Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
It feels like eternity before I’m finally calm. My eyes burn, sore and swollen with the force of my sobbing, and my head aches.
Lisa takes a tissue and wipes the tears from my face, pushing my hair behind my ears. All of her actions are maternal and loving, and I find myself wondering how many kids she’ll have in the future. She says she wants to go into business, but I see her as a teacher more. than anything. Or a mom. Or both.
“Long story, yeah?” Lisa says, her question more a statement than anything.
I nod.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I nod again.
I do.
I want to talk to someone who can listen to it all.
Trying to figure out where to begin has me confused. I’ve told her some things over time, but this is different. She’s here. She’s in front of me. We can talk in depths that we couldn’t manage over text messages and infrequent phone calls.
I swallow hard, trying to figure out where to even begin. So much has happened in such a short time. “It’s a long story,” I say weakly.
Lisa settles onto the edge of the bed, grabbing my hand. “I’ve got time.”
And so I tell her. Everything. From the moment I left Beaniverse to my failed attempt at running away and being kidnapped by my family. I talk about the discovery of my fated mate bond with Lucas, even though she’s heard it before. I talk about Selene and her cryptic remarks. I talk about Clayton and my time in the Aspen pack. And finally, I talk about my rescue and the events that led to me being here, in this hospital bed.
By the time I finish, Lisa gapes at me, her eyes wide with shock. “Holy shit, Ave. That’s… a lot.”
“Yeah,” I agree with a shaky laugh. “It’s been a wild ride.”
“And you’re… what, some kind of special shifter? With a fated mate bond to the alpha of the Westwood pack?” Lisa shakes her head in disbelief. “This is insane.”
“Tell me about it,” I mutter. It still doesn’t feel real, even to me. When I summarize it like I did, it feels like so much has happenedstraight out of one of Selene’s trash TV dramas.
Lisa squeezes my hand, her expression softening. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Well, mostly okay,” she amends, glancing at my bandaged wounds. “Lucas said you were pretty badly hurt.”
I nod, wincing at the memory of Todd’s attack. “Yeah. It was… it was bad. But I’m healing.” Faster than I should be, apparently.
“Good.” Lisa’s voice is fierce. “Because as soon as you’re better, I’m going to kick your ass for scaring me like that. Running off without a word, getting yourself kidnapped and mauled…” She shakes her head again. “Don’t ever do that again, you hear me?”
“I won’t,” I promise. And I mean it. I never want to go through anything like that ever again.
We lapse into silence for a moment, just holding onto each other. It’s a comfort, having Lisa here. A piece of normalcy in the midst of all this chaos.
“So,” Lisa says eventually, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Tell me more about this Lucas guy. Is he as hot as he sounds on the phone?”
I can’t help but laugh, even as a blush heats my cheeks.
“Lise!”
“What? I’m just asking!” She grins at me. “Come on, spill. I want all the dirty details.”
And just like that, it’s almost like old times. Gossiping and giggling like young girls without responsibilities. Like we’re in an apartment instead of a hospital room. Like we’re drinking wine instead of asking for little cartons of apple juice from the nurse.
For a little while, I can almost forget about the supernatural drama that’s taken over my life.
Almost.
A light tapping at my door pulls us out of our giggling.
“Come in,” I call out, wiping the last of my tears away. I’m sure my eyes are red and puffy, but I can’t find it in me to care.
Dr. Beaumont steps into the room, her smile gentle as she takes in the sight of us huddled together on the bed. “Well now, isn’t this a pretty picture?”
For the past few days, Dr. Beaumont has been thorough in my care. I’ve come to enjoy her visits, even if they’re just for work. She’s respectful to both nurses and patients, and doesn’t treat me with the awed deference like some of the nurses do.
Everyone knows I’m their alpha’s fated mate, even the humans. Few seem to understand that we aren’t in a relationship, though.
It is interesting to see how many humans think of Lucas as ‘their’ alpha, though. I’m used to a distinct difference between shifter and human, even in the Aspen territory. Here, there are humans working alongside shifters, and they even interact with each other. Just yesterday I heard a shifter nurse talking to a human doctor about her mate’s desires for shifted sexsomething I’ve known about but never heard talked aboutand the human hadn’t been scandalized.
She’d even asked questions.
Maybe she watches the same show Selene does. TV is great for normalizing things.
“Lisa, this is Dr. Beaumont. She’s been taking care of me.” I introduce them, watching as they shake hands.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lisa.” Dr. Beaumont’s eyes twinkle. “I must say, a little company has really helped our Ava here look a lot better.”
That has to be a lie. My eyes are still puffy and swollen, and hurt a little when I blink. Stillhaving Lisa here, -being able to cry, and talk, and laugh…
It’s helped.
A lot.
“Thank you for taking such good care of her,” Lisa says earnestly, like an older sister more than a friend.
Dr. Beaumont chuckles. “Oh, it’s my job. And even if it wasn’t…” She leans in conspiratorially. “No one tells
Lucas no when it comes to Ava’s care. She’s in the best hands here.”
He’s been overseeing my treatment and making sure I have the best of everything, and it’s not a secret. Still, hearing it stated so plainly is embarrassing.
“He really cares about you, you know,” Dr. Beaumont continues, her voice softening. “I’ve never seen him so worried.”
Part of me is thrilled at the idea of Lucas caring so much. But another part, the part that’s still raw and hurting from everything that’s happened, is terrified of what that means.
“I know,” I manage finally. “I just… it’s complicated.”
Dr. Beaumont nods in understanding. “Fated mate bonds always are. But from what I’ve seen, the two of you have something special. Don’t let fear hold you back from exploring that.”
Lisa squeezes my hand, offering silent support. She knows better than anyone how conflicted I am about Lucas, about everything.
“Well, I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing” Dr. Beaumont straightens slinning back into her professional demeanor. “Your vitals are perfect. I’m just here to check your wounds again. Without knowing the rate of healing acceleration, we’ll have to check you at least twice a day to make sure everything’s doing well. Sometimes, the wound heals too quickly and traps infection within, causing abscesses. It shouldn’t be an issue with your antibiotics, but still something to keep an eye on.”
She slides on a pair of disposable purple gloves as she speaks. Lisa settles into the recliner by my bed, giving us space, but watching with worry creasing her brows.
The doctor carefully peels back the dressings covering my neck and shoulders, her brow furrowing in surprise as she examines the skin beneath.
“Well, would you look at that,” she murmurs, tracing a finger along what I assume must be a scar. “These have healed remarkably well, Ava. They’re a bit raised and discolored, but that’s to be expected with such deep wounds. They might heal completely, but one can never tell with shifter wounds.”
The idea of carrying these scars, these permanent reminders of what Todd did to me, makes my skin crawl. I don’t want any mark of him on my body.
Dr. Beaumont moves on to check the wounds on my abdomen, her eyebrows climbing even higher. “And these are nearly healed as well. At this rate, I’d say you’ll be fully recovered by tomorrow.” She glances up at me, curiosity bright in her eyes. “Is this normal for you, Ava? Do you usually heal this quickly? I would say that your rate of healing was normal for a human until today.”
I shake my head, the truth hidden behind my denial. “No,” I admit softly. “I’ve always healed normally.” There’s no reason to explain Selene’s existence to anyone here. I still haven’t spoken to Lucas about her, and I don’t feel the urge to.
Maybe in the future, if we can get over our past.
But we aren’t there yet.
The doctor’s face clouds with confusion, but she doesn’t press the issue. “Well, regardless, this is excellent news. You’re well on your way to being discharged.”
Lisa perks up at that, a grin spreading across her face. “That’s great! You can come stay with me, Ave. Your overprotective alpha has me in a nice apartment instead of a hotel. It’ll be great!”
Dr. Beaumont hesitates, glancing between us. “You’ll have to take that up with Kellan, I’m afraid. He’s in charge of Ava’s security.”
Lisa doesn’t miss a beat, whipping out her cell phone. and dialing Kellan’s number. I can only watch, my heart in my throat, as she launches into her request.
“Hey, Kellan? It’s Lisa. Listen, can you bring a few things for Ava in the morning? She’s going to need a cell phone, some clothes, and oh! Pepper spray. Definitely pepper spray.”
Even from across the room, I can hear Kellan’s confused voice. “Pepper spray? Why would she need-“
“Because,” Lisa cuts him off, exasperation dripping from her tone, “I don’t need anyone sniffing around and causing issues, okay? Just trust me on this. Girls need pepper spray.” She gives me a stern look.
I’m not going to argue with her. It would have come in handy recently, on a few occasions.