Tangled

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158

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, finally

always watching.

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

have to understand, none of us could help you. Please." She grabs at

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

hopeful her apology was genuine. It's dead now, like so many other little parts of "How did you know I was here?" I step back, avoiding her grip, and

head. "I am hired

From the

us are separated now. Taken from our mates. Forced

have no intention of helping you or anyone else. from that pack. Not after everything I

her features twisting into an ugly

growl cuts her off. Selene stalks into the room, her hackles. raised, teeth bared.

For a moment, I think she might actually shift and attack. My heart pounds against my ribs, adrenaline surging

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

clipped. "We can talk when you've settled in." With that, she turns and

then turns to me, curiosity etched on her

"An old

316

From

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

I tremble, overwhelmed by

taunts of my packmates. The pain of their blows, both physical and emotional. The sinking realization that

emotions. Fear,

gentle voice breaks through the chaos.

of my heart, slowing down.

room if you need me." She pauses, then adds, "Therapy isn't something to be ashamed of. If you're interested, just talk to me. Everything will

my fingers through her soft fur. Her presence

Ava: From the

edges of

sorry you had to face that, she says, her voice a gentle caress in my mind. But you handled it with strength

bitter laugh escapes me. "Strength? I'm

facing it head-on, even