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.

that day. Hours. Until my parents, tired of my whining, finally dragged

watching. Never

hot and bitter, fueling my words. "Why are you even saying

Please." She grabs at my arm again. "We need you to

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

of me, almost miniscule, that was hopeful her apology was genuine. It's dead now, like so many other little parts of "How did

shakes her head. "I am hired to clean the lodge.

From

until I saw you." Her eyes fill with tears. "Please, Ava. Think of your pack. So many of us are separated now. Taken from our mates. Forced to cut ties with the alpha. Westwood is tearing

helping you or anyone else. from that pack. Not after everything I

features twisting into an ugly mask of rage.

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

she might actually shift and attack. My

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

clipped. "We can talk when you've settled in."

her go, then turns to me, curiosity etched on her

heart. "An old neighbor," I manage, my voice shaking

316

From the

something, but I don't hear her. I'm already sinking

tremble, overwhelmed by

and emotional. The sinking realization that no one, not even our neighbors, would help me Breathe, Ava, Selene murmurs in my mind. You're

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

breaks through the chaos. "Are you

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

need me." She pauses, then adds, "Therapy isn't something to be ashamed of. If you're interested, just talk to me. Everything will be kept be Gratitude wells up inside me, and

turn my attention back to Selene, running my fingers through her soft fur. Her presence is a

From the

of my

a gentle caress in my mind. But you handled it with strength

me. "Strength? I'm shaking like

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