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.

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

some of the warmth that fled my body

of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But—if Selene says it's too dangerous, I believe

a question that's been bothering me

Of course.

No shifter has a wolf with a

sound that echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that

sense. You're being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic,

I can almost picture her shaking her head.

professor now? And what are we,

her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be

somehow makes my brain work better. "How is

now, it's more important that you take a cold shower before your heat starts back up.

of the alpha sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to uncurl in

like yesterday.

be with me? And what do you mean, we're separate and one at the same time?

her voice softening. There is much you don't understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus

and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before

One humiliation is enough.

on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone;

they're close enough that I'm lifting