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

rub my arms vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my

would have been amazing to learn, of course. But—if Selene

on a question that's been bothering me from

Of course.

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

with the ancient magic, she explains in that non-explaining

shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don't have any 'separate', only

something that can't be helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It's the nature of what

What are you, an English professor now? And what are we, exactly? Are you

filled with a quiet pride. I came to be with you of my own

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

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

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

yesterday. But I can't let this conversation go

you mean, we're separate and one at the same time? I don't understand any of

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

skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need

One humiliation is enough.

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

they're close enough that I'm