Page 22 of Claiming Pretty

She turned to me, her expression shifting, her shoulders tightening as if bracing for impact.

“Ciaran,” she said carefully, her voice laced with something that set every nerve in me on edge. “Maybe you should sit down.”

My anger flared, hot and uncontrollable, rising like a tidal wave.

“I don’t need to sit down,” I growled, my voice cutting through the air. “I need someone to tell me what the fuck is going on. Right. Now.”

She flinched, just barely, but I caught it. I saw the way her gaze darted away, guilt flashing in her eyes like a warning siren.

The sight of it sent a fresh wave of panic crashing through me, icy and suffocating.

What the hell was she guilty about?

My stomach churned, my fists clenching as my thoughts raced.

Fear slammed into me, sharp and unrelenting. Why had she come back withhim? Why was my dead brother standing here, alive and looking far too calm, as if he’d been waiting for this moment all along?

And most of all—what did that guilt in her eyes mean? What had she done?

“Well,” Ava began, her voice quiet but steady, as if bracing herself for the explosion she knew was coming, “Ty… saved me before Cormac could hand me over to the Society.”

My glare snapped to her, my anger boiling over before I could stop it.

“That was three fucking months ago,” I spat, my voice rising with every word. “No word. No call.Nothing. I thought you were being tortured in a goddamn basement. I thought you weredead.”

The last word came out louder than I intended, echoing in the room like a gunshot.

Ava shuffled awkwardly, her gaze dropping to the floor, her discomfort painfully obvious.

“I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Ty wouldn’t let me…”

She trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish. The unspoken truth hit me like a hammer to the chest.

Tykept her from me.

I turned my fury on him, my jaw tightening as the realization crystallized.

“What did you do with her?” I growled, steppingforward, my fists clenched at my sides. “Where did you take her?”

Ty stood his ground, unbothered by the heat of my rage, his voice calm, almost detached. “I was helping her face her demons.”

“Youwhat?” I roared, closing the space between us, my face inches from his.

“I took her back to Blackthorn,” he said evenly, meeting my gaze without a flicker of hesitation. “I took herhome.”

The words slammed into me like a truck, leaving me reeling. My mind raced, piecing together the implications of what he’d just said.

Ava remembered.She knew.

I spun around, the room tilting beneath me as the weight of it all crashed over me.

I was stunned speechless as my gaze landed on her, her expression a mixture of hurt, guilt, and something I couldn’t quite place.

She knew. She knew the lies I’d told her. The things I’d let her believe. The truths I’d buried to protect her.

“Ava…” Her name came out a whisper, an apology already forming on my lips as I stepped toward her, my chest tightening at the pain in her eyes. “Ava, please… we need to talk.”

Behind me, Ty chuckled, the sound low and sharp. “Don’t let me stop you.”

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