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.

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

watching.

me, hot and bitter, fueling my words. "Why are you

Please." She grabs

Ah. She needs something.

No wonder she's here.

anger continues to 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 here?" I step back,

"I am hired

Ava From the

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

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

into an ugly

her off. Selene stalks into the room, her hackles. raised, teeth bared. She positions herself between Margot and

growl, her eyes flashing amber. For a moment, I think she might actually shift

Margot's demeanor changes instantly. She straightens, smoothing her expression into one of neutral

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

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

heart. "An old neighbor,"

316

From

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

softly, nuzzling against me as I tremble, overwhelmed by the unexpected

emotional. The sinking realization that no one, not even

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

through

heart, slowing down. Meeting her concerned gaze, I give

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

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

From the

edges of

you had to face that, she says, her voice a gentle caress in my

me. "Strength? I'm shaking like a

isn't the absence of fear, Ava. It's facing it head-on, even