Tangled

158

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,

watching.

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

Please." She grabs at

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

my stomach churns. There's a tiny part of me, almost miniscule, that was hopeful her apology was genuine. It's

"I am hired to clean

From the

now. Taken from our mates. Forced to cut ties with the

helping you or anyone else. from that pack.

twisting into an ugly mask of rage.

into the room, her hackles. raised, teeth bared.

returns the growl, her eyes flashing amber. For a moment, I think she might actually shift and attack. My heart pounds against my ribs, adrenaline surging

and Margot's demeanor changes instantly. She

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

her go, then turns to me, curiosity etched

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

316

Aws: From the

I don't

nuzzling against me as I tremble, overwhelmed by the

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

but it doesn't stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a maelstrom

breaks through the chaos. "Are you

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

something to be ashamed of. If you're interested, just talk to

Vanessa leaves, I turn my attention back to Selene, running my fingers through her

Ava: From

of my

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

laugh escapes me. "Strength? I'm shaking

facing it head-on, even when it terrifies