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.

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

watching.

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

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

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

boil 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

hired to clean the lodge. I

Ava From

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."

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

face contorts, her features twisting into an ugly mask of rage. "You

the room, her hackles. raised, teeth bared. She positions

she might actually shift and attack. My heart pounds against my

She straightens, smoothing her expression

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

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

racing heart. "An old neighbor,"

316

From the

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

I tremble, overwhelmed

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

it doesn't stop the flood of emotions. Fear, anger, betrayal-they swirl inside me, a

through the chaos.

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

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 interested, just talk to me. Everything will be kept be Gratitude wells up

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

Ava: From the

of

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

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

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