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

always watching. Never

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

grabs at my arm again. "We need you to understand

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 know I was here?" I step

am hired to

Ava From

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

of helping you or anyone else. from that pack.

features twisting into an ugly

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

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

demeanor changes instantly. She straightens, smoothing her expression into one

talk when you've settled in." With that, she turns and

her go, then turns to me, curiosity etched on

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

316

From the

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

me as I tremble, overwhelmed by

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

right, but it doesn't stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a maelstrom threatening to pull me

breaks through the chaos.

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

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 wells up inside me, and I manage a shaky smile. "Thank

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

Ava: From the

edges of

a gentle caress in my mind. But you handled it with

escapes me. "Strength? I'm shaking like a

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