Unshift

279 Ava: Best Friends Together Again

Kellan nods reluctantly, trudging off the porch with slow steps. I shake my head, still smiling, and step inside.

“Lisa?” I call out. “It’s safe to come out now. I’ve banished the big bad wolf.”

A muffled curse comes from the direction of my bedroom, followed by the sound of shuffling feet. Lisa appears in the doorway, wrapped in’a towel, her wet hair dripping onto the shoulders.

“Is he really gone?” she asks, peering around me suspiciously.

I nod. “He’s outside. I told him to give you some space.”

Lisa’s shoulders relax, and she pads over to the couch, sinking into it with a heavy sigh. “Thank God. I thought he was going to break down the bathroom door. I had to kick him out because he kept peeking in to make sure I was okay. While showering”

“Yes, I’m not surprised.” I toss a few things at her to wear. Shirt, pants, underwear. “These aren’t fancy, but none of us got to bring our wardrobe.”

“I never realized what a luxury clothes are,” Lisa agrees, unperturbed by the mismatched and style–less choices, hopping into the bathroom to get dressed. “Do you happen to have a hair dryer?”

“Nope.”

“Damn. Oh, well.”

Lisa emerges from the bathroom, striking an exaggerated pose in the oversized clothes I’ve given her. The baggy fabric hangs off her frame, accentuating how thin she’s become.

“How do I look?” she asks, her voice playful but strained.

My heart clenches painfully in my chest. “Fabulous as always,” I manage, forcing a smile. “You could make a potato sack look good.”

Lisa’s laugh is a shadow of its former self, but it’s there. She flops onto the couch, and I join her, our shoulders touching. For a moment, we just sit there, the silence heavy with unspoken words.

“How are you really doing?” I ask softly, turning to face her.

The humor fades from Lisa’s face, replaced by a weariness that makes her look years older. “I don’t want to think about it right now, if that’s okay.” She reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly. “Can we just focus on the fact that I’m here? With you? God, Ava, I missed you so much.” Guilt crashes over me like a tidal wave. I grip her hands, my vision blurring with unshed tears. “Lisa, I’m so sorry. I tried to find you, I swear I did, but-”

“Hey, no,” Lisa interrupts, her voice gentle. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

But the words keep spilling out, raw and painful. “There was no way to get to you. We didn’t know where you were, and then we did, but we were powerless to save you immediately, and then… then there was the funeral, too.” My stomach churns at the memory. “All those shifters

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279 Ava: Best Friends Together Again

who died, I had to… I had to be there. I felt like I was betraying you, but I couldn’t-”

Lisa’s hands tighten around mine, her face somber. “Ava, stop. You don’t need to explain. I get it, okay? I hate that our… our selfishness brought all this tragedy to Westwood. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I was with you every step of the way, whining and complaining. I’m the one that pushed you to go to the party.”

I shake my head, unable to form words. We lapse into silence. There’s so much I want to say, so many questions I want to ask, but I can’t bring myself to break this fragile peace.

So we sit, hands clasped, lost in our own thoughts.

At least until Lisa says, “So, do you have any coffee around here?”

My lips quirk. “I think so, but we’d have to let Kellan in. He’s been feeding and watering me. Like a plant.”

“He’s good at that.” A grin flashes across her face. “Though the food is always delivered.”

“Still, he orders it.”

“Always remembers that I hate mushrooms.”

“And olives.”

“Oh, and adds extra bacon!”

I grin. “Sounds like you aren’t too unhappy with how things have turned out, then.”

The happiness on her face disappears abruptly. “No. What the fuck, Ava. You don’t understand. I was just standing there, and then this giant wolf comes out of nowhere growling and ready to tear us apart. All the other wolves don’t even fight him, and then–ugh. Anyway, when he shifts I finally realize it’s Kellan, but then he-”

Lisa glances around, even though we’re the only ones in the room, and lowers her voice to hiss, “He kissed me, Ava. Not a peck. Not a smooch. He just grabbed me like this-” she moves her arms in the air around an imaginary figure, “-and just swooped in.”

I lean forward, resting my chin on my hand. “Was it good, though?”

“No.” She avoids my eyes. “Okay, yes. It was mind–blowing. Like sex, but with only mouths. But everyone was watching. And then he picked me up and refused to put me down. And he was

naked.”

“Yes, I saw that.” Trying desperately to hide my amusement, I ask, “Did he tell you anything?”

“Just that he would beat me within an inch of my life if I was ever kidnapped again. Oh, and then he threatened to cut off all my hair and turn me into a monk if I ever hide behind another naked man again.”

I blink. “That’s… extreme.”

She snaps her fingers at me. “That’s what I said. He’s lost his damn mind, Ava.”

“That’s because he’s your mate, Lisa.”

She stares at me “No”

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279 Ava: Best Friends Together Again

“He is, though.”

“Ava. I’m human. I can’t be his mate.”

I nod. “It is unusual. I guess he didn’t realize it until he could smell your blood. It’s a thing, I

guess.”

“But I’ve bled from a thousand different cuts when he’s around.”

Scratching my cheek, I shrug. “I didn’t make the rules. Maybe you didn’t bleed enough?”

Lisa recoils. “That sounds barbaric. How much do they expect someone to bleed to verify their

mate status?”