Tangled

69 Ava: Sister Miriam (I)

Mom’s fingers deftly twist and turn my hair, pinning it into some sort of elaborate style. Her touch is clinical, devoid of any maternal warmth, as she secures each lock into place with sharp tugs.

She’s been doing this for hours, trying to figure out the best style for the mating ceremony. The only comfort I have is in knowing she’ll never have the chance to dress me as planned.

“Honestly, Ava, couldn’t you have made more of an effort with your appearance?” she chides, as

disapproving as always. “Your hair is little better than a

rat’s nest.”

This is something she’s said at least three other times in the hour she’s been here. I bite back the retort that hovers on my tongue, knowing better than to provoke

her ire.

A musical jingle causes her to pause, and she checks something on her phone for a second, before returning to her project. “It’s a good thing your worth isn’t tied to your looks,” she continues, her words

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69 Ava: Sister Miriam (1)

cutting deeper than any physical blow. “You should be

grateful that Alpha Renard has deigned to mate with you, despite your deficiencies.”

There’s a little chip in the paint of the wall above the mirror, and my eyes are drawn toward it. It’s

something to focus on as I tune out her nagging and cruel remarks. For a woman who’s capable of so much love toward her older children, it’s amazing how much

vitriol she can throw at another.

I were her child by

go to your head. The title of Luna is not for the likes of you. You’ll be a mate in name only. It’s still an honor, but the pack can never have a blemish

keep the bitter resentment from showing

in her quest

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C

Sister Miriam

will bear his children. That is the

mechanical, like a puppet on strings. My mind, however, is already spinning, formulating a plan

grants me the freedom to return to the Aspen pack, I’ll contact Lisa. We’ll run far away from the

bearing and a bright, unsettling gleam in her eyes enters the room. She exudes

a dark, glittering red and her hair is black without the faintest sheen of color in

her features. “Sister Miriam,” she greets

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Ava: Sistor Miriam

pale and thin. “The honor is mine,

skin. It’s hard to hold her gaze.

had hackles,

an existence that’s dangerous even

what she

little tense. She’s affected, too. “Alpha Renard said you would be able to see if our Ava

suddenly unable to meet Sister Miriam’s probing stare. I don’t know

Sister Miriam murmurs, her footsteps soft as she approaches. “I am the most skilled in detecting the earliest signs of breeding. The alpha can rest assured that

by my side, meeting my eyes again in

12

Ava: Sister

looks unnatural on her face, as though no other muscles move

is sweet in a way that should be soothing, and yet paired with her face, it’s

the close contact. It’s like my skin burns. where she touches, but when I try to jerk away, she grips my chin hard, inspecting me

eyes.

murmurs, letting go to trail her hand down my neck, across my collarbone, down my chest and finally coming to rest on my abdomen. “Tell me, have. you experienced

Tenderness?”

“No.”

against my stomach, and I flinch. Though her hands are