Tangled

301 Ava: Let Selene Be Known?

All the necessary arrangements keep Vanessa and Kellan busy.

Someone manages to procure some sort of white, wispy dress that Lisa says will make me look like an angel, but I think looks more like something I'd wear on my honeymoon.

Definitely not something I should wear in public.

"Lucas won't like it, I predict, scowling at how much of my skin shows beneath the sheer fabric. "Hell, I don't like it."

Lisa squints. "I can see your bra. I wonder if we can source a sexy one."

"This isn't an ad for lingerie. I'm supposed to be presented as Luna, not as the Alpha's whore." Yanking off the flimsy excuse for a dress, my lip curls in distaste. "Who brought this over?" Lisa shrugs. "Some woman. I don't really know the pack well enough to say who A frown deepens on my face as I ball up the dress and shove it back into the bag it came in. "Well, whoever she is, she's got terrible taste."

We still have the small pile of clothes Kellan had scrounged up for me when I first arrived. They're not fancy, but they're practical and comfortable. More importantly, they cover my skin. 1 grab a pair of well-worn jeans and a simple t-shirt.

"Are you sure about this?" Lisa asks, poking at the meager selection of clothing. "I mean, it is kind of a big deal, you becoming Luna and all

I shake my head as I pull on the least distressed pair of jeans I can find. "It's not some grand coronation, Lisa. I don't need to look like a queen.

"Maybe we should ask one guard to find something else?" Lisa suggests, glancing towards the

door.

"No," I say firmly, tugging a t-shirt over my head. "This is fine. It's who I am, and if the pack can't accept that, then..." I trail off, not wanting to finish that thought. They have to accept it. It isn't really their choice. I'm their Alpha's mate. But what if choosing me as Luna spurs others into an alpha challenge?

What if, in trying to make it better, I make everything worse...?

Stop trying to borrow trouble before it finds you, Selene says, interrupting my doom-spiraling. Lisa, unaware of the thoughts that flashed through my head, just hums as she tosses a shirt back onto the tiny pile of clothes. "Okay. If you're sure."

I am sure. The thought of parading around in that gossamer nightmare makes my skin crawl. It's not just about the dress, really. It's about what it represents-like I'm a Luna made to breed little alpha puppies.

That's not who I am.

301 Ava. Let Selone Be Known?

Not who I want to be.

little off-kilter as I ponder my first speech to my people. It's usually made through the pack bond, but I've never been able to use one- leaving me to fret that my obvious defects will also bring weakness instead of strength to Lucas'

underestimate how much

love me

to.

Hah.

you for worrying again?" Lisa asks from where

window.

out there somewhere, and as much as she might

to voice the fears that have been gnawing at me since this whole

trying to become Lucas' strength actually

from the window, her attention peeled off her mate, who's running around getting the pack ready. "What do you

selling yourself short." "Am I though? Ultimately, I'm still an outsider. A Blackwood. Their enemy. And even if they're okay with that, it's about perception. What if the pack sees me as a liability? What if they think Lucas is weaker for choosing me? I'm trying to

worrying about it now? You've already decided on this. There's a mark on your neck-which looks hideous, by the way, and I still think it needs some Bacitracin. But you

pack, Selene says thoughtfully. Now that you're mated, Alpha Renard isn't going to want you for

her

1. me.

though. You're still in

deceiving.

asks. "What

Lot Solenn

one hand, it would greatly diminish my liability as a wolfless defect of a Lama. On the other-it

the world has

The situation is different.

thoughtful, surprising me. I would have figured she would be on my

you agree

with

woll wants me to declare myself, Selene

and Lisa jumps up to open it,

pleasantly surprised to see Lucas and Vester. And, surprisingly,

all of them, Sister

linking our hands together and bringing some warmth

"She's been running around to get an appropriate venue set up for tonight. Do I need to call

I shift uncomfortably on my feet.