Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 9 Lucas: Gala (V)

LUCAS

Ava's slight form disappears into the twisted shadows of the trees, still bursting to life from the return of spring. The full moon above seems to mock me, mock this.

Ava Grey. Beta Grey's youngest daughter. Someone who's been hidden from all of us until tonight.

A growl rips from my throat and my fist slams into the trunk of the tree beside me, pain radiating up my arm. Blood drips from cuts sustained from the tough bark, and I welcome the burn of torn skin.

Yanking my phone out of my back pocket, I redial Kellan, trying not to blame him for the rage I feel. If he had texted me back, if he had called me, if he had done anything to let me know Ava Grey was a tiny, blonde little thing in a black dress and glasses, I wouldn't have gone so far tonight. Wouldn't have fallen for the bait.

"Ava Grey is taken care of. She's gone," I spit out, each word hard and clipped. "Keep an eye on the rest of them, in case they try to pull anything else."

I end the call before he can respond and shove the phone back into my pocket, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. The Blackwood Pack has gone too far this time. I don't know what they did to Ava, but whatever it was, it caused me to react to her on the most primal level. My wolf paces in my mind, a caged animal, furious that I let her leave.

She's not our fated. You don't scent that on her, I snap at him, but he just howls, refusing to communicate with me. It's the first time we have been so divided, and I blame her. That sexy little distraction in her oversized, thick black frames. Wolves don't need glasses; the few who wear them are for fashion. I can only assume that she tried to go for a defenseless appeal.

And it had worked, damn it.

I drag my hand through my hair and take a deep breath, trying to clear my head. I need to find out what they did to cause Ava's pheromones to affect me with such intensity. I need to understand why my wolf reacts to her as if she is my mate. And then I'm going to make the Blackwood Pack pay for what they've done tonight.

my skin, a maddening reminder of our encounter. I can still smell her all over

the gala with the smell of her all over me, not when every inhale sends my senses reeling

enticing mix of orange, honey, and vanilla lingers in the enclosed space, and I draw in a lungful of it, my wolf howling in my mind. He wants to chase her, to claim her, but I force

away from here, away from the memories of her soft skin and the way she felt pressed against me. I need to clear my head and figure out what the hell

mind races with questions, but

the pressure of my grip, and my molars grind as I fight off a growl. I won't let them get away with this. Whatever game they're playing, I'll find out. And when I

* * *

hotel room like a caged wolf, my skin crawling with a restless energy I can't seem to dispel. Every nerve is alight, hyper-aware of the lingering scent of her that clings to me—a maddening reminder of the tempting little

Ava.

stirring with an unquenchable hunger. I can still taste her on my tongue, can still feel the warmth of her body pressed against mine, soft curves molding to hard planes. The memory alone is enough to have

sweep my arm across the dresser, sending the lamp crashing to the floor in a satisfying shatter of glass and ceramic. It's not enough to ease the tumult raging inside me. I turn on the chair next, upending it with a vicious kick. Still, the tension winds tighter, coiling like

to me? What kind of fucked up magic did the Blackwood Pack use to make me react to Ava like a mate? I've never felt anything like it before, an all-consuming need

into my touch, whimpering with want. It

has me groaning, fisting my hands in my hair as I fight against the visceral pull. This isn't me. I don't lose control like this. But that girl...that tiny slip of a thing with her wide blue eyes and those goddamn glasses...she had awoken something in

at the door is a welcome interruption from the torment of my thoughts. I yank it open, ready to unleash the maelstrom of rage on whoever dares disturb me, only to find

"Everything okay, man?"

let him enter.

the broken lamp out of his path. "I told you the Blackwoods brought two daughters. I didn't realize you wouldn't recognize the