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 up on you,

12:37

27

Ava: Return Home

+35

it down. I won’t

find a way

Somehow.

reaches over and buckles me in, his

impersonal. All of the announcements are done, and I didn’t even notice. them happening. The plane’s moving. I close my eyes, feeling the distance between Selene and me growing with every second,

whisper, pouring every ounce of my heart into those three

her presence fading as the plane gains speed.

the connection severed by miles of

***

point in being awake. I don’t want to see Phoenix’s face, much less talk

but as soon

home my stomach

mu alanahan

12:37 –

317

Return Home

the woods, waiting until I arrive home, just to taunt me? To throw stones? To kick and punch and bite,

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

back of my throat as familiar

was hoping to never see this place again, and now

here.

hackles, they’d

to Selene, but the

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 clothes

Ava: Return

Alpha Renard will be here for dinner. He’s been

resist the urge to snap back

lifetime of following their rules and commands. Doing as

room for some clothes. 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 style, but at least they weren’t worn out

but I welcome the pain, scrubbing furiously to remove any lingering traces of Clayton’s scent clinging to me.