Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
I dismiss him with a wave of my hand, my mind already churning with possibilities. There has to be a way, some weakness we can exploit. We just haven’t found it yet.
But we will. I won’t stop until Ava is safe, until the threat of the Blackwood pack is nothing more than a distant memory. I’ll tear apart the very foundations of the supernatural world if that’s what it takes.
I turn back to the reports scattered across my desk, searching for any scrap of information that might lead us to those damned Bla
“Don’t push yourself too hard.” o
Lucas’ voice is deeper through the phone, giving our hushed conversation in my bedroom a more sordid feeling than would be expected, given the fact that we haven’t talked about anything remotely intimate.
That fatedmate tingle settles into my nether regions as he speaks. Lisa’s asleep, and Kellan is, too, taking over the couch in the living room like he does every night.
“I’m not.” Trying not to wake the others, I speak in a soft murmur.
“I miss you.” He sounds frustrated. Tired.
Kellan said he’s been trying to track down my family. I hope he finds them soon; I just want everything to be over. Having guards everywhere I go is awful.
I have yet to meet anyone new. No friends. Not even acquaintances. I don’t even get to buy things at the store, because someone is always sent to buy what I ask for.
It’s suffocating.
“Have you made any progress?”
“Mmm.” His noncommital sound gives little hope. “I will find them, Ava. You will be safe.”
“I know.”
“Get some sleep. It’s late.”
“I will.” A yawn catches me by surprise, my jaw cracking with the force of it.
“Good night, Ava.”
“Good night, Lucas.”
***
Somehow, despite my long hospital stay, my body has suffered no ill effects. My muscles are toned, what little excess flab I had around my belly is gone, and I breeze through most of Jericho’s workouts with little effort. The selfdefense training takes a bit more work.
I’ve become athletic. That doesn’t mean I’ve magically gained an ability to fight.
It would be nice, though.
Summer has passed in a haze of training, Kellan’s constant presence, and Lucas coming and going from the pack lands.
Our relationship is still murky and undefined, but the fated bond within me disagrees vociferously. It yearns for him in a way that hurts almost more than his rejection.
Selene remains indifferent to Lucas, though she’s avoided open hostility. It’s an improvement. I can understand, though. She, too, is frustrated by this feeling of living in a gilded cage.
When Jericho suggests that Lisa and I join a training group of young shifters in the pack, I jump at the suggestion.
“No.” Kellan’s refusal is immediate.
“I didn’t ask you,” Jericho snaps, turning back to me. “Are you interested, girl?”
“Absolutely,” Lisa says, the vehemence in her voice earning her a dark glower from the pack beta.
“She can speak for you, but I can’t?” He protests in my general direction.
“That’s because I’m saying what she wants to say, and you’re not.” Getting between them is pointless; it just goes round and round. Jericho watches me with expectation in his glower.
“It would be helpful to train with a variety of people. I would even venture to say that it’s ultimately for my own safety, right?”
He knows where I’m going immediately; that glower lightens to a grimace that passes for a smile in the old man. “I’ll speak with the alpha, then.”
Lisa struts with triumph to my side, grabbing my arm in a hug. “It’s settled, then. Even your alpha can’t argue with Jericho.”
“Come along,” he grunts. “They’re in the training gym.”
Being inside a sweaty gymnasium with a bunch of junior shifters doesn’t sound like a fun time, but Lisa and I follow with excitement. It’s our first real introduction to the Westwood Pack.
The gymnasium isn’t a far walk, and I recognize it as the place we train during rainy days. It’s filled with at least twenty young shifters, almost all men, all sparring on the mats. Lisa clings to my arm, her fingers digging into my skin.
It must be odd, as a bornhuman, to be surrounded by a bunch of wolves.
One of the female shifters walks up to us with a respectful bow in Jericho’s direction, one hand over her heart. All the others turn and bow after she does, with the same motion. I look at Jericho in confusion, but he doesn’t acknowledge it, just staring in his signature brooding way across the crowd.
“Beta Mentor.” The young woman’s voice is soft but clear. “We are honored by your presence.”
Beta Mentor? My brows furrow as I glance at Jericho again. It’s a title I’ve never heard before. He doesn’t correct the girl, merely grunts. “At ease.”
The tension in the room dissipates as the shifters relax their stances. The woman turns to me, her gaze curious as she looks between Lisa and me. She’s taller, with tan skin and black hair that shimmers in the light. “I am Amara, a trainer here. Welcome to the Westwood training grounds,”
“Thank you.” I try to keep my voice steady despite my confusion. “My name is Ava, and this is my friend Lisa.
We’ve been training with Jericho and thought it would be good to work with others as well.”
Amara’s nose flares as she scents us, and I can sense her relax once she does so. I wonder why she was so tense to begin with. Is it because of Jericho’s presence? Or something else?
“Of course.” Amara smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Ava.”
Great. I fight the tension creeping through my muscles. Rumors must have flown about my connection with Lucas, considering that even Vanessa had called me Luna at our first meeting. Still, it isn’t a good feeling to know that I’m a subject of gossip in the community.
Even in Westwood, in Granite Citya large city integrated with humansthis pack is closeknit. My life is firsthand experience on how awful rumors can make living within a pack; I don’t want a repeat of my time in Blackwood.
Lisa squeezes my arm in a silent show of support, and I force a smile. “All good things, I hope.”
Amara’s expression is unreadable. “The Alpha’s mate is always a topic of interest.”
Damn. Now it’s confirmed that they know. Judging by her notquitefriendly demeanor, it’s not a good thing to have my name connected with his.
And yet we aren’t even mated. Fated, sure. But I guess no one’s talking about how he rejected me.
I glance at Jericho, hoping for some guidance, but he simply watches
Lisa and I share a look before following Amara further into the gym. I can feel the eyes of the other shifters tracking our every move. Unease has my heart beating in rapid rhythm, like a frantic chicken flapping its wings. All the excitement I’d felt at meeting new people is now buried beneath the worries dashing through my mind.
Do they hate me?
Is their disapproval because I’m a Blackwood wolf?
Do they know I can’t shift?
Have there been complaints about me?
What have they been saying?
But, of course, I don’t have the answers, so I follow. behind with my mouth shut.
It will be fine, Selene assures me, but she’s very unconcerned about the thoughts of humans or shifters. In fact, I’m not sure she cares about anyone other than me. She isn’t even fond of our fated mate.
Selene snorts. Fated doesn’t mean inevitable.
her
Once we reach the mats, Amara turns to face us, stance relaxed but ready. It’s hard not to focus on the lean muscles defined in her arms. I’d thought I was making improvement with my training, but compared to her? I look like a newborn baby, soft and squishy.
“Let’s start with some basic defensive moves and see where you’re at.”
Amara launches into an explanation of a simple block and counter, demonstrating the moves with fluid grace. I focus on her words, trying to commit the steps.
to memory.