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.”

recognition. It’s as if our shared moment in the garden never happened, as if the connection that ignited between us

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

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26 Lucas: Watching

can do is nod mutely and order something

brush together, and the spark of our connection floods through me. My wolf yips and whines. My mate, he howls,

fault that our mate isn’t

sway of her hips as she leans over to grab a mug, the way her delicate fingers curl around

hackles raised as he watches the exchange, bristling at the

reserved for me alone.

there and rip him away from her

14:47

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26 Lucas: Watching

breaking beneath my knuckles. It would be so

place and remind him that Ava is

to do anything that might

warmth of Ava’s attention. Every fiber of my

as if I’m invisible to her, a ghost haunting the periphery of her

an older woman approaches me with a warm smile, her eyes crinkling

14:47 –

26 Lucas: Watching

a way

laughing. “Good morning,” she greets me cheerfully. “Can I get you anything else?”

offering her a polite smile in return. “No, thank you. I’m

drifting over to where Ava is chatting with the dickhead behind the counter. There’s a knowing look in her eyes as she

my seat.

asks, her tone casual

deny any knowledge of her, knowing she’s probably told

honest.

admit quietly. “But I’m afraid I’ve done something terrible to her,

but she doesn’t press me for

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26 Lucas: Watching

the chair across from me and settles into it, her expression one of patient understanding.

a mistake,” she says sagely. “That’s

“Trust me, it was more than just a

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