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.

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-

how much you have

love me because we're bonded. You're

don't have to.

Hah.

at you for worrying again?" Lisa

window.

she might deny the bond between them, her eyes

the wardstone of silence in the room. Its presence allows me to voice the

I'm worried. What if trying to become Lucas' strength actually backfires

her attention peeled off her mate, who's running around getting the pack

use the pack bond to give my first speech. That's, like, the basic of all basics. Everyone knows I don't have a wolf. It's going to be a shit-show." "Ava, come on," Lisa says, crossing the room to sit beside me. "You're selling yourself short." "Am I though? Ultimately, I'm still an outsider. A Blackwood.

looks hideous, by the way, and I still think it needs some Bacitracin. But you can't really go back now,

the pack, Selene says thoughtfully. Now that you're

upright, I stare at Selene, who thumps her tail casually against the floor

1. me.

still in a husky body, not a wolf

appearances are deceiving.

Lisa asks. "What did she

Ava, Lot Solenn

it would greatly diminish my liability as a

world

The situation is different.

me. I would have figured she would be on my

you agree

familiar enough with pack politics to have a real opinion,

wants me to declare myself, Selene

and Lisa jumps up to open it, probably thinking it's

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

of them,

our hands together and bringing

been running around to get an appropriate venue

around Vanessa's mate, I shift uncomfortably on my feet. "It's okay. I