Tangled

Unshift 152

Unshift 152

152 Lucas: A Lesson in Patience

LUCAS

My mate has the guiltiest look on her face, looking everywhere but

at me.

On the one hand: It's good to know that she's a terrible liar, once caught.

But it takes every ounce of control within me to not rage at the danger she somehow placed herself in.

I don't understand any of this, but I'm determined I will before I leave the apartment.

Keeping my mouth shut is a lesson in patience, but it works. Ava slowly drips more information my way. It's a struggle to keep the smile on my face even as my molars grind together in frustration. And I remind Even when her life is on the line, and every molecule in my body is screaming to protect her.

The words come at an agonizing trickle from Ava's lips, spilling secrets I struggle to comprehend. The vampire attack. Sister Miriam's concern. Fae food-not that we understand much about it - that compels honesty. Bizarre magic that spirited her out of this room and into another place, from right beneath my nose.

Each revelation twists my gut, stoking the embers of my barely restrained fury.

152 Les ALOGOHLENationco

"Why would a vampire help a wolf?" The question escapes before I can temper it, my voice rough with the effort of control.

Ava blinks, confusion clouding her features as she evades my gaze once again. "I don't know."

"You didn't think to ask?" I press, the wolf within me prowling, eager to break free and demand answers.

She fidgets, twisting her hands in her lap. "I'm pretty sure I did? But Sister Miriam was evasive. She didn't give me a straight

answer."

vampire for concrete information when you can just waltz into danger blindly? My molars

at the risks Aval took. Risks

And right now, I need her to trust me. To confide in So I listen, even as every instinct screams to spirit her away to safety. To lock her in my arms and

slowly drains from her shoulders as she speaks, her body relaxing inch by painstaking inch

takes every shred of self-control I possess. Every ounce of discipline honed over years of leadership.

Lucas A Lesson

beneath the terror,

Love.

sense her meeting me halfway.

me without hesitation.

going to ruin this

waited for

and unrelenting. It tempers my fury, softens my edges. It whispers in my

protect.

her own reckless

my pride, my possessiveness. I meet her tentative gaze with a steadiness I don't feel, offering

when she admits to truths that

Selene isn't just a dog, but her

head, and I finally understand his obsession with that damned husky. He's not

of our body.

Ava is extraordinary in

00

A

accept this new truth, reaching over to grab her hands, never once berating her for her silence-for her fears-she seems to finally, finally, let her guard down. Her voice is raspy from talking and overuse, so

follows, sliding her hand into mine, and my heart

It's a mess,

Yeah, it fucking is.

gently. "We'll figure it

dump it

glass of water, and she hovers beside me,

to read, now that her guard is