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.

Hours. Until my parents,

watching.

taking a step back. "You're sorry?" Anger surges through me, hot and bitter, fueling

help you. Please." She grabs at my arm again. "We need you to understand us. To speak for

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

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

am hired to

Ava From

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

or anyone else. from that pack. Not

contorts, her features twisting into an ugly

cuts her off. Selene stalks into the room, her hackles.

eyes flashing amber. For a moment, I think she might actually shift and attack. My heart pounds

in, and Margot's demeanor changes instantly. She straightens, smoothing her expression

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

watches her go, then turns to me, curiosity etched on her face. "Who was

heart. "An old neighbor,"

316

From

I don't hear her. I'm

against me as I tremble, overwhelmed by the unexpected confrontation

me, vivid and visceral. 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

of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a

Vanessa's gentle voice breaks through the chaos. "Are

shuddering breath. A few beats of my heart, slowing down. Meeting her concerned gaze, I give the

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,

leaves, I turn my attention back to Selene, running my fingers through her soft fur.

From the

of

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

escapes me. "Strength? I'm shaking like

facing it head-on,