Tangled

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181 Ava: Twenty Laps Around the Track

Muddy Blue Eyes turns back in my direction, and while I can't sense any sort of real respect or care, he at least reclaims a

professional air when he addresses me.

Before he can ask anything important, I have an odd, niggling little bug in my car from what he'd said a few moments ago. "Five miles around the track is twenty laps?" I ask, with a faint frown. 1-what? His confusion is clear in his wrinkled brow and hesitation. "Yes. Twenty laps."

"Not twelve?"

"No. It's twenty. Four laps to a mile

My memory is very clear of my torture during training, and I know that can't be right. "Jericho told us to run five miles, and it was always twelve laps."

"Beta-Mentor Ashbourne?" Muddy-Blue Eyes looks astonished, his brows rising. "Only twelve laps? Are you sure?"

"Positive. He had us count them. The memory of my jello-legs after each lap have me shuddering. "It was torture."

"Torture? She's been blessed by the Moon Goddess for his favor, and she calls it torture," Muddy-

Blue Eyes' partner mutters, looking out the window and bringing his hand to his lips in a gesture of faith I've seen often in Westwood, but almost never in Blackwood. It's always the older wolves who do it. "Pertaps Beta Mentor Ashbourne

oft on newbies? I suggest

soft

and Muddy Blue Eyes shakes his head in a firm negative. Then ! pause, rolling that name over in my head. "Wait. Ashbourne... isn't that Kellan's family name?

"Beta Mentor Jericho is Beta Kellan's father, Muddy Blue Eyes confirms. "When he stepped down as beta to focus on training young wolves, Beta Kellan took his place."

Ah.

The odd feeling between them now makes sense. It doesn't seem like a favorable father-son connection, somehow.

"I see." In a few minutes, I've learned more about the man who spent ages training me and Lisa for hours every day than I did. when he was training us.

Another eye-opening experience.

of how he cut our laps nearly in half, instead of forcing us to run the full five miles-while Lisa and I bemoaned every mile, thinking we were

old man's ranking in my

real miles might have

a while, realizing both men

It seems their constant presence has been replaced with these two, which somehow makes everything worse. At least the other ones hated

These two...

before. I

more than once.

don't even know

to the window and peering

Mentor.

can only agree. Kind is not really a

it's there, hidden in his gruff words and demands for

men stiffen, turning to glance at each other. Neither of them say a word, but their faces show how distracted they

tense again, and Selene perks her cars. Something's happening.

have been fiddling

my thigh. Sorry. But my stomach is churning, acid eating

Eyes seems to be done

"What's going on?"

toward me and shakes his head. "No one's injured. that's what you're worried

Well, that's good

doesn't

edge, taking station on either end of the

pause.

when someone approaches. It must be the new guards, because he shares a few

movement is tense.

Whatever happened-it's significant.

on?" I press, unable to ignore the palpable shift in the

door finally speaks up, his words clipped and

in my chest. "How is that even

their faces unreadable. Selene shifts beside

room.

dhampir. This

words only give

could they possibly want with the

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