Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
Goosebumps prickle along the skin of my forearms as I strain to listen. Is someone there? Or did I just imagine it?
“Who is this?” I demand, a trickle of anger seeping into my voice. If this is some pervert getting their kicks by calling random girls, I swear I’ll-
“Ava Grey?” A strangely mechanical voice cuts through my budding tirade, stopping me cold. It’s flat, emotionless. Inhuman.
My grip tightens on the phone, my knuckles bleaching white. “Yes,”” I say slowly, my heartbeat quickening in my chest. “Who is this?”
Who is that? Selene’s concerned voice brushes against my mind.
I shake my head slightly, not taking my eyes off the opposite wall. I have no idea. But something about this feels off. Wrong.
“We need to talk,” the voice says, ignoring my question. “It’s about Lisa Randall.”
Ice shoots through my veins, freezing me in place. Lisa. Oh God.
“What about her?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly. “Do you know where she is? Is she okay?”
Horrible images flash through my mindLisa, chained and bleeding in some dank cell. Lisa, screaming as a vampire tears into her throat. Lisa, broken and lifeless, her once vibrant eyes dull and empty…
Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to banish the nightmarish visions. No. I can’t think like that. Lisa is alive. She has to be.
“She’s alive,” the voice confirms, as if reading my thoughts. “For now.”
My eyes snap open, my heart lurching in my chest. “What do you mean? Where is she?”
“I can’t tell you that.” A pause, filled with static. “Not yet.”
Frustration battles with the fear coursing through me. “Then why are you calling me?” I snap. my free hand curling into a fist at my side. “What’s the point of this?”
“I’m calling to warn you.” The mechanical quality of the voice seems to intensify, becoming even more flat and distorted. “Your wolves are too slow to act, and danger is coming. If you don’t come soon, Lisa will be sacrificed like the others.”
Rage flares hot and bright in my chest. “Like hell she is,” I snarl, my lips curling back from my teeth. “I will never stop looking for her. Never. And if you hurt her, I swear to God I’ll—“
“You’ll what?” the voice interrupts, a hint of amusement creeping into its mechanical monotone. “You have no idea what you’re up against, little wolf. Hurry and come to the city, where we can teach you your powers and you can save your little friend. If you don’t, you’ll end up being the worst mistake your narrowminded alpha has ever made.”
A chill runs down my spine at the threat, but I refuse to back down. “I’m not afraid of you,” I say, injecting as much steel into my voice as I can muster. “Or whoever you’re working for. I will find Lisa. And I will make you pay for taking her.”]
“You think I’m the enemy,” the voice muses. “But we’re trying to save you. Come to us, Ava Grey, before you destroy everyone. The price of your pride will be too great. Your power is too strong to be left alone. Either learn to control it, or everyone dies around you.”
A click, and then… nothing. The line goes dead, leaving me standing there with the phone pressed to my ear, my heart pounding and my mind reeling.
Ava? Selene presses again, her concern sharpening to alarm. What is it? What’s wrong?
The phone rings.
And rings.
All I get is voicemail, three different times.
Knowing that Lucas is busy with the Council, I just send a quick text for him to call me back when he can.
A knock on my door interrupts us, and Jericho pokes his head in with his typical scowling face. “All good in here?”
“Good,” I confirm, as Selene rubs her nose against the ground.
The older shifter watches her as he closes the door behind him.
“What’s wrong with that?”
The way he emphasizes the ‘that’has Selene freezing midmovement, her lip curling above her teeth in a silent snarl.
Did he just call me-?!
“She is fine. Just sniffed the book and got a little too much magic in her nose.”
That grizzly head nods, like it’s a normal occurrence. “Every pup has to learn sometime, I guess.” After seeing the blank stare on.my face, he says, “It isn’t unusual to run into the occasional magical artifact. Witches magicked just about everything they put their hands on. One fellow even found a pair of magic underwear.”
I stare at Jericho, my mouth hanging open. Magic underwear? Seriously?
He just shrugs, completely unfazed. “Witches are an odd breed.”
Shaking his head, he changes the subject. “Your Mrs. Elkins is having breakfast downstairs. Care to join her?”
My heart leaps. “Yes, absolutely! Eager to talk to her, to ask her more about this book, about magic, about everything, I almost fall back into an old routine.
Secrets.
Tell him, Selene murmurs.
“Wait. Jericho, before we go downstairs, I had a strange phone call…”
***
Breakfast with Mrs. Elkins doesn’t happen. Instead, I’m dragged to a strange building in the middle of White Peak, which looks like an abandoned warehouse more than anything else.
Six guardsmy biggest entourage yetfollow me into the building, while two stay outside to make sure we don’t receive any unexpected visitors.
The dusty air scratches my throat as we walk through the dimly lit warehouse. Shadows loom in every corner, making me feel like I’ve stepped into some gritty crime movie set. I glance at Kellan, his face an impassive mask.
“Why couldn’t Jericho come with us?” I ask, my voice echoing off the metal and concrete.
Kellan doesn’t break stride. “Someone needs to stay on Blackwood land while I’m away. Besides, Jericho’s a lot less tech savvy.”
I frown, unsatisfied. “Who are we meeting again?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
I mutter under my breath about the building belonging in a movie, and Kellan actually cracks a smile. “It’s Steve’s unfortunate aesthetic.”
“Who’s Steve?”
“A human who’s been helping us out.”
We reach a black metal door that creaks open with an ominous groan. Kellan leads the way down a set of stairs without a single light, except whatever’s coming from below.
A brightly lit basement that greets us. It looks like a professional office, complete with fake plants, paintings on the walls, and several cubicles. The only thing missing is people.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” I admit as we approach the empty reception desk.
Kellan nods. “No one ever is.”
Suddenly, a young boy dressed in a suit and tie pops out from beneath the desk, startling me. He can’t be more than ten years old. As he climbs onto the chair, my heart drops to my feet, waiting for it to roll out from beneath him.
Eventually, he stands on the seat and stares at us over the counter with a stern expression.
“Do you have an appointment?” he asks, his voice highpitched but serious.
Kellan shakes his head. “No. I’m Kellan Ashbourne, and this is-“
The boy cuts him off with a sneer. “I remember you.” His gaze shifts.
to me, and Heel like a bug under a microscope. “Why is the
Blackwood beta’s daughter here?
Surprise jolts through me. How does he know who I am?
Kellan clears his throat. “Ava is Alpha Lucas Westwood’s mate”
The boySteve, I assumelooks taken aback. He studies me intently, his eyes narrowed, before grunting and waving us forward. “Follow me.”
He leads us down a long carpeted hallway to a door at the very end. Pausing with his hand on the knob, he turns to us with a warning look.