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

always watching. Never

sorry?" Anger surges through me, hot and bitter, fueling my words. "Why

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

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

of me, almost miniscule, that was hopeful her apology was genuine. It's dead now, like so many other little parts

head. "I am hired to clean the lodge. I

Ava From the

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

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

an ugly mask

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

I think she might

instantly. She

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

go, then turns to me, curiosity etched

steady my racing heart. "An old neighbor," I manage, my voice shaking slightly.

316

Aws: From the

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

as I tremble, overwhelmed by the unexpected confrontation

both physical and emotional. The sinking realization

Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a

gentle voice breaks through the chaos.

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

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

Selene, running my fingers through her soft fur. Her presence is a balm,

From

of

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

escapes me. "Strength? I'm shaking like

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