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.

that day. Hours. Until my parents, tired of my

always watching.

me, hot and bitter, fueling my words. "Why are you even saying that?

have to understand, none of us could help you. Please." She grabs at my arm again. "We need you to understand

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

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

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

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. They sh "No." My voice

of helping you or anyone else. from that pack. Not

her features twisting into an

her hackles. raised, teeth bared. She positions

a moment, I think she might actually shift and attack. My

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

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 a

to me, curiosity etched on

swallow hard, trying to steady my racing heart. "An old neighbor,"

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Aws: From

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

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

stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a maelstrom threatening

voice breaks through the chaos.

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

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

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

From

of my

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

escapes me. "Strength? I'm

fear, Ava. It's facing it head-on, even when it terrifies you. And that's