Tangled

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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

me and I take her hands in

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 haven't told him yet. But

on."

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 strai

her, my interruption swift. "It doesn't endanger Westwood. But Lucas

you a straight answer without knowing what it is. My

to unburden myself and the fear of betrayal. Selene's voice echoes in

option right now, Selene reminds me

"Selene isn't a

expression shifts 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

a straight answer out of her. It's impossible. She

about her"

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

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 a temporary measure. She can always bond with "But they would need

for a moment. There has to be a better way." It would be good if there

around the room, 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 a small comfort amidst the chaos swirling in my 171

mind.

the human host is unconscious?" Vanessa asks suddenly, her gaze intense as she looks at

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 for sure," I relay

what about your mother's wolf? Will

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