Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 39 Ava: Her Identity

You have the potential, Selene says, her voice a cautious whisper in my mind. The arcane flows through your veins. But…

My breath escapes me in a giddy rush. Magic. Real magic. Human magic. It's something out of a fairy tale, not something that should exist in my life. Then again, supernaturals exist—and we're pretty nonstandard, ourselves.

It's not that simple, Selene continues, her tone growing more serious. Magic is not a toy, little one. It's a force of nature, raw and untamed. To wield it requires knowledge, discipline, and control.

I swallow hard, feeling the warning in her words. "But how do I learn? I don't even know where to start."

You would need a teacher, Selene explains, her voice tinged with hesitation. Someone well-versed in the arcane arts, who could guide you, show you how to harness and control your power. But magic is a lost art. Magicians were lost to the curse and became shifters.

Talk about a letdown.

"So, I won't be able to do magic." Is that how you say it? Do magic? Cast magic? Spell magic? Cast spells? It all feels weird in my mouth.

It is unlikely, Selene says, but she still has that cautious sound to her voice.

"If I tried, what's the worst that could happen?"

Death.

A simple word, bluntly given, with all the truth in the world behind it. I shudder at the matter-of-fact tone.

times long past, many talented humans were lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were

to regain some of the warmth that fled my body

amazing to learn, of course. But—if Selene

been bothering me from the beginning.

Of course.

why are you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf

explains in that non-explaining way, where nothing is really answered. We are

makes no sense. You're being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don't have any 'separate', only 'one'.

and I can almost

now? And what are we, exactly? Are

pure, Selene says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be

as if that somehow makes my brain work better. "How is that

time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it's more important that you take a cold shower before your heat starts

sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat

to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can't let this

you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we're

understand yet. But trust me when I say

demand answers, but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to

One humiliation is enough.

tearing off my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go.

the presence of a powerful wolf. I don't know how far they are, but they're close enough that I'm lifting my chin to