Tangled

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158 Ava: From the Past

"Ava, is that you?"

The familiar rasp has me frozen, my heart lurching into my throat. Slowly, I turn around, coming face-to-face with a ghost from my

past.

Our neighbor. Margot Mitchell.

Her once vibrant auburn hair is streaked with silver, her face a

roadmap of wrinkles and scars. It's her eyes that haunt me. Piercing green eyes that see everything and do nothing.

"Margot," I greet, my voice tight with caution. "What are you doing

here?"

She limps

toward me, her gait uneven from some injury she incurred long before I was born. I remember asking about it once, and my mother slapped the back of my head, admonishing me for my rudeness. "Oh, Ava. I'm

I tense as she reaches out, half-expecting her to grab me, to drag me back to the hellscape I escaped. But she merely places a hand on my arm, her touch feather-light.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry for everything. For not intervening when..." She trails off, her gaze flickering to the ground.

The shame she tries to portray leaves me feeling dirty. Unclean from her mere presence.

Memories flash through my mind, unbidden. Margot's face in the

$2.00

150 As from the Pant

window, watching as I was taunted and beaten, even by her own son. Listening at the front door as my parents berated me, their voices carrying through the window. Her figure rushing inside. when I tried beggi I was thirteen.

He broke my wrist.

Until my parents, tired of my whining,

always watching. Never

back. "You're sorry?" Anger surges through me, hot and bitter, fueling my words. "Why are you even saying that? What does that

could help you. Please." She grabs

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

apology was genuine. It's dead now, like so many other

shakes her head. "I am hired to clean

From

So many of us are separated now. Taken from our mates. Forced to cut ties with the alpha. Westwood is

have no intention of helping you or anyone

contorts, her features twisting into an

her off. Selene stalks into the room, her hackles. raised, teeth bared. She positions herself between

the growl, her eyes flashing amber. For a moment, I think she might

in, and Margot's demeanor changes instantly. She straightens, smoothing her expression into one of neutral

talk when you've settled

turns to me, curiosity etched on her face.

swallow hard, trying to steady my racing heart. "An

316

From

say something, but I don't hear her. I'm already sinking to my knees, burying my face in Selene's thick

softly, nuzzling against me as I tremble, overwhelmed by the unexpected

blows, both physical and emotional. The sinking realization that no one, not even our neighbors, would help me Breathe, Ava, Selene murmurs

stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a maelstrom threatening to

through the chaos. "Are you

my heart, slowing down. Meeting her concerned gaze, I give

adds, "Therapy isn't something to be ashamed of. If you're interested, just talk to me. Everything

Vanessa leaves, I turn my attention back to Selene, running my fingers through her soft fur. Her presence is a balm, soothing

Ava: From the

edges of

a gentle

"Strength?

It's facing it head-on, even when it terrifies you. And that's