Tangled

Chapter 25

26 Lucas: Watching

Chapter 26: Lucas: Watching

LUCAS

Her scent dances around me. Every breath I take fills my lungs with the sweet, honey and vanilla notes that have haunted my dreams since that fateful night at the Lunar Gala. Ava. Just the thought of her name sends a shiver down my spine.

For weeks, I’ve been watching her from the shadows, unable to resist the pull of her presence. The need to be near her has consumed me, driving me to break into her apartment just to bask in the lingering traces of her essence. I’m a desperate man, lost in the throes of an obsession I can’t explain nor control.

As I stand before her now, my wolf howls with

unbridled joy inside my head, reveling in her proximity. Part of me had hoped that the fact she didn’t run when she realized I’d found her meant something more. An acknowledgement of the connection that binds us

together.

But as her gaze meets mine, devoid of any emotion, I

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20 Lucas: Watching

feel the weight of disappointment settle heavily in my chest. She regards me with the same polite

indifference she would show any other customer, and the realization stings like a slap to the face.

Leaning over the counter, I can’t help but ask, “How have you been? Are you okay?” The words tumble out, laced with concern and a hint of desperation that I can’t quite mask.

For a fleeting moment, I see her falter, a crack in her impassive facade. But it’s gone as quickly as it appeared, and she meets my gaze with a cool

detachment that cuts deeper than any blade.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I need you to order or step aside for

the other customers.”

if our shared moment in the garden never happened,

the bond that ties us together. But the words stick in my throat as I remember the look

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and ran. All I can do is nod mutely and order something random off the

and the spark of our connection floods through me. My wolf yips and whines. My mate, he howls, and I can only apologize to him

my fault that our mate isn’t in our arms,

hips as she leans over to grab a mug, the way her delicate fingers curl around it–it’s

as he watches the exchange, bristling at the familiarity between

reserved for

from her is overwhelming, my fists clenching

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26 Lucas: Watching

crunch of his nose breaking beneath my knuckles. It

him in his place and remind him that Ava is

my nails digging crescents into my palms as I wrestle with the animalistic impulses raging within me. I can’t afford to do anything that might jeopardize what little chance

the warmth of Ava’s attention. Every fiber of my being screams at me to intervene, to stake my claim and remind her of the bond we share, no matter how tenuous it

I’m invisible to her, a ghost haunting the periphery of her world, unable to break through the barrier she’s erected around herself.

want more than anything, an older woman approaches me with a warm smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners in

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26 Lucas: Watching

a way

lifetime spent laughing. “Good morning,” she greets me cheerfully. “Can I

polite smile in return. “No,

to where Ava is chatting with the dickhead behind the counter. There’s a knowing look in her

my seat.

you?” she asks, her tone casual

respond. Part of me wants to deny any knowledge of her, knowing she’s probably told these people nothing. But there’s something about the woman’s gentle demeanor that

honest.

something terrible to her,

rise, but she

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pulls out the chair across from me and settles into it, her expression

that you’ve made a mistake,” she says sagely. “That’s more than a

out a humorless laugh, shaking my head ruefully. “Trust me, it was more than just a mistake. I…” I trail off, swallowing hard as the memories

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