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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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

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

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26 Lucas: Watching

is nod mutely and

give her my card, our fingertips 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 in our arms,

hips as she leans over

twists in my gut as her coworker approaches her, an easy grin plastered across his face. My wolf snarls within me, hackles raised as he

reserved for me alone.

him away from her

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26 Lucas: Watching

beneath my knuckles. It would be

his place and remind him that Ava

crescents into my palms as I wrestle with the animalistic impulses raging within me. I can’t afford to do

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 might seem at the moment.

fleeting second. It’s as if I’m invisible to her,

hours of staring at the woman I want more than anything, an older

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26 Lucas: Watching

a way

of a lifetime spent laughing. “Good morning,” she greets me cheerfully. “Can I get you

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

dickhead behind the counter. There’s a knowing look

my seat.

don’t you?” she asks, her tone casual but

as I contemplate how to respond. Part of me wants to deny any knowledge of her, knowing she’s probably told these people nothing.

honest.

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

rise, but she doesn’t

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me and settles into it, her expression one of

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

more than just a mistake. I…” I trail off, swallowing hard as the memories of that night come flooding back.

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