Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
“What kind of uproar?”
Silence stretches, broken only by the static crackle of his sigh.
“One of the other alphas separated from the Council. He’s claiming we overstepped our bounds, abused our authority by allowing the takeover of the Blackwood pack. There have been five rogue attacks today. All concerted efforts, timed perfectly. We lost a few people, and others are in the hospital.”
Standing is impossible as my legs turn to jelly. Sliding onto the bed, I whisper, “What does that mean, Lucas?”
“It means war is here, Ava.”
The words hit like a punch. War. The weight of it steals my breath, leaves me reeling. “What do you need me to do?”
“Stay in the city. Stay safe. You’re probably safer there than here, now. Blackwood is under our control, but only because they haven’t attacked there yet. Our forces are too scattered, spread over too wide an area. We’re working with the other alphas on bringing reinforcements, but without knowing the targets…”
“No. The denial rips from my throat, fierce and unyielding. “Westwood is my pack too, Lucas. I want to fight. I’m part of this.”
“Ave…” He sounds as though he’s tiptoeing around the truth he wants to say. “It might be a blessing in disguise that you’re there. It was the last place I wanted you to be, but now…”
“Lucas, I want to help.”
He’s silent for a moment longer, before groaning. “Ava, you can’t. You aren’t strong enough. You’ve worked hard, but you’d be a liability to any of my teams. I can’t send you into a battlefield surrounded by a team of bodyguards.”
The truth hurts more than I thought it would. Biting my lip, I say, “I can help at the hospital.”
“Ava, public opinion isn’t on your side there, either.”
My mouth snaps shut. That’s right. Several wounded shifters have been recuperating there, and a few of them even died under the care of the nurses. I’m sure they would be less than thrilled to see me around. Blood pressures would spike just seeing my face.
The reality of my decisions weighs heavy on my shoulders. Too weak. Too selfcentered. Too many bad decisions. And now my mate is fighting the real war brought to his door, and I’m being asked to stay in what we once thought was the most dangerous place for me to be.
But I can’t keep whining at Lucas.
He has more important concerns than dealing with a whiny teenager of a mate.
“I won’t get in your way. But Lucas, promise you’ll be careful.” My voice cracks a little.
“I will, Ava. Keep your ears to the ground there. You might be able to help me from the inside. The vampires haven’t shown up yet, but only an idiot would think they won’t be a part of this war.”
Maybe we can find the information they’ve been looking for, Selene agrees, resting her head on my knees.
“I’ll do what I can,” I promise earnestly.
He sighs again. “Just be careful. Every scout we’ve ever sent, even the ones who successfully got into the city, is dead. We still haven’t heard a word from the people Ryder sent in, so we can only suspect that they’re dead, too. Don’t do anything that will put you in danger. Your life is more important than any information you can try to get out of there,”
Knowing Ava is relatively safe, even if I have to rely on strangers to keep her that way, lifts a giant boulder of worry from my shoulders, @
My wolf, of course, paces in the back of my mind, snapping at the air, frustrated with me. With her. With everything.
She’s too far, he growls. We should be with her, not here.
The same complaints I’ve heard since I let her return to Blackwood. It’s like a madness in my mind, the desire to rush to her side and drag her back home, damn the consequences.
The only reason he kept quiet during the Council’s visit is because he didn’t want any of those alphas near her. He’s still upset over Clayton, though our wolves seemed to have reached some sort of truce between us.
The fact that Clayton’s given way with such grace probably helps.
Alpha, there’s another group of wolves moving in from the southwest. I’ve dispatched scouts to check on them, but I have a feeling that these are Whispering Pines wolves, not rogues. Ryder’s voice intrudes on my musings, quieting my wolf for a moment.
Got it.
Frustrated, I rub my hands over my face. The Council had met one last time, to work over the logistics of moving forces and how to handle the distribution of our fighters and leaders to avoid conflict. Instead, Alpha Talon had come in with a declaration that the Council had overstepped, throwing a verbal bomb into the middle of an already volatile situation.
With the suspicious timing of multiple rogue wolf raids on my people mere hours after he denounced the Council and said his pack would no longer be a part of tyranny, we’ve had no rest.
It’s like a leaking boat, only we can’t find the damn leaks.
I shove my phone into my pocket, my jaw clenched tight, as I head for the large office where the Council has been meeting. My wolf paces restlessly in my mind, agitated by the distance from Ava and the looming threats.
As I enter the office, I’m not surprised to see Alpha Twilight Ridge already there. Her silver hair catches the light as she leans over the large map spread across the table. She looks up, greeting me with a polite nod, but I can see the exhaustion etched into the lines of her face.
“Alpha Westwood,” she says, her voice carrying a grim note. “A pack of scouts has been sent to the southwest, near the human territories. A large group of wolves was spotted traveling through the area.”
Joining her at the table, I glance over the map. “My Delta’s informed me. So far, no news from the Blackwood territory. It’s suspiciously quiet there.”
Scanning the familiar landmarks, we both trace the likely path of the newcomers, and I feel a growl building in my chest as we reach the same conclusion.
“Whispering Pines,” I mutter, frustration coloring my words.
Alpha Twilight Ridge nods, her expression grave. “If they’re confirmed to be Whispering Pines wolves, Lucas, there’s no going back. This will be war. This isn’t just a Council blowup any longer”
My molars grind together, and the duplicity of Alpha Talon burns in my gut. I’d never trusted the man, but this level of betrayal is more than I ever expected out of him.
“Did you expect this?” Alpha Twilight Ridge asks, her keen eyes studying my face. “Alpha Talon’s sudden aboutface?”
I run a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly. “No,” I admit. “I never trusted him, but this is beyond what I thought him capable of. I never thought he would side with Renard over the established territories. It seems too risky of a move for someone who claims to be neutral.”
She nods, her fingers tracing the border between our territories on the map. “I can’t in good conscience approve a war without absolute proof that he’s behind these rogue attacks, Lucas. We need to be certain.”
My patience, already worn thin by days of stress and worry, snaps. “Then leave,” I growl, meeting her gaze with a hard stare. “If you can’t handle the blood on your hands, go. I won’t wait for the Council’s approval to defend my people.”
The silence that follows is heavy, charged with tension. Alpha Twilight Ridge holds my gaze, neither backing down nor rising to the challenge. After a long moment, she sighs, her shoulders sagging slightly.
“I apologize,” she says softly. “Twilight Ridge won’t abandon Westwood in your time of need. We stand with you.”
I nod, accepting her words without comment. She turns back to the map, her fingers tracing the borders between territories.
“Renard was a cancer to shifter society,” she murmurs, almost to herself. “I wonder what he did to get into Alpha Talon’s head. What could have swayed him so completely?”
I snort, the sound harsh in the quiet room. “Talon’s neutrality was nothing more than a disguise for his greed for power. He’s always wanted more, always been waiting for his chance. He just went unnoticed because Renard was always there.”
Alpha Twilight Ridge looks at me, her eyes sharp. “And you think this is it? His grab for power?”
I nod, my mind racing through the possibilities. “It makes sense. With Blackwood in chaos and Westwood distracted, he probably thinks he can make a move. Expand his territory, maybe even challenge for leadership of the Council. Either that, or he’s working with Renard for an even longer game.”
“It’s a risky gamble,” she muses. “If he fails, he loses everything.”
“And if he succeeds, he gains more than he’s ever had,” I counter. “For someone like Talon, the potential reward outweighs the risk.” My wolf growls in the back of my mind, urging action, demanding we protect what’s ours. It takes effort to keep him in check, to think rationally instead of charging into battle.
“What’s your next move, Lucas?” Alpha Twilight Ridge asks, breaking the silence.
I trace the path from Whispering Pines to our borders, my mind working through strategies. “We wait for confirmation from the scouts. If it is Talon’s wolves, we move to intercept them before they can breach our territory. I won’t give him the advantage of striking first. But something’s fishy here.”
She nods, her expression grim but determined. “Twilight Ridge will stand with you. We’ll mobilize our forces to support yours.”
“Thank you,” I say, the words feeling inadequate for the weight of her support. “But I have a feeling there’s more than meets the eye.”
“Blackwood? There’s been no movement in the area.” Alpha Twilight Ridge sets her finger deadset in the middle of pack lands, where Ava was supposed to be. “But you’re right. You would think this is where they would attack, not heading toward Westwood lands. You think it’s a ploy?”
“Most likely.” Rapping my fingers against the map, I think. The vampire attacks on our pack lands brought the Council together. Now that the Council’s together, the alpha of Whispering Pines has defected from the Council, but only after learning of our plans. If everything was a concerted effort to distract us from Blackwood…
“Here, here, and here. These are the most likely routes to travel in stealth from the Whispering Pines territory.”
“Yes, I thought of those, too.” Alpha Twilight Ridge points to the east. “There are also several options here. The likelihood of catching anyone from the direction of the Unregistered City is low. And, as you said, the vampires could travel into the territory and disappear within seconds. I can’t think of an effective way to defend against that kind of movement.”
“You’re right. There was never a word or hint of their movements, before or after the attacks.” Tapping the west side of the map, I grimace. “We need to concentrate forces here. If you can do that, I can focus on the rogues coming in. And there’s always the chance of unrest within the pack lands themselves, from all the wolves who stayed without defecting from Renard’s pack.”
Alpha Twilight Ridge sighs. “You realize that if I bring all my forces here, it leaves my territory open for invasion?”
“I do. I’m not asking this lightly.”
She shakes her head. “It’s a risk for all of us. What is Alpha Silvermoon intending?”