Tangled

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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

over me and I take her hands in

171 Ava: Trusting Vanessa

to share with you. Most of it is stuff Lucas knows, and some are things I haven't told him yet. But I need to know

on."

on my hands. "Ava, I'm loyal to the Westwood pack and to my Alpha." She pauses, conflict. flickering in her eyes.

her, my interruption swift. "It doesn't endanger Westwood. But Lucas won't like that I'm doing things without hist

face, even as she squeezes my hands in reassurance. "I can't give you a straight answer without knowing what it is. My answer stands. But I am

torn between the need to unburden myself and the fear of betrayal. Selene's voice echoes in my mind, urging me to trust

now, Selene reminds me

take a deep breath. "Selene isn't a dog. She's

shifts to one of bewilderment. Her brows knit together, creasing her forehead as she processes my

that possible?" she asks slowly, her eyes flickering between me and Selene, who yawns from her spot on the

171 Ava Trusting Vanessa

yet to get a straight answer out of her. It's impossible. She drinks secrets for breakfast.

about her"

"Oh. That's good, at least." But I can see the wheels

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.

is unlikely to happen." Vanessa frowns. "Let me think this through for a moment. There has to be

breath, occasionally shaking her head as if dismissing ideas that don't quite fit. The sight of her deep in th Settling onto the bed beside Selene, I run my fingers through her soft fur, focusing on the sensation of her head and

mind.

for Selene to pull the wolf's presence out if the human host is unconscious?" Vanessa asks suddenly, her gaze intense as she

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

thoughtful. "And what about your mother's wolf? Will she

Loyalty is a complex thing, especially when it comes to the dynamics between a wolf