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.

made through the pack bond, but I've never been able to use one- leaving

You underestimate how much you have to

obligated to love me

don't have to. I choose

Hah.

she yelling at you for worrying again?" Lisa asks from

window.

as she might

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

to become Lucas' strength

mate, who's running around

can't even 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. Their enemy. And even if they're okay with that, it's about perception. What if the pack sees me

a mark on your neck-which looks hideous, by the way, and I still think it needs some

Selene says thoughtfully. Now that you're mated, Alpha Renard

upright, I stare at Selene, who thumps her tail

1. me.

still in a husky body, not

told you, appearances are deceiving. I can

on?" Lisa asks. "What did

Lot

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

the world

The situation is different.

looks thoughtful, surprising me. I would have figured she would be

you agree

not familiar enough with pack politics to have

wants me to

sharp knock on the door interrupts the conversation, and Lisa jumps up

surprised to see Lucas and

of

beside me on the couch, linking our hands together and bringing some warmth to

around to get an

uncomfortably on my feet. "It's okay.