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.

recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many

trying to regain some of the warmth that

of course. But—if Selene says it's too dangerous,

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

Of course.

are you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with a physical

hums, a thoughtful sound that echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non-explaining way, where nothing is really

bonded with ancient

almost picture her shaking her head. It's

And what are we, exactly? Are

says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I

makes my brain work better. "How is

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

the alpha sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel

like yesterday.

to be with me? And what do you mean, we're separate and one at the same time? I don't understand

one, Selene says, 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

to demand answers, but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before I become a

One humiliation is enough.

and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties

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