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.

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

arms vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth

of course. But—if Selene says it's too dangerous, I believe her. It isn't worth my life to try and grasp

I focus on a question that's been bothering me from the beginning. "Selene, you're

Of course.

are you separate from me? No shifter

a thoughtful sound that echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non-explaining way,

"That makes no sense. You're being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and

and I can almost picture her shaking her

are you, an English professor now? And what

with a quiet pride. I

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

turning brisk. For now, it's more important that you take a cold

and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to uncurl

state like yesterday. But I can't let this conversation go just yet. I'm finally getting

mean, we're separate and one at

know, little one, Selene says, her voice softening. There is much you don't understand yet. But trust me when I say that

is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting

One humiliation is enough.

gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are

powerful wolf. I don't know how far they are, but they're close enough that I'm lifting my chin to sniff, trying to get their scent in my