Tangled

91 Ava Clearing the Air (0)

91 Ava: Clearing the Air (I)

All my thoughts circle into some sort of insane melodrama right out of Selene’s favorite TV show, and I slap my hands against my face, rubbing hard against my cheeks, as though I can push the tears right back into my eyes.

“Sorry,” I say, as Lucas rests a worried hand against my back, stroking me like you would pet a puppy. It’s cute.

He doesn’t seem to know what to do with me, while

I’m just grateful that he’s trying.

Once I’m sure my tears are gone, I smile up at him. “I’m just frazzled.”

“You’ve been through a lot. Did I upset you when I took -the phone call?”

“No!” The word bursts from me in horror. Does he

think I’m that kind of person, who gets upset when he has to do important things instead of watching me sit in a hospital bed? “Not at all.”

He blows out a breath in what I’m sure is massive relief. No one wants a mate that high maintenance. “Are you upset that I have to leave?”

DE

91 Ava: Clearing the Air (1)

I cringe. “It isn’t that.” I just came to some insane levels of assumptions. “Why… do you have to go?”

“Ah.” Now he looks uncomfortable, and takes a seat on my bed, grabbing my hand.

Oh, God. This can’t be good.

“Once we were safe, Kellan–my beta–led a force of my men into the heart of the Blackwood pack.” I must not look devastated enough, because he clarifies, “In

an act of war.”

input from me, I nod to show that I’m

family and Alpha Renard escaped, but the territory is under our

I nod again.

pack,” he says, as if

don’t care what happens to them.” Too

the hospital. She’s in critical condition due to the wolfsbane

Ava: Clearing the Air (1)

think I’m probably supposed to feel a lot of things right now. Like sadness, anxiety, worry, or other emotions that would be applicable to a good daughter.

there’s a huge demon of vengeance in my soul that

I don’t want to show my possible future mate that I’m a raging psychopath. He’s treating me so carefully as

He must think

have to go because there’s a lot of work to be done. We are working on disavowing every wolf from the Blackwood Pack and integrating them into ours, or letting them go as rogues. I’ll be back every few days. Right now, another alpha is helping me keep things in control over there, but I can’t just let other people do my work for me, even if I want

the lines on his brow. “You’ll do great,” I assure him. “But before you go, I have to tell you S~ᴇaʀᴄh the (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and

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Ava: Clearing the

something.”

be Clayton;

soon. I have to head this off before

a few minutes. There’s a flight tonight that

just need you to promise to listen without getting too

words. “Whatever you have to tell me, don’t worry, Ava. I won’t think less of you.”

have time to worry about them. “When I was taken from Cedarwood, it wasn’t by

slack against mine, and his brows come together in thought. “No?

in Cedarwood who caught my scent.

417

the Air

go into heat without a wolf?” Lucas asks,

and I freeze.

know about

under the impression you were working

at me

to get someone into the pack to get the information,

his face, and his thumb rubs over the back

contrition.

night. You would have been safe. I was so focused on how I felt about your alpha that I didn’t stop to think that I should have trusted in my fated