Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
The ride to Steve’s office is silent. It’s a different kind of silence to our normal, and Kellan seems distracted as he drives.
“Jericho seems convinced there will be challenges if Lucas announces me as his Luna.” May as well address the elephant in the room.
He glances toward me out of the side of his eye, before returning his attention to the road. “Jericho’s a paranoid old man.”
“Is he?” Jericho’s always seemed to have good advice.
Kellan sighs, shifting in his seat. “Jericho was once a beta who followed his alpha’s orders blindly. Unfortunately, he ended up causing the deaths of the previous pack leaders, Lucas’ parents. Ever since, he’s been hipdeep in conspiracy theories, and devoted his time to training the younger generation in case of war.”
“How did they die?”
Kellan shakes his head, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “That’s for Lucas to share, when he’s ready.”
Tilting my head, I say, “It isn’t like it’s a secret. I can ask anyone in the pack.”
Kellan glances at me, his gray eyes unreadable. “You sure you’ll get the actual truth that way?”
The official story may not match the facts, Selene murmurs in my mind. Somehow, her presence feels stronger today, despite being so far away.
“I don’t even know the official story,” I mutter, rubbing my temples. The more I learn about Westwood, the more questions I have.
“Good.” Kellan’s voice is firm. “There’s nothing wrong with not. knowing. It doesn’t affect how you perceive Jericho. He’s a good man, Ava. Loyal to a fault.” Yet his voice is bitter and cold, at odds with his words.
I study Kellan’s profile, the tension in his jaw. “Why do you hate. your father so much?”
Kellan’s laugh is humorless. “I don’t hate Jericho. I just… I’ve heard too many conspiracy theories, dealt with too much paranoia and false alarms. It wears on you, after a while.”
I nod, letting the silence stretch between us. It’s clear Kellan. doesn’t want to discuss it further.
But Jericho seems to be the most knowledgeable of all of us.
Dismissing his concerns as paranoia seems wrongbut I haven’t seen him over years. My experience is not the same.
I can’t keep the silence going after all. “You believe him now though, don’t you?”
He sighs, leaning back against the seat and steering with one hand. “He’s brought up valid and logical concerns.”
“These are also valid and logical, aren’t they? Being a fit Luna- risking alpha challenges…”
“Alpha challenges are already rare. For a young wolf to risk death by challenging a reigning alpha, it requires a lot of courage.” Kellan throws me a reassuring smile. “It might be rough, but they’ll accept you. They trust Lucas. And in our fated mate connections.”
Letting the subject drop, I stare out the window, unable to stop the vague feeling that Kellan and Lucas are making a giant mistake by brushing off Jericho’s concerns as paranoia.
It feels a little like Jericho’s the only one who seems to understand a little of what’s going on, who’s seen the world past our sense of normal, and I wonder if Lucas and Kellan are too blinded by their egos.
Or is it me, making bad judgments again?
The uncertainty makes my head hurt.
Wolves have always been insular, even as Lycans, Selene’s voice echoes in my mind, a hint of sadness coloring her tone. It’s in our nature. Sometimes to our downfall
Kellan pulls the car into the familiar, dilapidated parking lot. The cracked asphalt and faded paint lines stand in stark contrast to the sleek, powerful SUV we’re in.
We stand out like sore thumbs.
It’s amazing Steve doesn’t get unwanted visitors after we come by.
It’s like our presence screams, “There’s something important in here!” If she wanted to operate in hiding, working with Kellan and Lucas seems to be the worst way to achieve that.
There’s something different in the air. It’s a subtle thing that sends a prickle down my back, like an itch that doesn’t want to leave. Helpless, I scratch at the side of my neck, easing a little bit of the feeling as I follow behind Kellan, my legion of guards behind me.
For a moment, the entire neighborhood seems to flicker, like a glitch in reality. Rundown buildings and overgrown lots shimmer, replaced by gleaming storefronts and manicured gr
“Did you see that?” I ask Kellan, my voice barely above a whisper.
He glances at me, brows furrowed and body alert. “See what?”
I shake my head, not quite sure how to explain the strange phenomenon. “Nothing. Never mind.”
As we exit the car, I can’t help but glance behind us, taking in the six guards that follow in our wake. Their presence should be reassuring, a sign of Lucas’ commitment to my safety, but instead it only serves to heighten my unease.
There’s something in the air, a buzzing energy that sets my teeth on edge and makes my skin feel too tight. It’s like the world is holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
We enter the building, our footsteps echoing in the empty hallways. Kellan leads the way, broad shoulders tense beneath his suit jacket. I trail behind him, my heart hammering in my chest as we descend the stairs to the basement, noticing that there’s no light coming from below.
Kellan and I both pull out our phones to use as flashlights, but don’t stop our descent.
When we reach the bottom, I stop short, my breath catching in my throat. The office, the reception desk, the colorful artwork that had adorned the wallsit’s all gone. In its place is nothing but a bare, concrete room, devoid of any sign of life. As if no office had ever existed. No drywall. No electric wires.
Just… nothing.
“What the hell?* Kellan mutters, his eyes scanning the empty space.
1 step forward, my fingers trailing along the rough wall. “It was here, wasn’t it? We didn’t take a wrong turn?”
A silly question. It’s the same building, in the same neighborhood.
Nothing’s changed.
And yet Steve isn’t here.
Kellan shakes his head, his expression g…n. “No, we didn’t. Something’s not right.”
This place reeks of magic, Selene growls, her hackles raised. Be careful, Ava.
My throat is tight, making it hard to swallow. The air seems to crackle with energy, making the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Every instinct screams at me to run, to get as far away from this place as possible.
Something was never right about Steve and her little child receptionist.
About the office in the basement of a decrepit building.
The way I felt nauseated when I looked into her eyes.
“Kellan, I think Steve’s a-“
The world tilts, reality blurring at the edges as the air is sucked from my lungs. I crumple to my knees, one hand clawing at my chest, the other scrabbling against the rough concrete floor. Beside me, Kellan gasps, his face contorted in pain as he struggles to breathe.
Darkness engulfs us, the light from our phones snuffed out like candles in a hurricane. I’m drowning, suffocating, my lungs. screaming for oxygen. Tears streamh down my face, hot and stinging, as I silently beg for mercy, for release from this torment.
And then, as suddenly as it began, or maybe a hundred years later, it’s over.
My chest heaving with great, shuddering brea, feeding oxygen to my starving lungs. Sunlight sears my eyes, blinding after the impenetrable darkness. Spots dance across my vision as I try to make sense of my surroundings.
We’re in the parking lot, sprawled on the asphalt like discarded ragdolls. The guards are scattered around us, some on their knees, others flat on their backs, all of them gasping and coughing as they suck in lungfuls of air.
But the building is gone.
Where once stood an abandoned structure housing Steve’s office, there is now nothing but empty space. No rubble, no debris, not even a single brick to mark its former presence. Just overgrown grass.
As if it never existed at all.
I stare at the vacant lot, my mind reeling. “I think Steve’s a Fae,” I say lamely, the words falling from my lips like lead weights.
Kellan pushes himself to his feet, his face ashen. “No shit,” he mutters, dusting off his pants with shaking hands.
How could I have been so blind? The signs were there all along- the strange energy that surrounded Steve, the way her office.
seemed to exist outside of reality, the unease that coiled in my gut every time I looked into her eyes.
And now, this. A building that vanishes into thin air, leaving no trace of its existence. It’s the kind of magic that only the Fae are capable of.
At least, I can only assume it’s Fac magic.