Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
A nurse I don’t recognize comes in, and it takes a solid thirty seconds for her to lock the door behind her. It’s embarrassing to see how many security measures are in place to keep me unmated.
“How are you feeling? You seem to be pretty rational,” she says, chipper as the morning sun.
I hate her. I feel like shit. My head hurts. My body hurts. I have horrible memories of me throwing myself at a man I barely know in front of who knows how many strangers, and here’s this pretty nurse with her life together, asking me how I’m doing.
“I need to go to the bathroom, or I’m going to burst.”
“Okay. I can remove your restraints, but if you start feeling off, we’re going to have to put you back in them. We don’t want a repeat of last night.” She speaks in a matter of fact kind of way, but I can’t help blushing.
“I’d rather not,” I agree with a sigh, perking up when cha noman to mu aide and starta unhuabling my urint first. Now that I know I’m about to have freedom, my urgency has become an emergency. “Please hurry.”
The nurse releases me from the restraints, and I bolt for the bathroom in panic. For a brief moment, I’m able to push aside the confusion and embarrassment. But then memories rush back, and I bury my face in my hands as I remember it all.
Ugh.
I wish I had amnesia.
If only there was a pill to cancel heat and cause twentyfour hours of memory loss!
But there isn’t, so I flush the toilet and wash my hands. Drying them with a thin hospital town, I stare at my reflection. Tangled hair, puffy eyes, and hickeys everywhere.
I shudder and turn away from the mirror, patting my hot cheeks. So embarrassing.
Thankfully, the nurse is gone when I exit the bathroom. The sight of the restraints hanging off my bed makes my stomach roil with nausea, so I sit on the visitor’s couch instead.
The nurse comes in, followed by a female doctor, going through the elaborate process of locking and unlocking the steel door.
The doctor enters the room, a warm smile on her face. “Good morning, Ava. I’m Dr. Summers. How are you feeling today?”
I shrug. Knowing she probably heard about last night makes me feel awkward, so I avoid her eyes.
“Embarrassed, mostly. And sore.” I gesture vaguely at my neck.
Dr. Summers nods, her expression serious. “I understand. What you experienced was a very intense heat cycle, Ava. Much stronger than what we typically see in omegas.”
She sits down across from me, folding her hands in her lap. “Honestly, though… We don’t have a lot of documented information on true omegas and their heat cycles. They’re incredibly rare. All omegas are called that because they were given the rank, not born as one.”
I swallow hard, my stomach churning with unease. “So, what does that mean for me?”
Dr. Summers sighs. “It means we underestimated the severity of your heat. We thought we would have more time before the peak hit.” She looks at me directly, her eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, Ava. We should have taken more precautions.”
I shrug a shoulder, trying to be nonchalant. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not, but… I understand.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to help you through this, Ava. I promise.” Dr. Summers leans forward, her voice gentle but firm. “But I need you to be honest with me about your symptoms, okay? Even if it’s embarrassing.”
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Okay. I can do that.”
Dr. Summers smiles encouragingly. “Good. Now, tell me, how are you feeling physically? Any pain, discomfort?”
I shift on the couch, wincing slightly. “I’m sore. Everywhere. And I feel… I don’t know. Restless? Like my skin is too tight.”
She nods, making a note on her clipboard. “That’s common during heat. Your body is going through a lot.
of changes right now.”
“And the… the need? The desire? Is that normal too?” I ask, my face flushing.
“Yes, it is. Your hormones are in overdrive right now, Ava. It’s going to affect your emotions and your physical desires.” Dr. Summers looks at me.
sympathetically. “I know it’s overwhelming, but it’s all part of the process. And for you, any alpha or relatively strong shifter is going to tempt you. Unfortunately, Alpha Shadowpine’s presence was a trigger last night, and we don’t want to risk another situation.”
I nod, trying to absorb this information. It’s a lot to take in, on top of everything else.
“We’re going to monitor you closely, Ava. We’ll do everything we can to keep you comfortable and safe.” Dr. Summers stands up, offering me a reassuring smile. “If you need anything, anything at all, just let one of the nurses know, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you, Dr. Summers.” I manage a small smile, grateful for her kindness.
Their doctors know nothing, Selene says in my mind,
Ava: Challenging Common Knowledge
Knowledge
What do you mean?
Selene sighs in my mind, a little huff that brings a picture to my mind’s eye of her resting her chin on her front paws. I miss her.
You are not an omega, she finally says. Omegas don’t exist.
I tilt my head. It isn’t that I don’t believe Selene, it’s just that… well, I mean, how do omegas not exist? All shifters have ranks, once they come into adulthood.
WellI never got a rank, because I didn’t have a rank. But everyone else has one.
Selene growls. Omegas were created for the pleasure of the alphas of old, who wanted nothing more than to breed and dominate. It was a different time.
I talk out loud, because I’m giving myself a headache by thinking too hard at her. “What about the ‘true omegas’ they’re talking about?”
There is no true omega. There are only shifters with powerful heat cycles. Some of them were known to breed strong alpha pups. Wolves and humans both tend toward the superstitious.
Powerful heat cycles come to powerful she wolves. It has nothing to do with their arbitrary rankings.
I rub my eyes in frustration. It isn’t that I’m not understanding the words she’s saying; it’s just that nothing is making sense in my head, like we’re speaking of a foreign land.
“So they just made up this entire thing, because some strong wolf got really horny during heat?”
Yes.
“How does that even make sense?”
All of these ranks are for human ego. Alphas have always existed, though we did not have a word for them. Even strong betas can be alphas. It isn’t a birthright, but a matter of strength and leadership. Strong wolves lead the pack. Weak wolves follow. It isn’t rocket science.
I groan, resting my forehead on my hand as Selene tomson a homb on the antiro ranking hiararahu of shifters.
Hush, little one. I hear your skepticism.
Having a wolf in my head gives me no privacy at all.
But even our wolves refer to our ranks, I protest. Don’t they?
Selene’s sigh this time is so strong I can almost feel it in the room with me. Child, there is too much history to go through. Yes, the weak wolves of today’s shifters have accepted this, as this is how your packs work now. But they were not always so.
It sounds like Selene’s telling me the entire history of shifters is wrong.
It is.
I groan. Somehow, I know I don’t want to hear this.
This is why I didn’t tell you anything before.
any of
Okay. I take a deep breath. Explain it to me from the beginning, Selene.
***
Long ago, wolves and humans lived in harmony, Selene begins, her voice a soothing rumble in my mind. The Great Wolves, Lycans, were respected and revered by human magicians. They worked together, each benefiting from the other’s strengths.
But as with all things human, war eventually came. The gods, fickle beings that they were, grew tired of the constant bloodshed waged in their names. They decided to flee this world, to find solace in another realm.
The Lycans, in their wisdom and loyalty, agreed to be sacrificed to ensure the gods’ safe departure. Their souls were to guide and protect the gods on their journey.
Sacrificed. The word is heavy in my mind. To give up one’s life, even for a godthat’s a level of devotion I can’t fathom..