Tangled

111 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (IV)

LISA

Three fucking weeks.

No matter how many times I count, it’s been three fucking weeks.

The calendar on my wall mocks me, today’s date staring me in the face from any particular point of my

kitchen.

Selene whines when I nearly step on her paw for the third time this morning. “Sorry, girl. Give me a second, and we’ll go see her.”

I’m drenched in sweat. Jericho hasn’t blinked a single eyelash over Ava being in the hospital, and we’ve all settled into a new kind of normal.

It’s not normal at all, but it’s life now. At least until Ava

wakes up again.

I’m stronger. Fastér, though nothing compared to these shifters who surround me. I’m learning some basic self–defense, and Selene has helped with the hands–on training to evade and defend against wolf

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111 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (IV)

attacks.

I have bruises and wounds everywhere, and a few of them have even gotten infected, but Healer Vanessa is a godsend who always has some magical cream on her somewhere. Antibacterial, antifungal, prevents scarring, and smells divine. I have no idea why they

sell it in

they’d never be able to keep up with the demand. For all I know, it probably reduces wrinkles, too. Shifters age well, though, so who knows. Maybe they don’t need wrinkle cream.

slip into the shower, with Selene’s reproachful blue eyes

pounds against my back, a blistering reminder of just how tense I’ve been. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to

if he was even here. He’s not as scary as Lucas, but just high enough

pack while Lucas plays vigilant mate at the hospital. I get it,

Ava’s Absence (IV)

to keep things running smoothly. But fuck if I don’t feel like I’m drowning

her mate, some high–up shifter in the pack called Vester, in two weeks, not since he left for the Blackwood territory to keep things running there. I can’t even imagine how she’s holding

and step out, wrapping myself in a towel that feels too soft against my skin. Everything

I miss Ava.

Selene’s finally here. We should be connected, a trio whose first priority is always what fun

unresponsive to the

can hear them whispered in the halls, see them in the sidelong glances thrown my way.

Ava’s Absence (IV)

Westwood hospital. It’s a political nightmare,

rallying behind Westwood, but Jericho says there’s a lot of movement in the shadows.

Grey girl like ducks to their mamas,” he told me yesterday, his scarred face

door, her tail thumping against the floor. She’s been my constant companion these past

to the hospital, the route so familiar now I could walk it in my sleep. The guards nod at me as I

to do the pick

as I wish, but

Always.

hand clasped tightly around hers. He

I already know the

“Nothing yet.

come back to

other side of the bed, reaching out to brush a strand of hair

moment now she’ll wake up and start cracking jokes about how we all look

doesn’t. She hasn’t for three fucking weeks.

been doing that more and more lately, like she’s trying to

my eyes for a moment. I’m so tired, so fucking tired of all