Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
Her lips curve in dark amusement, her green eyes sharp as they take in my every reaction.
The Marisol today is nothing like the girl I met for the first time. Then she was timid, perhaps even naive, and living in her own world.
Today, there’s a wicked glint in her eye and a devious curve to her lips. She’s harder, harsher, and very much mentally present.
I don’t like this Marisol very much.
It’s then that I realize there are no bite marks on her body. No -bruises. Her skin is clear and unblemished, though still sickly, with that odd translucent sheen to it.
Is it a reaction to his absence? To the lack of feeding?
“Look for yourself,” she says, her words too coy to be friendly. Her head tilts at an unnatural angle, her eyes not blinking as they hold my stare. “You mus
My fingers tremble as I lift my breast, peering at the underside. There’s nothing there except the birthmark I’ve always had an irregularly shaped patch of skin that’s almost golden against the rest of me.
I’ve never thought much of it before. Just an odd quirk of genetics, something that made me unique. My mother used to joke that an angel kissed me the
Marisol clicks her tongue, a sharp sound in the stillness of the room. “You must feel so proud to have such a strong blessing.”
Her voice drips with a strange mix of envy and derision that makes my skin prickle.
“What are you talking about?” I demand, crossing my arms across my chest for the little bit of privacy it allows me. The sudden movement makes the chains rattle. “What blessing? What does my birthmark have to do with anything?”
But Marisol only looks at me, her green eyes cold and flat as glass. “Are you finished with your food?”
The abrupt change in subject catches me off guard. I glance down at the sad little meal congealing on the tray. My stomach twists, though whether from hunger or nerves, I can’t say.
“No,” I snap, “I’m not finished. And you didn’t answer my question. What do you mean, blessing? What does this-“I gesture to the underside of my breast, “-have to do with anything?”
Marisol’s lips thin. She looks like she’s debating with herself, some internal struggle playing out behind those eerie eyes.
Then she just turns away, no longer looking at me.
Like I’m not there.
Like ignoring me will just make my questions disappear.
“Marisol! What are you talking about? Explain it to me!”
The chains bite into my wrists as I surge forward, ignoring the fire blazing along my raw skin. “Why are you doing this?” My voice cracks as I scream at h
“How can you just stand there while he keeps me locked up like this?!”
Marisol’s eyes narrow into slits as she looks at me again. Her lips. curl back from her teeth in a sneer that twists her delicate features into something ugly. “You think I c
The venom in her words has me recoiling, stunned by the vitriol coming from such a sweet face. But the fury in my heart grows. “I didn’t ask for this. I do
“Too bad.” Marisol’s voice is cold, devoid of even a shred of empathy. “The Master gets what the Master wants. And right now, he wants you.”
She takes a step closer, looming over me, her words a hiss. A. warning. “Don’t think for a second that you’re special. You’re just a passing fancy. I’m the
Why she would even see someone like me as a threat to her is a mystery to me, but this woman is unhinged.
I grab at the tray, my fingers scrabbling for a firm purchase. If I swing it at her head, maybe she’ll go down. Maybe I can find some keys on her. Maybe I c
This nightmare.
But Marisol is faster. She snatches the tray away, holding it out of my reach. “Ah, ah, ah,” she tuts, like I’m a naughty child. “Mustn’t touch what isn’t yours.”
I make another desperate grab for the tray, but the manacles binding me hold me fast, yanking more of my skin away.
It’s no use. Marisol dances back, the tray held easily in her hands. She’s too strong, too quick. I don’t stand a chance.
With a final, mocking smile, she turns and glides out of the room, taking the trayand my last shred of hopewith her.
Two days later. I’m back at Blackwood, with a few changes.
Like Jericho, and an entire security detail under his charge.
And Kellan, who seems like he’d rather eat shards of glass than be in his father’s presence.
All the new bodyguards are older wolves, with scars and a grim look in their eyes. Once retired, and brought back for my benefit.
Selene approves of all of them, saying their wolves all reached out to her.
Every single one of them is an upgrade from Tall Assholesorry, Alexand Jason.
While these shifters must have a bad opinion of me as well, they don’t act like it. They treat me with complete professionalism.
It’s odd that they’re retired, considering how quickly they’ve jumped back into their roles. None of them seem old enough to have left active lifestyles beh
I settle into Lucas’ room at the alpha lodge, surprised by how. comfortable it feels despite my last stay being so brief. The familiarity washes over me as
One of the guards, a grizzled shifter with a head full of gray hair that belies his muscular build, stands sentinel in the corner, while two more keep watch outside the door.
Because Sister Miriam entered my room before, they’re me alone anymore.
It’s unnerving, but I swallow the instinctive frustration at my lack of privacy.
The last time I fought back, people died.
My privacy isn’t worth more lives.
You seem at ease here, Selene observes, her voice tinged with curiosity. She lounges on the bed, her icy blue eyes fixed on me as I put my clothes into
I pause, considering her words. With the guards already knowing Selene is my wolf (and despite the mild panic I feel at having her secret known by even more pe
It really helps with that stuck in a gilded cage feeling. Especially because I know I can switch guards with a single word to Jericho. Having a little power o
“I suppose I am. It’s strange, isn’t it? Considering everything that’s happened.”
Selene tilts her head. Weren’t you comfortable in Lucas’ room at Westwood?
The question catches me off guard. I chew on my lower lip, mulling over my response. “No,” I admit. “It didn’t feel like home there.”
And this does? Selene presses, her gaze intensifying.
Rubbing the tip of my nose, I glance around the room, taking in the dark interion or RUN
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