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

so who

with Selene’s

how tense I’ve been. I want to

scary as Lucas, but just high enough in

vigilant mate at the hospital. I get it, I do. Lucas has

Lisa: Ava’s Absence

if I don’t feel like I’m drowning in this

high–up shifter in the pack called Vester, in two weeks, not since he left for the Blackwood territory to keep things running there.

that feels too soft against my skin. Everything in this place is too soft,

I miss Ava.

should be connected, a trio whose first priority is always

hospital bed, unresponsive to the world around her. And the

halls, see them in the sidelong glances

Ava’s Absence

unconscious in a Westwood hospital. It’s a political nightmare, even I

Westwood, but Jericho says there’s a lot of movement in the shadows. He’s been training me harder than ever, teaching me how to defend myself against

the Grey girl like ducks to their mamas,” he told me yesterday, his scarred face grim. “And you’re her best friend. That makes you a target.”

tank top. Selene is waiting by the door, her tail thumping against the floor. She’s been my constant companion

I could walk it in my sleep. The guards nod at me as I pass,

Kellan might be too busy to do the pick ups and drop offs, giving me a

wish, but

Always.

is in his usual spot by Ava’s bedside, his hand clasped tightly around hers. He looks up

I ask, though I already know the

head. “Nothing

back to

to speak. I take my usual seat on the other side of the bed, reaching

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

doesn’t. She hasn’t for three fucking

She’s been doing that more and more lately, like she’s trying to protect her.

a moment.