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."

course she didn't. Why pin down the vampire for concrete information when you can just waltz into danger blindly? My molars grind together, my jaw clenched

at the risks Aval took. Risks

as much as I want to roar my frustration, I know it will only push her away. And right now, I need her to trust me. To confide in So I listen, even as

her body relaxing inch by painstaking inch when

of discipline honed over

A

the terror, lies something far more

Love.

can sense her meeting

me without hesitation.

to

waited for

her pulses through my veins, fierce and unrelenting. It tempers my fury, softens my edges. It

protect.

from her own

a steadiness I don't feel, offering silent support as she bares her secrets. And with each word, each halting confession, I fall a little

she admits to truths

isn't just a dog, but

with that damned husky. He's not mated to

our body. We share mind, soul, and body. That's

Ava is extraordinary in every way, it

00

Lucas. A Lesson in

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 jumps for

It's a

Yeah, it fucking is.

I squeeze her hand gently. "We'll

to dump it all on

glass of water,

now that