Tangled

48 Ava: No Great Destiny

48 Ava: No Great Destiny

Selene’s warm, furry body is a balm to my soul as we cuddle in on the sofa, a random show playing in the background. My eyes drift to the new phone sitting on the nightstand.

Is it safe to use? Could Clayton or someone else have hacked into it, using it as a way to track my every move? A shiver runs down my spine at the thought.

Selene stirs beside me, her head lifting as she blinks in the dimness. Her piercing blue eyes find mine, and I feel the gentle brush of her consciousness against my

own.

You’re being paranoid again, she murmurs, her mental voice a soft caress against my frazzled thoughts.

“Can you blame me?” My voice comes out in a whisper “After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to take any risks that could turn my life upside down again. I just don’t know how far I can trust Clayton.”

I know, pup. Selene nuzzles my cheek with affection. But driving yourself mad with worry isn’t the answer either. We’ll be cautious, but we can’t live in fear.

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48 Ava: No Great Destiny

I swallow hard, wishing I could just turn off the constant stream of anxious thoughts whirring through my brain. “I just finally felt like I had a handle on things. And now…”

Now everything has been ripped away from me once

more.

It isn’t over, Selene points out, ever the voice of reason. Hugging her as she crawls into my lap, I sigh.

“I feel like something’s going to happen,” I admit, reaching up to touch the necklace that’s once again around my neck. Selene nudges it with her nose.

Everything will be okay. Don’t be so quick to assume the worst of that alpha.

Rubbing her ears helps calm down the anxiety

fluttering in my belly, and Selene rolls over in bliss at the attention. We’ve missed each other terribly this past week.

“It just worries me. All this stuff, the care he’s taking–it makes me feel like he’s decided I’m his mate, and he’s just waiting for me to accept it and follow along like a good little she–wolf.” Her fur is soft against my cheek as I rub my head against hers. “I don’t want that

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kind of life.”

I know.

warmth, taking what comfort

bad–though, another week in bed with him might give him even more ideas about our relationship. But if I’m not anywhere near him, and some other

nearby…

experiencing another heat with a stranger

voice tinged with a seriousness that immediately puts me on edge. It should be

her eventual answer.

fingers touch the crystal pendant again, its comforting weight reassuring me of its presence. “So, how exactly do

my lap, stretching out her

resettling against me. The

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you should maintain control

I go into heat as soon as I didn’t have it

It burst out as soon as it had a chance. The ring acts as a shield for your power. Others can’t sense it, and it will keep

The magic that I’m not supposed to use?

Yes.

seems to contain. So much about my life has become intertwined with these strange

ask cautiously,

heat will occur every month, each one stronger than the last, until you find someone strong enough to claim you. And your power will eventually

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enough to freak me out.

strong. I’ve heard his name before; he’s well–regarded in the Northwestern Territories.

Clayton isn’t strong enough to claim me, then

I have no answer for.

“Lucas?”

your fated, but that doesn’t mean the

have to fight the urge to touch them. “I won’t take them off again,” I vow, my voice trembling. “I

this out together, one step at a time. You’re

alone in this.

the ring, I try to think through

shifters is a lie. We’re all cursed, and wolf shifters actually have two

the souls of Lycans.

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