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.

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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.

breaks the tense silence. “What happened to your daughter’s

throat, his voice strained

“She has become willful in her time

discipline to correct

my spine at his words. I risk a glance, finding a sinister look come over Alpha Renard’s features. “I will take care of it,” he says, his tone sending

mine with an intensity that

Ava Homecoming

says, his voice laced with a dark edge. “Why has the

feels tight, the words

my tongue. I can sense

Aspen pack had me. But

they know everything, and I lie, the

they don’t, and I tell them everything–wouldn’t

that be worse?

So I lie.

injured. They took care of my wounds after that as an apology.” Mostly truth, but I can see by the twitch in Alpha Renard’s

of deception? Or is it because

buttery roasted potato, shoving it into my

Homecoming (III)

have to fight to keep from gagging, chewing

eating, maybe he won’t bother me.

But he does.

the alpha forced you into a mating. We will fight back so you can regain your freedom.

my heart, squeezing the 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

on the table, the dishes

from the force. I flinch,

seat.

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

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Homecoming (III)

voice cuts through the tension, dripping

Blackwood Pack, Ava.”

applications of the truth are not unfamiliar to me. Anger surges through

“You’re saying I threw myself at him, but you

your tone, girl,” he snaps, his voice low and dangerous. “You