the pack is our alpha- also not someone I’d like to cross

I mutter,

now.

will come back to it. She always does. She’s been showing me apartments for rent, coming up with mock budgets, even discussing our school schedules. Lisa’s pushy in the

the control my family has

Groy. Pack

person to

say words that I still

loud.

Who

family loved me once. Before I came of age and they realized I

memories. Sweet

during my lowest times. Memories of Mom when she used to smile

rock me when I cried. Memories

shoulders and tell me

of Jessa and Phoenix when they would call me their baby sister, and show me

Good times.

Gone times.

it hadn’t simply… disappeared. If Mom’s blue eyes hadn’t gone from warm like a lake in summer to frigid winter skies.

with no olathas no food and no shelter talling

C

Ava Grey, Pack

That the hardship would bring me what I wanted most,

My wolf.

alert–it didn’t work. He’s

***

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

she could have the same things happen, she grabbed

I love her.

girl, I have yet to admit that I’m a shifter. I haven’t explained to her

thinks I’m neglected and abused from

14:32

6/11

Ava Grey, Pack

and I have

cops at least twice a week. Especially when I show

to

of

find my fated mate in another. I dream about it–we all do. It’s a fantasy I can’t

sometimes it hurts to

there’s always the chance that I have no fated

that my life in a new pack is just like

the crisp scent of rain is carried on the breeze,

scenery changes from 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, Pack

give way to an unlit rural road that leads into the Blackwood Pack

territory.

driven it countless times in my life,

on me, casting long shadows across the road. My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I navigate

to the rearview mirror every few seconds, half expecting to see glowing eyes

pack punching bag. One