Tangled

110 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (III)

Lucas’s shoulders stiffen, and he turns to look at the

healer with a frown. “Still no answers?” he asks, his voice rough with disuse.

Vanessa sighs, her expression sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Alpha. We’re doing everything we can.”

Lucas nods curtly and turns back to Ava, his brow furrowed in thought. Vanessa catches my eye over his shoulder and gives me a subtle shake of her head.

At first, I’m confused. But then it hits me–she must be trying to tell me that Ava isn’t pregnant. A wave of relief washes over me, followed immediately by a pang of guilt. I shouldn’t be happy about this, not when Ava is still lying there unresponsive.

But at least it’s one less thing to worry about. One less complication in an already tangled web.

I slump back in my chair, suddenly exhausted. It’s been a long day, and the emotional roller coaster has taken. its toll. I close my eyes, just for a moment, and let the steady rhythm of Ava’s heartbeat lull me into a light

doze.

1/6

110 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (1)

I’m not sure how much time passes before I’m startled awake by a soft knock at the door. Vanessa pokes her head in, her expression apologetic.

“Sorry to disturb you,” she says, keeping her voice low. “But I thought you might want to know–Kellan just arrived with Ava’s dog.”

I sit up straighter, blinking the sleep from my eyes.

“Selene’s here?”

“He’s got her out in the waiting room. I can bring her in, if you’d

staring at Ava, but I can see the tension in his jaw, the way his

he’s not protesting.

I say, since he seems content with letting me

room, a scrawny silver husky trailing behind him on a leash. For a moment, I’m not sure if it’s really Selene–she looks thinner than I remember from pictures, her fur matted and dull. But then she catches sight of Ava

hoonital had and late

210

C

Ava’s Absence

breaks my heart.

forward, nearly yanking the leash out of Kellan’s

her paws slipping on the crisp white sheets as she tries to get closer to Ava. Lucas

through him like a live wire. “I think… I think it might be good for her. To have Selene close.” I can’t admit why, but I can at least try to

throat, and I feel my heart stutter in my chest. Oh God. What have I done? The look on

back down now. Not when Ava needs

swallow hard, my grip tightening on his wrist even as my hand trembles.

let her

moment

I

Ava’s

tightly I’m afraid he might

a tooth. Then, slowly, he raises his free hand, and I

never

sharp snap of teeth, and I realize that Selene has risen to her feet on the bed. She’s standing over Ava’s unconscious form, her hackles raised and her lips pulled back in a snarl. And she’s not just protecting Ava–she’s protecting me too, her

tension so thick I can barely breathe. Lucas and Selene stare each other down, husky

beneath my fingers, and for

a step back. His eyes never leave Selene’s, but he lowers his hand, his fingers uncurling from the

his voice tight with barely

rage. “The dog can stay.