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

171 Ava: Trusting Vanessa

at my throat. "I have 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

on."

She pauses, conflict. flickering in her

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

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

response, torn between the need to unburden myself and the fear of betrayal. Selene's

your best option right now, Selene reminds me gently. You need an

breath. "Selene isn't

to one of bewilderment. Her brows knit together,

between me and Selene,

171 Ava Trusting Vanessa

"Honestly, I've yet to get a straight answer out of her. It's impossible. She drinks

about her"

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

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 a temporary measure.

Which, I suppose, is unlikely to happen." Vanessa frowns. "Let me think this through for a moment. There has to be a better way." It would

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.

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

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 to

her expression thoughtful. "And what about your mother's

and I find myself at a loss for words. Loyalty is a complex thing,