Tangled

Unshift 263

Unshift 263

263 Ava: The Compound

263 Ava: The Compound

My heart thumps hard, trying its best to knock my ribs out of place with excitement. "Is everyone okay?

What's going on?"

Vanessa's eyes unfocus as she communicates with her mate. Waiting is like being bitten by a squad of fire ants, each prickle against my skin beginning to burn as I squirm, impatient for answers.

"He doesn't want to give any answers until we see him, but he said things are stable." There's an uncertain waver in her voice, but I keep quiet as she speaks with Vester, feeling my own unease building.

Stable.

That could mean a lot of things, and they aren't all good.

Marcus stiffens beside me and I glance out the window, expecting to see something on the road.

Nothing.

"There's a few scouts nearby," he says after a long pause. "Vanessa, you sense them?"

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263 Ava: The Compound

"Three," she confirms. "I'm not familiar with them, but I recognize them."

"We're about ten minutes out. We'll run into a few

more waves of scouts, staggered so they can stay in contact." He glances at me. "Like a telephone relay."

"Ten minutes?!" Vanessa frowns. "Vester should have been able to reach me a long time ago."

"I should be able to reach the alpha," Marcus agrees. "But I can't."

"Something's wrong." The healer's look of relief is once again replaced by worry. "This isn't right."

"The area's safe, so just relax until we get there. Someone should be able to give us proper answers then."

I hope he's right.

***

"Shit. Hold on!"

The truck lurches violently, throwing me against the door as Marcus slams on the brakes. Gravel crunches under the tires, and I barely catch myself before my face meets the dashboard.

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263 Ava: The Compound

Vanessa curses, her body sliding across the

we careen onto a narrow road I hadn't even noticed. The sudden turn sends a jolt of adrenaline through

itch of magic

out the seatbelts?" I mutter, rubbing my elbow where it smacked against

against the truck's exterior. It's a small forest here, much

sight before us.

it's not the picturesque setting that captures my

the bustle of pack life? The children

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263 Ava: The Compound

a community? Instead, a group of wolves emerges to

weapons.

the Westwood I know. This is a war

truck rolls to a stop, and I'm out the door before Marcus can fully engage the parking brake. My eyes scan the gathered faces, searching

"Kellan!"

my lips. before I can even catch my breath.

of questions. "Ava, there's a lot we need to discuss before I can take you to him." My stomach drops.

be in a hospital, but none of these cottages scream hospital to me. And unlike the Fae Ward. I doubt there's magic

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Ava: The Compound

a

confirms, but

he's...

complicated."

cover the chaos we've been through. I need to see Lucas, to

movement behind Kellan catches my eye. Another wolf-it takes me

reunion of brother and sister would be

the absence of Vanessa's

almost imperceptibly. "Come with me," he says, guiding me towards a small cabin set apart from the others. It

Marcus and Vanessa being led in a different direction by Ryder. The separation makes my skin prickle, and I scratch at my arms furiously in an

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263 Ava, The Compound

for

is weird.

demand as we

his hand on the doorknob. "Ava, I need you to understand that everything we're doing is to protect

"Protect us from what?"

eyes meet mine, and the

want to tear us apart. Both from outside... and

covered in maps. and documents. The walls are bare except for a few strategic diagrams and what looks like a