Tangled

58 Ava: Return Home

I settle into the chair beside Phoenix, my soul crushed under the weight of despair. The plane hums to life around us, a mechanical beast ready to whisk me back to the hell I’d escaped. Phoenix barely spares me a glance as he crowds me against the window, effectively trapping me in my seat. Even going to the bathroom will be impossible without him knowing

about it.

Selene’s whimpers echo in my mind, a mirror of my own anguish. Ava, I’m so sorry. I tried… I’m still trying…

I know, I whisper back, my heart clenching. It’s okay. It’s not your fault.

No matter how fast she is, a wolf can’t outrun a car.

And even if she did–what are we going to do, against the people under Phoenix’s control?

Honestly, it’s not okay. Nothing about this is okay. I’m being dragged back to the very place I’d fought so

hard to escape, and there’s not a damn thing I can do

about it.

12.37

58 Ava: Return Home

Selene, listen to me. I picture my parents‘ house in my mind, every detail etched into my memory. The sprawling ranch–style home, the meticulously manicured lawn, the wrought–iron fence that always felt more like a cage than a boundary. This is where they’re taking me. The Blackwood pack territory. My parents‘ address is-

I rattle off the information, each word feeling like a nail in my coffin. Selene absorbs it all, her presence in my mind a flickering candle in the darkness.

I’ll find you, she promises, her voice fierce despite the tremor of fear. No matter how long it takes, no matter the distance. I’ll never stop looking.

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back, refusing to let Phoenix see me cry. I know you will. But Selene, it’s far. Really, really far.

Even as I say it, I feel her running, her paws pounding against the pavement as she races toward the airport. But we both know it’s futile. She’ll never make it in

time.

Selene growls, her determination a living, breathing thing. I won’t give

12:37

27

Ava: Return Home

+35

swallow it down. I won’t give up either, I vow, meaning it with

We’ll find a way back to each

Somehow.

buckles me

moving. I close my eyes,

you, I whisper, pouring every ounce of my heart into those three words.

too, Selene whispers back, her presence fading as the plane gains

connection severed by miles of

***

it, because there’s no point in being awake. I don’t want to see Phoenix’s face,

just as silent, but as

stomach clenchon in drand

mu alanahan

12:37 –

317

Ava Return

many times have I driven through here myself? How many times have I had pack members stalk me through the woods, waiting until I arrive home, just

can’t remember. It’s impossible to remember. It’s happened so often, everything blurs together. It’s like asking about every time you ate lunch: You can’t count them all. You can’t keep track. It’s

back of my throat as familiar neighborhood streets populate

see this place again, and now

here.

had hackles, they’d

to Selene, but the distance

nasty lump in my throat as Phoenix escorts me inside the house that fills me with such dread. His lip curls in disgust as he sniffs me. “Get the Aspen stench off you before Dad gets home,” he orders. There isn’t a hint of big brotherly affection in his words or demeanor. “I’m sure you still have

Ava: Return

here for dinner. He’s been worried

to snap back at

and commands. Doing as he says. comes so naturally that my shoulders slump

There aren’t many of them, and I find myself missing my little wardrobe in Cedarwood. Or even the clothes Clayton and Ivy had gathered for me. Those were less my

off my clothes and stepping into the shower. The hot water stings my skin, but I welcome the pain, scrubbing furiously to remove any lingering traces of Clayton’s scent clinging to me. If they can still smell it, I won’t hear the end of it.