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

I take her

171 Ava: Trusting Vanessa

secrets, Vanessa. Secrets that I want. to share with you. Most of it is stuff Lucas knows, and some are things I

on."

"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 give you a

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

"I can't give you a straight answer without knowing what it is. My answer

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

reminds me

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

expression shifts to one of bewilderment. Her brows knit together,

possible?" she asks slowly, her eyes flickering between me

171 Ava Trusting Vanessa

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

about her"

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

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

me think this through for a moment. There

her brow furrowed in concentration. She mutters under her 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 ears beneath my touch. It's

mind.

to pull the wolf's presence out if the human host is unconscious?" Vanessa

her head, considering 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 too many variables to know

what about your mother's wolf? Will she be

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