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.

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

yourself. You underestimate how much you have

obligated to love me because we're bonded. You're a

don't have to.

Hah.

again?" Lisa asks from where she's standing,

window.

as she might deny the bond between them,

for the wardstone of silence in the room. Its presence allows me to voice the fears that have been gnawing at

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

attention peeled off her mate, who's

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. 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 avoid

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 can't

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

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

1. me.

make you a target, though. You're still in

are deceiving. I can hold my

"What did she say?

Lot Solenn

the one hand, it would greatly diminish my liability as

world

The situation is different.

I would have figured she

you agree with

with pack politics to have a real

me to declare myself, Selene

the door interrupts the conversation, and Lisa jumps up to

see Lucas and Vester. And, surprisingly,

of them, Sister

on the couch, linking our hands together

my question. "She's been running around to get an appropriate venue set up for tonight. Do

Feeling a little uneasy around Vanessa's mate, I shift uncomfortably on my feet. "It's okay. I was