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.

cried for hours that day. Hours. Until my parents, tired of my whining, finally

watching. Never

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

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

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

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

hired to clean the lodge. I

Ava From the

your pack. So many of us are separated now. Taken from our mates. Forced to cut ties with the alpha. Westwood is tearing us apart. They sh "No." My voice is

repeat. "I have no intention of helping you or anyone else.

an ugly mask of rage. "You

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

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

She straightens, smoothing her expression

you again later," she says, her tone clipped. "We can talk when you've settled in." With that, she turns and flees the room, brushing past

then turns to me, curiosity etched on

"An old neighbor," I manage,

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From

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

tremble, overwhelmed by the unexpected confrontation

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 neighbors, would help me Breathe, Ava, Selene murmurs in my mind. You're safe now. She can't hurt

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

breaks through the chaos. "Are

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

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

to Selene, running my fingers through her soft

From

of

you had to face that, she says, her voice a gentle

escapes me. "Strength? I'm shaking like

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