Tangled

3 Ava: Danger

[WARNING: Sensitive content ahead.]

Days pass with little regard for the anxiety building in my belly every time I crawl into bed at night, watching the phases of the moon, wondering what this next

chapter of life will look like.

Aside from a brief shopping excursion with Jessa–who ignores me almost the entire time and scoffs at every dress I try on–I don’t leave the house except for school and work, trying to avoid trouble.

I spend any spare moment I can manage picking up extra shifts at Beaniverse to help pay for the atrocious bill at the mall. Who spends three hundred dollars on a dress? But Jessa insisted that it was the only one that didn’t make me look like I was wearing a silk potato sack.

Lisa’s busy, too, so our texts are few and far between, mostly complaining about work and school.

My family’s indifference weighs on me like a thick

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blanket, but beneath it, a tiny bud of hope sprouts- maybe, just maybe, I’ll make it to the gala without incident. A week remains before the event that could change my life, or just as likely, confirm my place as the outcast.

Today, like the rest of the past two weeks, appears to be yet another day of unsettling peace as I head home after class with groceries in my passenger seat.

Phoenix is stopping by for dinner, so I have his favorites on the menu–a creamy garlic and parmesan roasted chicken, paired with bacon–wrapped brussels sprouts tossed in maple syrup and balsamic vinaigrette.

It sounds fancier than it is, but it really is delicious, thanks to the internet recipes I’d found years ago.

As the appointed alpha heir to the Blackwood Pack, Mom always fawns on Phoenix. Dad was thrilled enough that he had a son with alpha potential, but when Alpha Renard’s last son was killed in a small skirmish with renegade wolves and Phoenix was named heir, he strutted more like a peacock than a wolf for at least a month afterward.

3 Ava: Danger

One day he will be Alpha Phoenix Blackwood, but for now, he’s still a Grey.

I juggle the flimsy plastic grocery bags with the grace of a dying fawn as I make my way into the empty house.

The peace of these past few weeks must have rotted the self preservation sphere of my brain, because I don’t pay any attention to my surroundings as I unlock the front door and walk in.

As I step further inside, a breeze tickles my neck and the door slams with a force that can only mean trouble, bringing a familiar and unwelcome scent to my nose.

tormentor, is here. Inside. With me. Right now. Ready to finish

my spine. I can’t even step away as my brain struggles to catch up to the situation, watching as he reaches

umu’ve hoon nloving princess thinki

3 Ava: Danger

as a mate.” His voice drips with malice as he steps forward,

slams against the wall with a dull thump, and Todd’s hand circles my neck, lifting me until I’m

to the floor, and for a moment my idiot brain focuses

They’ll be bruised. We’ll have to eat them faster than I expected.

ever escape our pack?”

bleeding me of all those precious hopes and dreams I’ve kept in secret. “Do you actually believe anyone would want you? A

a trapped bird desperate for escape. His grip tightens in response to

3 Ava: Danger

my mouth opens as I begin to pant for

harder to bring air to my burning lungs. Punches, kicks, scratches–those, I’m used to.

angry swathes down his skin. I try to kick, but he steps in closer,

body and trying to ignore the hard evidence pushing against my belly of exactly how much he’s enjoying this

when I come home with bruises, but now the gala is just around the corner. If his youngest daughter showed up with bruises all over, there might be

hesitates, his fingers flexing around the

3 Ava: Don

long time ago, I would refuse to submit, taking every abuse thrown my way and plotting revenge. That was before I

give him it all day long. Whatever lets me live to tomorrow.

the sound with a little vibrato, as though I want to cry. I tilt my head further

sends revulsion shuddering through every millimeter of my skin, and I struggle to keep my face blank as he sniffs beneath my

fish.

escape my body with force, but I somehow manage to avoid puking in

his fingers loosen just a little. His other hand falls to my hip, tugging me closer, and I close my eyes, breathing through my mouth to

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the metallic tang behind my jaw. “I need to make dinner. Phoenix is coming home tonight.”

me as Todd bites my shoulder, his jaw rigid and unyielding. The shriek that escapes me is beyond my control, and I slap at his shoulder in

finally letting go, but not before suckling a motherfucking hickey onto my skin. He grips my jaw, staring into my eyes, and I realize then that the game has

instead my tormentor grins at me in maniacal satisfaction. “You’ll never

among our packs. There’s nothing to save you at the gala. You’ll be our little omega breeder soon enough, even without your

my feet.

be our little pack whore, Ava. Even without a wolf.” The relief when he lets go

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3 Ava: Danger

and rests gently against my belly, pushing in, before sliding a little farther to cup between my thighs and squeeze. “You won’t be good for much else, but at least we can fill

body anymore. Everything is dark around the edges, but his words keep

defect, Ava. It won’t be too hard to use you.” He groans, rocking faster against me, pulling my legs around his hips. “Fuck, Ava. I’m going to breed