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Ava stands in the bedroom doorway, her arms crossed as she watches Hazel wearily. “What thefuck, Hazel.”
“Yeah.” Hazel picks at the stitching on the comforter of the guest bed, refusing to meet Ava’s eyes.
“What thefuck.”
“Would it help if I said I’m sorry?” Hazel mumbles, still scratching at the fabric.
“No. Stop picking at the blanket,” Ava huffs, “and look at me.”
Hazel expects to see anger, but her best friend looks exhausted and weary.
“I thought he killed you,” Ava says quietly. “I thought that was the last time I would see you.”
Hazel thought she couldn’t feel any worse, but seeing Ava’s eyes fill with tears pierces her heart.
“He didn’t, though—”
“Let me finish,” Ava snaps, wiping at a stray tear that’s fallen down her cheek. “Just let me say what I have to say.”
Hazel nods, shame coloring her cheeks. She owes Ava that much, at least.
“Once I was out in Lincoln City by myself, I thought I would die. I thought an Alpha would find me and kill me. But…an Alpha actuallyhelpedme leave the city.”
Hazel gasps. “Really?”
Ava nods and sniffles. “Yeah. He was…polite, and helpful. He made sure I wasn’t hurt and…” she trails off and shakes her head. “It just, it changed a lot of things for me.”
She joins Hazel on the bed and grabs the hand that was toying with the blanket. “I’m sorry we never finished our conversation,” she adds. “You were asking important questions. I couldtellyou were second-guessing everything, but I didn’t listen to you like I should have.”
Hazel frowns. “No. I’m an adult, Ava, you just being there—”
“But Iknewyou were doing something dangerous, and I didn’t stop you.”
“It’s not your job—”
“And it’s because a selfish part of me was hoping you’d be right,” Ava admits quietly. “That maybe there was more to all of this than we knew.”
Hazel remains silent, stunned.
“I’m just so glad you’re alright,” Ava continues. “And I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you as much as I should have before. Losing Connor fucked us both up, but we handle grief very differently.”
Connor.
“God,” Hazel chokes out, looking at Ava with despair. “He was a kid. Achild. And they took him away, just because they thought he might be…”
“I know.”
Tears fall down her cheeks as Ava wraps an arm around her. They both cry quietly in a mixture of relief and mourning.
Abel’s gone. He’s probably dead.
Connor is lost somewhere, or worse.
And now her city is in ruins.
“I didn’t go with him willingly,” Hazel insists after her tears subside. “Regardless of what he said on that video, I didn’t join his cause.”
“No, you didn’t,” Ava agrees. “But you’re notagainsthis cause, either. He said the same things in that speech that you’ve said to me before.”
