Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
“With her own security detail,” said mate adds sternly.
“That’s fine. But I want updates. Constant ones.”
“You’ll have them.” Kellan’s voice softens when he addresses her. There’s a newfound intimacy there, and I’d love to know more. But that will have to wait. Time for girl talk right now is a luxury.
I glance at the map; it takes me a while to figure out where we were when we found it. “I think it’s over here. It took us an entire day to get there, but we won’t be searching around this time. Should be there and back again by dinner.”
“I’ll gather the team.” Kellan heads for the door, pausing to squeeze Lisa’s shoulder as he passes.
Lucas waits until they’re gone before pulling me into his arms. Amber and campfire smoke wraps around me like a comforting blanket.
“I don’t like this,” he murmurs into my hair.
“I know.” I press my face into his chest. “But it needs to be done.”
His arms tighten. “Be careful.”
“I will.” I lean back to meet his gaze. “I have too much to come back to.”
* * *
The warmth of Lucas’ embrace is long gone by the time we reach the area of taint. Marcus and Vanessa trudge along beside me, while others roam ahead and others trail behind.
Selene’s usual playful energy is missing—her paws barely leave marks in the snow as she trails behind me. She’s been silent for a while, her mind brewing over something.
It’s spread. It’s double what we encountered before.
Grimoire’s words whisper in my head.
My stomach twists. “Can I handle it?”
I’m uncertain. The concentration is… troubling.
Marcus shifts closer, his broad shoulders tensed. The wind blows his scent at me, tinged with something bitter. I think it might be anxiety. I’m still getting used to what I can smell. “Everything alright, Luna?”
“No.” I hate admitting it. “Grimoire says the taint is worse than expected.”
“Should we turn back?” Vanessa frowns. “We don’t want you to overwork yourself.”
Leaving this corruption to fester isn’t an option. Not when it could twist more wolves into mindless killers.
“I need to at least assess it. We might just need to do it in increments.” It isn’t ideal, but it is what it is. Too bad we don’t have any other witches in our pack. It would make things a lot easier.
Attempting to purify this much at once could be dangerous, he agrees. But it also might spread faster than you can purify it.
Puffing my breath out, I stomp through a patch of compacted snow. “Guess we’ll find out.”
A pulse of darkness cuts him off; I can sense it off in the distance. The taint surges, reaching out like tentacles of pure corruption. My knees buckle as nausea hits. Marcus steadies me before I can fall.
“Are you all right?” Vanessa grabs my arm.
“I’m okay.” My stomach still churns, but I force myself to straighten up. “Grimoire, what was that?”
It’s growing. His voice carries an edge I’ve never heard before. Faster than I anticipated.
“How does it grow?” The cold bites at my exposed skin as I pull away from Marcus and Vanessa’s support. The wind’s picked up, and I don’t think the timing is coincidence.
By feeding. Grimoire materializes beside me in his fox form, silver fur bristling. It consumes energy, corrupts it, spreads like a disease.
What is it feeding on? Selene’s mental voice is as sharp as the wind whipping around us.
Everything. Grimoire’s tail lashes back and forth. The land, the animals, any magical energy it can reach. And when there’s nothing left to corrupt…
“It moves on to find more.” No wonder it’s spreading so quickly—there’s plenty of life force out here in the wilderness for it to consume.
The nausea rises again as another pulse hits me. It’s like watching a heart beat, if that heart was made of pure corruption. Each throb sends out another wave of taint, spreading further into our territory.
My fists clench.
Don’t think you can clear it all today, Grimoire warns me. Don’t let your emotions take over. You need to be in control.
The snow ends in a perfect line, as if someone took an eraser to the landscape. Beyond that boundary, the earth lies bare and lifeless. No grass, no moss, not even the hardy winter plants that usually peek through frozen ground. The soil itself looks wrong—ashen and cracked, like the bottom of a dried riverbed.
“I’ve never seen it this bad.” My boots crunch on the dead earth. Each step sends up little puffs of gray dust. “Even the insects are gone.”
The corruption is absolute here. Grimoire’s fox form prowls beside me. It’s consumed everything.
My bodyguards hang back at my insistence, though I sense their unease. Marcus keeps shifting his weight, uneasy despite his experience in these matters.
A wave of corruption rolls over me, and my stomach heaves. The taint feels different here—thicker, more concentrated. Like wading through tar instead of water. The dead zone stretches as far as I can see, pulsing with that sickly energy.
To the wolves, they only see dead land. But it’s so much more than that.
Glancing at Grimoire, who’s focused on the corruption, I ask, “How am I supposed to handle this? The purification usually takes over once I start. I’ve never had to stop it before.”
It’s about will and control. You must maintain awareness of your limits.
“That’s not exactly helpful.” The corruption beckons, a seductive whisper promising power. I’ve felt it before, but never this strong. “What happens if I can’t stop?”
You must. His mental voice carries an edge of steel. Or the taint will consume you as surely as it’s consumed everything else.
The dead earth crunches beneath my feet as I take another step forward. The boundary between life and death is so stark—winter’s white giving way to corruption’s gray.
“I need specifics, Grimoire. How do I cut it off when it gets to be too much?”
The same way you control any magic—through force of will. You must remain conscious of your boundaries.
I press my lips together, frustrated. It isn’t that I don’t understand what he’s saying, it’s just that it’s so freaking vague.
The corruption pulses again, stronger this time. My knees buckle, but I force myself to stay upright. The taint wants in—wants to corrupt my magic the way it’s corrupted everything else.
“If I fail—“
You won’t. Grimoire looks up at me with his unearthly fox eyes. But you must start small. Don’t try to purify everything at once.
I’ll call you back if you get lost, Selene adds, whining softly. She’s far back, too, and hating the distance I’ve forced her to keep.
The dead earth crumbles beneath my knees as I sink down. My palms press against the ashen ground, and a shudder ripples through me at the wrongness of it. No life, no essence, just emptiness where nature should thrive.
“Start small,” I whisper to myself. “Just a tiny piece.”
I can do this.
My magic surges forth before I finish the thought, eager and hungry. The corruption rushes in—thick, viscous, choking. My stomach revolts as the taint floods my system. Acid burns up my throat.
“No.” The word comes out as a gasp between heaves. “Too much.”
The corruption keeps coming, drawn to my magic like a magnet. It tastes of rot and decay, filling my mouth with the flavor of death. It’s a new experience I could do without; my body tries to reject it, but the flow won’t stop.
Another wave of nausea hits. I double over, one hand pressed to my mouth, the other still connected to the dead earth. The purification process has never felt like this before—never been this violent.
Pull back.
I need to pull back.
But my magic refuses to listen. It wants to consume all the corruption, cleanse every inch of tainted earth. The flow increases, and black spots dance across my vision.
Ava! Grimoire’s voice cuts through the haze. Focus. You must control it.
My arms shake as I fight to stay upright. Sweat drips down my face despite the winter chill. The corruption pulses through me, each wave bringing fresh nausea.
“I can’t—” Another heave wracks my body. “It won’t stop.”