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 hands

171 Ava: Trusting Vanessa

throat. "I have secrets, Vanessa. Secrets that I want. to share with you. Most of it is stuff

on."

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

interruption swift. "It doesn't endanger Westwood. But Lucas won't like

squeezes my hands in reassurance. "I can't give you a

and the fear of betrayal. Selene's

right now, Selene reminds me gently. You need an ally,

take a deep breath. "Selene

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

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

171 Ava Trusting Vanessa

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

about her"

clear in Vanessa's eyes. "Oh. That's good, at least." But I can see the

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 then, it's only

frowns. "Let me think this through for a

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 ears beneath my touch. It's a small comfort amidst the chaos swirling in my 171 Ave

mind.

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

the question. It 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 possible, but there are

"And what about your mother's wolf? Will she be loyal to

loss for words. Loyalty is a complex