Tangled

61 Ava: Homecoming (III)

Alpha Renard is someone I have had few encounters with. He’s come by the house many times through my life, but my parents always sent me to my room, not wanting to parade their shame in front of him.

Today is different.

Today, he sits across from me at the dinner table as my mother serves him, apologizing for the dinner- something Phoenix had brought home from a

restaurant in town. Everyone’s gaze seems to center

on me.

I can tell Phoenix and Dad are furious with me, but

there’s little point in looking in their direction. There’s no point ruining what tiny appetite I have.

Alpha Renard is an imposing figure, towering well over six feet with a muscular build that speaks of years of combat training. His brown hair is neatly trimmed and his face shaved; I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a state of disarray. He likes to show off the deep scars.

clawed across his face.

Shifters don’t scar easily, but it isn’t impossible.

12:43

17

61 Ava: Homecoming (III)

Like all alphas, he has an intimidating presence and a confident air that demands respect. But his eyes hold a cruel glint that has me cringing from eye contact.

He won’t stop staring at me, even as he talks with the

others.

I keep my gaze fixed on the plate in front of me. Alpha Renard’s intense stare burns into my face, making my skin prickle with unease. His eyes linger on the split in my lip, the abnormal color across my cheeks. They still throb.

tense silence. “What happened to your daughter’s

his throat,

has become willful

It requires discipline

I risk a glance, finding a sinister look come over Alpha Renard’s features. “I will take care of

shifts back to me, his eyes boring into mine with

Homecoming

his voice laced with a dark edge. “Why has

feels tight, the words

tongue. I can sense the challenge in his

Aspen pack had me.

know everything, and I lie, the

and I tell

that be worse?

So I lie.

got injured. They took care of my wounds after that as an apology.” Mostly truth, but I can

give off a scent of deception?

piece of buttery roasted

Ava: Homecoming

fight to keep from gagging, chewing in a slow

I’m eating, maybe he won’t bother me.

But he does.

back so you can regain your freedom. We

air from my lungs. He’d wanted to breed me before I ever left the pack. If they decide I’m a true omega, like Clayton did, I’ll never be able to escape that fate. I shake my head, desperate to deny his claims. “I’ve never been given a pack designation. I’m not an

giant fist on the table, the

I flinch,

seat.

know all about your heat. How you threw yourself at the Aspen alpha,

17:41

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Ava: Homecoming

cuts through the tension, dripping with disgust. “You’re

Blackwood Pack, Ava.”

the truth are not unfamiliar to me. Anger surges through

minute,” I say, my voice trembling despite my efforts to keep it steady. “You’re saying I threw myself

your tone, girl,” he snaps, his voice low and