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.

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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?”

in the waiting room.

Ava, but I can see the tension in his jaw, the way his hands clench and

not protesting.

say, since

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

had and late out a high–nitshad

210

C

Lisa Ava’s Absence (1)

that breaks my heart.

can react, Selene lunges forward, nearly yanking the leash out

on the crisp white sheets as she tries to get closer to Ava. Lucas starts

like a live wire. “I think…

dangerous. A growl rumbles low in his throat, and I feel my heart stutter in my chest. Oh God. What have I done? The look on his face… it’s like he’s

can’t back down now. Not when Ava

hard, my grip tightening on his wrist even as

let her

moment

I

Ava’s

so tightly I’m afraid

raises his free hand, and I brace myself for the

it never comes.

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 body angled slightly to the side to put herself between me and Lucas.

barely breathe. Lucas and Selene stare each

muscles in Lucas’s arm bunch beneath my fingers, and

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

out, his

dog can