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.

seems subdued, almost as if

properties, but Dad always said it was

not.

as if it is meant to hang off a chain. I spin the crystal around, lifting it to the light to admire its colors. “Pretty. Think I should get a chain

neck.

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Ava: Settling In

eye catches the clock and I rush Selene out the door, telling her to find a place to potty as I get dressed in record 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

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

the door.

hereby banned from the premises for the next 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. HAVE FUN! -Mrs. Elkins and Carlos

learned in these past few days that I

being raised with wolf shifters. They do have their human emotions when shifted into their wolf form, and

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Settling in (1)

disconnect from that.

a hand to stop my torrent of mild outrage. “Don’t even think about it, Ava. Martha agrees. You’re

fish as my mouth opens and closes as all

see Selene with her ears back

I sigh.

to hate every

rest.”

figured. Martha said it’s paid time

mouth, then close it again. Yup, I’m for sure

face.

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Settling

Mrs. Martha says fur babies are

close, because banging doors doesn’t fit a bookstore cafe’s ambience. It’s

of my daze and I look at Selene, then the door again. “I guess we can just… go home?” Because what else am I going to do? I could go hiking, but I don’t know the area. With my luck, I’d get lost in the middle of miles of evergreens, with no access to

occurs to me in that moment that I have no