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.

day. Hours. Until my parents, tired of my whining, finally dragged me

watching.

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

Please." She grabs at my arm again. "We

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

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 did you

am hired to clean the

Ava From the

you." Her eyes fill with tears. "Please, Ava. Think of 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 cold as I take another

or anyone else. from that pack. Not after

twisting into an ugly

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

returns the growl, her eyes flashing amber. For a moment, I think she might

changes instantly. She straightens, smoothing her

you've settled in." With that, she turns and flees the room, brushing past

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

to steady my racing heart. "An old neighbor,"

316

From the

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

as I tremble, overwhelmed by the

The jeers and taunts of my packmates. The pain of their blows, both physical and emotional. The sinking realization that no one, not even

but it doesn't stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger,

through

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

nods, understanding in 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

Selene, running my fingers through her soft fur.

Ava: From

edges of

gentle caress in my mind. But you handled it

escapes me. "Strength? I'm shaking like

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