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.

lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in

of the

shoving down the odd sense of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But—if Selene says it's too dangerous, I believe her. It isn't worth my life to try and

that's been bothering me from

Of course.

No shifter has a wolf with

through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains

again. All shifters are bonded with ancient

sighs, and I can almost picture

And what are we, exactly? Are you a Lycan or

with a quiet pride. I came to be with you

that somehow makes my brain work better. "How is that possible? Doesn't the curse decide who is

a story for another time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it's more important that

spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting

like yesterday. But I

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

But trust me when I say that everything

feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under

One humiliation is enough.

I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get control of my

they're close enough that I'm lifting my