Tangled

140 Ava: Lisa’s Gone

“Ava!”

Kellan’s familiar voice should bring hope, but all I feel is despair as I stare into the distance, wishing that vampire would reappear.

A thousand of them could come and it would be fine. As long as they bring Lisa back.

“Ava! Can you hear me?”

Kellan’s face swims in and out of focus, a hazy blur against the night sky. I squint, trying to bring him into clarity, but it ike trying to grasp smoke.

“They have Lisa,” I whisper, the words scraping my throat raw. “The vampire… He took her.”

Kellan’s eyes widen, a flicker of anguish passing over his features before he schools them into careful neutrality. But I can see the tension in his jaw, the rigidity of his shoulders. He’s barely holding it together.

“I know, Ava. We’ll get her back.” His voice is strained, distracted. Like his mind is a million miles away even

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140 Ava Lisa’s Gone

as he’s right here with me.

Strong arms scoop me up, cradling me against a broad chest. For a moment, I think it’s Kellan, but the scent is wrong. Earthy and unfamiliar, not the piney–leather smell I associate with him. I turn my head, blinking sluggishly at the face above me. It takes a moment for recognition to click into place. One of the guards from Lisa’s apartment. I can’t recall his name, but I

remember him standing sentry outside her door, stoic and watchful.

He carries me away from the carnage, away from the bodies strewn across the grass like broken dolls. I want to protest, to demand he put me down, but my limbs feel weighted, my tongue thick and useless in my

mouth.

Behind us, I can hear Kellan pacing, his footsteps heavy and agitated against the ground. He’s growling, the sound low and menacing, interspersed with words I can’t quite make out. But one stands out, sharp and clear amid the jumbled mess of my thoughts.

Mate.

He keeps saying it, over and over, like a mantra. Like a

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140 Ava: Lisa’s Gone

prayer.

I try to focus on him, to call out and ask what he means, but the world is tilting, spinning off its axis. Darkness creeps in at the edges of my vision, a black tide threatening to pull me under.

The last thing I see before unconsciousness claims me is Selene running in from the woodline, coming straight for me.

Ava!

***

The hospital ceiling greets me again when I open my Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

eyes.

getting old.

can feel her warm weight against me. Someone

right merry chase around the garden. They call

hands down her fur,

side.

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Ava: Lisa’s

Kellan.

even noticed that

worried about Lisa, Selene says, a whisper in my mind. He’s finally realized that they’re

What?

ma s no

but humans can be mates. He probably didn’t realize until he could smell her blood. It’s not uncommon. It’s a very faint scent in humans until the bonding

How fascinating.

going to be furious to

My heart sinks.

will get her back, Selene assures me,

it we haven’t found her yet?” I

How do you

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Ava Lisa’s

for the side of my throat, I confirm that the skin is unblemished.

my chest, but I already

what that is.

We have to get rid

I know that being bonded

Correct.

haven’t probably been poked

talk about what happened. “What about Lisa? Do we have any

information on her?”

stiffens at her name and shakes his head. “No. Nothing. You said

Kind of freaky. Kept calling us kittens.”

nose in frustration. “It’s impossible

description.“.

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Ava: Lisa’s Gone

my gut. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see

apology. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad, Ava. It’s a common problem when vampires are the perpetrators.”

Selene says. Their appearances are

us a small hint about his age,” Kellan continues, “but even that isn’t a

dye their hair?”

laugh escapes him. “Not only do they dye their hair, but they also wear contacts. They

me at the thought. Vampires walking freely among the unsuspecting populace, wearing whatever disguise suits them best.

muses. Adaptation is necessary for any species

been taken by an adaptive

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Lisa’s Gone

sees us as nothing more than

trying to keep the desperation

“We have our ways.

It’s just a matter of picking up the right il.”

every supernatural, Selene corrects, but I ignore

for? Let’s

hand on my shoulder stops me. “Ava, you’re in no condition to go

even as the room spins a little.

right, Ava. You’re not fully recovered. Your body needs time. Your wounds are healed, but your blood loss

pulling at me. The adrenaline that kept me going