Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
“How did no one notice?”
His eyes gleam with a dangerous light, beard bristling as he shakes. His words, tight and hard, are also hoarse. “The New Order was thorough. They infiltrated every level of power. By the time anyone realized what was happening, it was too late. That was the first wave of attacks.”
As we suspected, Selene murmurs.
Yes. We’ve put much of it together over time, though we still don’t understand who they are. Or why they’re doing what they do.
“Their control is absolute,” Magister Orion continues. “They’ve placed their people in every major pack. Every vampire coven. They monitor everything. They’re determined to maintain their power. Any resistance is… eliminated.”
A shudder travels through my body, before leaving my legs feeling a little like jelly. Greg reaches out in silence to grab my elbow again when I sway.
Even my magic is trembling. Not the kind of happy vibration it was doing earlier, but a morose kind of rocking and rolling with a tinge of fear.
The New Order’s reach seems endless, and my mind refuses to process the implications. It has so many other questions right now. Easier ones, I hope.
“How are you here? Last time I saw you—” My voice cracks. The memory of that night still haunts me: Magister Orion telling us to escape. The door exploding. Guards invading, yelling for his arrest. “They said you murdered Florice. How did you get out of there?”
“Ah.” His massive shoulders rise and fall. “That particular misunderstanding was cleared up rather quickly. It was little more than a ruse to begin with. It was you they wanted.”
“Misunderstanding?” That was way too much for something as simple as a misunderstanding. They sent in their equivalent of a freaking SWAT team. They used bombs.
Even if they were more interested in me, it seems like overkill to pretend he murdered someone just to get me away from his protection.
Tinker zips up from behind him, her mechanical wings whirring as she speaks up for the first time. It’s good to see her, too. “It was quite the dramatic escape for us all.”
“You broke out of a Fae prison?”
“Prison?” Magister Orion’s laugh booms across the snow. “Little witch, they never got me that far. Don’t you worry. There is no bounty hanging over my head.”
“What about the others?” Immediately, I think of Layla. She’s missing. Most of the faces here with the Magister are unfamiliar, or only vaguely familiar. “Is Layla—“
“Safe.” Tinker smiles. “Layla’s running a resistance cell in the south.”
“Though some chose to stay.” Magister Orion sighs. “To maintain appearances.”
“Oh.” So, they have spies. That’s a promising fact.
The cold bites into my cheeks as I glance around, taking in the scene. Everyone stands frozen in the snow like mannequins, watching our conversation with varying degrees of wariness. Right. Social graces. Those are a thing.
“We should get out of this weather.” I gesture toward Wolf’s Landing. “You’re all welcome to come back with us.”
Kellan’s head snaps toward me, his eyes narrowing. The rest of our wolves tense.
“They’re safe,” I say, meeting Kellan’s gaze. “I trust him with my life.”
His jaw tightens. The others remain silent,but their body language screams distrust—shoulders rigid, faces hard, hands ready for violence. Those who have shifted still bristle, hackles raised, despite the peace here.
My heart sinks as I realize the problem. As a shifter pack, we’ve spent our entire lives in isolation from other supernaturals. I didn’t even know they existed, not really, until a few months ago.
They’ve never had the chance to see beyond their own community, and what little experience we have had with others is negative. Blood-filled.
Greg’s grip on my elbow loosens, but his stance remains protective. Even he radiates suspicion.
I straighten my spine and lift my chin. Time to be the Luna they need me to be.
“They are our allies,” I say, my voice firm as I meet each wolf’s eyes in turn. “They protected me when I needed it most. They taught me to control my magic. And right now, we need all the friends we can get.”
“Greg.” My voice cuts through the tense silence as we approach the debriefing tent. “Have Marcus bring our guest here. I want Magister Orion’s opinion.”
Greg nods and peels away from our group, his boots crunching in the snow. The sight of Wolf’s Landing standing intact on our arrival released a giant knot of tension in my chest. It was hard to shove away intrusive thoughts of the shadow wolf breaking out of all restraints and murdering everyone over my decision.
Thank God, the Goddess, and the freaking moon none of that happened.
“You’ve captured someone?” Magister Orion’s deep voice rumbles behind me.
“A Fae, maybe? I’m not sure. Gray skin. Silver hair. Not the same as anyone I saw in the Ward, but you’d know better than I.”
“Gray skin?” Tinker zips ahead, her mechanical wings whirring. “That’s not typical Fae coloring.”
“Nothing about this situation is typical.” Kellan’s voice drips with frost as he enters behind us. He’s still not thrilled they’re here.
I thought he’d be a little more understanding, but I guess it’s hard when it all comes up at once without warning.
The debriefing tent feels cramped with so many bodies. Maps and papers cover the central table, weighted down with mugs of cold coffee. I start a fire as Kellan clears the table, clearly uncomfortable with Fae eyes on our information.
We’ll get there. I think.
We will. Kellan is a reasonable man. Selene settles near the stove, waiting for it to emanate heat, like she isn’t insulated against the cold.
“Most of the pack is in the alpha lodge now, right, Kellan?”
“Yes, Luna. It was safest to bring in everyone from the outer edges, as we were expecting an attack.”
“Since we know the danger is passed, we should send them back. Lower the alert level and let people adjust.” There’s a lot to do. I still have bodies to identify. The hospital is destroyed; I have no idea what we’re going to do about that. We don’t have another building large enough, except the alpha lodge.
“Your wards were holding strong.” Magister Orion strokes his beard, his eyes glittering as he examines me. “You’ve improved greatly since I’ve seen you. Like a baby gazelle who’s finally learned to run.”
The visual is strange, but I know he means well. “Thank you, Magister.”
Heavy footsteps approach outside. Marcus enters first, his face grim as he half-carries, half-drags our unconscious captive. The silver-haired figure looks smaller in the tent’s warm light.
Magister Orion’s breath catches. His massive frame goes still.
“You recognize them?” Hope flares. Maybe we can finally get some answers. Maybe they will lead us to our missing Ivy.
“This is… unexpected.” He circles the figure as Marcus sets them down.
“Can you tell what they are?”
“They’re not Fae.”
Magister Orion drops into a crouch beside our captive, his massive frame making the action look almost comical. He looks even stranger as he sniffs the air, like he’s a wolf himself.
Except he’s not. He’s Fae.
“How did you come across one of these?” His voice holds an edge of disbelief.
“They attacked our hospital.” It doesn’t take long to explain the events, though my rendition might be a little scattered as I try to intersperse bits of information. Like who Ivy is, and why we thought it was her.
“When I hit them with magic, they changed into… this.”
“It tried to kill you?”
“Yes. Multiple times.” My fingers brush the silver bracelet. “This saved me.”
Magister Orion releases a deep sigh that seems to deflate his entire body. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Kellan steps forward, arms crossed. “We’ve been waiting for an explanation. What is this creature?”
“Beta Ashbourne.” Magister Orion’s swirling eyes fix on Kellan. “Your impatience, while understandable, is not appreciated.”
The beta’s words crack like ice. “Enlighten us. Stop beating around the bush.”
“Kellan.” I wait until he looks my way, meeting his eyes with hard ones of my own. “Please. He’s a guest here.”
The tent falls silent except for the crackle of the fire. Tinker’s mechanical wings whir as she hovers near the captive’s face, her usual chatter absent. Magister’s other friends are all huddled to the back of the tent, as far as they can get from the captive—they look horrified.
“These creatures have many names,” Magister Orion finally says, pushing to his feet with a sigh. “It isn’t unconscious, just recharging. It’s a byproduct.”
“Of what?”
He rubs his nose, a hint of color flushing into his cheeks, barely visible beneath his beard. “That is… Well.” He harrumphs and coughs, rubbing the back of his neck, and Tinker squints at him.