Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
Once again, there’s no resistance. It’s as if I just slice through air. The vampire’s head topples from his shoulders, his body crumpling to the ground a second later.
I stand there, panting, the magical blade still clutched in my trembling hand.
You aren’t done! Grimoire shouts. There are four left. Get it together!
Shit.
All of that felt as though long minutes passed, but the wolf that had collided into the vampire’s side is just now getting back on her feet. It’s Vanessa. Now that I my eyes are focused, I can recognize her immediately.
Wes is also standing beside me, eyes wide in shock. And behind me is Marcus, just now slowing to a stop. He’d been running to save me.
“Keep Aurum safe!” I hiss, realizing I’m still gasping for breath. My lungs burn and ache, making it hard to shout orders.
Vanessa shifts back, pointing to the crowd of fighters. “Aurum’s there, Ava.”
Danger.
An insistent whisper that pierces a cloud of dreams and memories, a place I cannot escape.
But it fades, and the urgency within it does too.
“You’ll be Alpha one day, Lucas. You’ll have to learn to put your people first.”
“But Father, that has nothing to do with blackberry pies.” Clinging to a branch high above my father’s head, I’m refusing to come down and face punishment.
Kellan’s already been taken by his father, the scary-faced Jericho. Me? I ran my blackberry-stained face into the forest, knowing Father—the pack Alpha—would tan my hide for stealing a few pies.
Mom always did love to bake.
“Those pies were to go to the widows of last night’s raid,” Father says, his face fading and blurring from view.
Danger, that strange voice whispers again, and I sit up on the branch, no longer five years old.
I’m older now, but still a child.
Father argues with Uncle Jericho. We’re in a dense patch of woods, where sunlight barely reaches. I’m hiding behind a bush, straining to catch every word.
Their voices are laden with tension. My chest tightens as I drink in Father’s face, committing every line and shadow to memory. A dull ache spreads through me, a pain I can’t quite place.
“He drinks only from animals,” Jericho insists, his gruff voice earnest. “He has no interest in harming people.”
Father’s jaw clenches, his hands curling into fists. His entire body is tense. “He’s too newly turned, Jericho. You can’t possibly believe he has control over his instincts.”
Their words echo in my mind, stirring a primal fear I’ve been taught since birth. Vampires are dangerous. Vampires can’t be trusted.
But Uncle Jericho stands his ground, his broad shoulders set with determination. “You’re too prejudiced against vampires. This isn’t about ancient history anymore.”
“Why would you put the pack’s safety over someone you barely know?”
It’s rare to see Father this agitated, his usual calm demeanor cracking. Flaring nostrils. Fists that tremble as his knuckles turn white. A sour, bitter scent that permeates the air.
This forbidden conversation keeps me rooted to my spot. I’m downwind. They don’t see me.
Jericho’s expression softens, his next words catching me off guard. “All supernaturals should have each other’s backs in this world. We’re all fighting the same battle. We should open our minds to new possibilities rather than living in the past.”
“Why doesn’t he settle in the established supernatural communities? Why live like a ghost among humans?”
Surely, if this vampire means no harm, he’d seek out others of his kind? Father’s right. I can feel it in my bones.
“He’s a wanderer by nature,” Jericho explains, his tone almost defensive. “Not everyone fits into neat little boxes, Alpha. You of all people should understand that.”
I watch Father’s face closely. Uncle Jericho’s words have reached him. But then Father shakes his head.
“Mark my words, Jericho,” Father says, his voice low and ominous. “In an extreme situation, that vampire cannot be trusted.”
The vision fades around me. But I cling to it, desperate to see more, to understand. Father’s face blurs, and I reach out, trying to grasp this memory that feels both familiar and foreign.
Danger, that strange voice whispers again, pulling me back to a reality I can’t quite grasp. The forest dissolves, leaving me adrift in a sea of fractured memories and half-formed thoughts.
Who am I? Where am I?
Lucas. Alpha.
Yes. My name is Lucas. Alpha of… of what? The pack name eludes me, slipping from my tenuous grasp of reality.
A face flashes in my mind—a woman with impossibly light, brilliant blue eyes. They hold the secrets of the universe. She smiles, and my heart aches. I want to hold her, but her face fades as everything does here.
I’m Lucas Westwood. I’m… an Alpha? Yes, that feels right. But something’s wrong. I’m not where I should be.
I’m not who I should be.
Danger. Ava’s in danger.
The voice echoes through my mind, a beacon in the fog of confusion. It’s familiar, comforting, yet filled with unexplainable urgency.
I grasp at it, desperate to understand why it feels so right, so much a part of me.
Don’t leave.
Don’t leave me here alone.
Danger. Ava’s in danger.
Ava. The name ignites a fierce protectiveness I can’t explain.
Who is she? Why does her safety matter so much?
Ah, yes. I remember now. The blue-eyed woman. Beautiful. She holds the world in her eyes.
Before I can ponder further, images flood my consciousness. Vampires, their faces twisted in feral snarls, lunging at familiar people, though I don’t know them. There’s blood. It makes me twitch, leaves me unsettled, and the images fade.
Blood.
Death.
Despair.
And power. Power beyond anything I’ve felt before…
Then the images return, with a fierce whisper.
They’re all in danger.
Pups wail in terror, their cries piercing my heart. They’re running.
No, escaping.
I strain to make sense of it all. These people, they’re important to me. They’re… my pack? Yes, that feels right. I’m their Alpha.
I should be there, protecting them, leading them.
But I’m not. I’m trapped here, in this limbo of fractured memories and half-formed thoughts.
My attention snaps to a group of humans huddled near a truck. Among them, a woman with long blonde curls catches my eye. Something about her pulls at me, demanding my focus. As I study her face, recognition slams into me.
Ava. My Ava.
My mate.
The realization brings with it a torrent of emotions—love, fierce protectiveness, and gut-wrenching fear. She’s in danger. They’re all in danger, and I’m not there to save them.
I’m here, in this strange place of memories that ebb and flow of its own accord. Lost in time.