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.

positive I were her child by birth, I would definitely assume I’m adopted.

for the likes of you. You’ll be a mate in name only. It’s still an honor, but the pack can never

to keep the bitter

you understand?” she presses, looking into the mirror so I’m forced to meet her gaze. She’s almost manic in her quest for my acquaintance. “This is your duty, your obligation to the pack. You will mate

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Ava: Sister Miriam (1)

children. That is the extent of your purpose.”

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

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

elegant bearing and a bright, unsettling gleam in her eyes enters

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

she greets the stranger. “What an honor to

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Ava: Sistor Miriam

thin. “The honor is mine, Grace. Alpha Renard requested my expertise in a delicate matter.” Her inhuman stare settles

over my skin. It’s hard to hold her

hackles, they’d be

that’s dangerous even to wolves. I can feel

she

“Alpha Renard

flush creeps up my neck, and I avert my gaze, suddenly unable to meet Sister Miriam’s probing stare. I don’t know what she can do that a pregnancy

detecting the earliest signs of breeding. The alpha can rest assured

stops by my side, meeting my eyes again in the

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Sister Miriam

unnatural on her

concern, child,” she says. Her voice is sweet in a way that

contact. It’s like my skin burns.

eyes.

her hand down my neck, across my collarbone, down my chest and finally coming to rest on my abdomen. “Tell me, have.

Tenderness?”

“No.”

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