Tangled

171

171

171 Avar Trusting Vanessa

sa saws up before dinner, with a bag full of doctor stuff and @puu milar ny that tells me I'm got dong anything until she gets

she needs.

bel suffer through the blood pressure, my blood being drawn and Taken away by one of my new stone-faced bodyguards, of which there are at least 6, and a lot of questions she asks me every single day My answers haven't changed, but she still asks them.

I watch intently as Vanessa packs up her medical supplies, my mind churning with the weight of the secrets I'm keeping. With the balt- baked plans inside my head. With my desperate need to save Lisa from whatever fate the Mad Prince has planned.

1 wet my lips, trying to find the right words.

Vanessa, how do you feel about keeping secrets from your mate?" The question slips out before I can stop it.

She pauses, a knowing smile playing on her lips, her eyes twinkling.

Trouble in paradise already with the overbearing Alpha?"

I glance toward the bedroom door "Can the bodyguards hear

verything we say in here?"

She looks amused, "No. Your prior Alpha had this room. soundproofed

washes over me and I take her

171 Ava: Trusting Vanessa

Most of it is stuff Lucas knows, and some are things I haven't told him yet. But

on."

on my hands. "Ava, I'm loyal to the Westwood pack and to my Alpha." She pauses, conflict. flickering in her eyes. "But I'm also loyal to my Luna. I can't

my interruption swift. "It doesn't endanger Westwood. But Lucas won't like that I'm doing

can't give you a straight answer without knowing what it is. My answer stands. But I am here for

unburden myself and the fear of betrayal. Selene's voice echoes in my mind, urging me

now, Selene reminds me

"Selene isn't a dog. She's my

to one of bewilderment. Her brows knit together,

she asks slowly, her eyes flickering between me and Selene, who yawns from

171 Ava Trusting Vanessa

straight answer out of

about her"

in Vanessa's eyes. "Oh. That's good, at least." But I can see the wheels turning in her head as she thinks things

more clarity on things, I rush, "Selene thinks she can talk to my mother's wolf. I want to try. The real problem is that we have to force her to renounce her pack in order to keep Selene's ex "That might kill her," the healer says automatically, glancing again. toward Selene. "And only an alpha can force a switch in pack allegiance. Even

happen." Vanessa frowns. "Let me think this through for a moment. There has to be a better way." It would be good

of her deep in th Settling onto the bed beside Selene, I run my fingers through her soft fur, focusing on the

mind.

for Selene to pull the wolf's presence out if the human host is

might be possible, she admits, her voice echoing in my mind. But there are too many variables to say for certain. "Selene says it might be

thoughtful. "And what about your mother's

I find myself at a loss for words. Loyalty is a complex thing, especially when it comes to the dynamics between a wolf