Tangled

15 Ava: Settling In (I)

Waking up with a dog is both better and worse than waking to an alarm.

Selene starts with a cute little nose bumping against my hand. Then a head burrowing beneath it. Then her entire body on mine, as her dog breath–which smelled particularly fishy–assaults my nose.

She finishes it off with a low, mournful howl, and I

open my eyes with a groan. “I’m up. I’m up. Come on, Selene. You couldn’t let me sleep for fifteen more

minutes?”

Her huff sounds a lot like you slept for six hours, you’ll

be fine to me, but I rub her ears and roll out of bed anyway, only to screech a few seconds later when something sharp tries to murder my foot.

“Shit! Ow, ow, ow. Fuck. Oh, my God. I’m dying. Holy shit.” I fall back onto the bed and check the bottom of

my foot. Only a little bleeding where something sharp broke the skin, and a nice big scratch. I grab my glasses and peered at the floor, shocked to see a purple crystal there.

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15 Ava Settling in (1)

Selene must have gotten into something overnight, because that was not there last night.

I shoot her a dark look. “This is the thanks I get for giving you a home?”

My sweet little husky just tilts her head, staring at me like I’m stupid, and I sigh, tossing the crystal onto my night stand. For a second, I feel a tingle on my

fingertips, but when I grab it again and hold it in my palm, there’s nothing.

Weird.

in my chest seems subdued, almost as if there’s some sort of barrier between it and my body.

properties, but Dad always said it was human

not.

I spin the crystal around, lifting it to the

neck.

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Ava: Settling

time. She’s at my door again by the time I dash outside, finishing the messy bun I’d corralled my hair into. I’ve been pondering cutting and dyeing it to help hide my identity,

of The Novel Grind’s building, and a sign on the door has my pace

the door.

48 hours. This is to facilitate bonding with your new dog and to rest from your workaholic tendencies. Don’t worry, we’ve got everything covered.

sounds amused. I’ve learned in these past few days that I can’t stop attributing human

their human emotions when shifted into

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Settling

disconnect from that.

the door and pokes his head out, grinning at me like a madman. He starts talking as soon as my mouth opens, holding up a hand to stop my torrent of mild outrage. “Don’t even think about it, Ava. Martha agrees. You’re banned. Go home, relax, get to know your new roommate. You haven’t had a day

as all my arguments dissipate in the face of his loony smile and

Selene with her ears back and her eyes twice as large as normal. Or maybe

I sigh.

But I’m going to hate every second

rest.”

it’s paid time off, for–um, I

then close it again. Yup,

face. “Oh. that’s…”

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Ava. Settling in

or something. But Mrs. Martha says fur babies are still babies, so get out.” He winks before slamming the door in

of course. It has a built–in soft close, because banging doors doesn’t fit a bookstore cafe’s ambience. It’s just the

don’t know the area. With my luck, I’d get lost in the middle of miles of evergreens, with no access to any of the local rivers, and get

in that moment