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?”

the waiting room. I can bring her

see the tension in his jaw,

not

be good for her,” I say, since

steps aside as Kellan enters the 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.

the hoonital had and late out a

210

C

Lisa Ava’s Absence (1)

breaks my

forward, nearly yanking the leash out of

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

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 make

I feel my heart stutter in my chest. Oh God. What have

down now. Not when Ava

hard, my grip tightening on his wrist even as my hand

“Just let her

moment Lear

I

Lisa: Ava’s Absence

so tightly I’m afraid he

he raises his free hand, and I brace myself for

it never comes.

hackles raised and her lips pulled back in a snarl. And she’s not just protecting Ava–she’s protecting me too, her body angled

thick I can barely breathe. Lucas and Selene stare each other down, husky to wolf.

in Lucas’s arm bunch beneath my fingers, and for a second, I’m sure he’s going to lunge

but he

out, his

rage. “The dog can stay. For