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.

for hours that day. Hours. Until my parents,

watching.

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

could help you. Please." She grabs at my arm

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

to boil in my veins, even as my stomach churns. There's a tiny part of me, almost miniscule, that was hopeful her apology was genuine. It's dead now, like so many other little parts of "How

"I am hired

Ava From the

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

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

twisting into an ugly mask

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

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

She

again later," she says, her tone clipped. "We can talk when you've settled in." With

to me, curiosity

my racing heart. "An old

316

Aws: From the

to say something, but I don't hear her. I'm

softly, nuzzling against me as I tremble, overwhelmed

The jeers and taunts of my packmates. The pain of their blows, both physical and emotional. The sinking realization that no one, not even our neighbors, would help me Breathe, Ava, Selene murmurs in my mind. You're

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

through the chaos.

shuddering breath. A few beats of my heart, slowing down.

her eyes. "I'll be in the other 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 be kept be Gratitude

my fingers through her soft

Ava: From

of my

you had to face that, she says, her voice a gentle caress in my mind. But you

"Strength? I'm shaking

fear, Ava. It's facing it head-on, even when