Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 48 Ava: No Great Destiny

Selene's warm, furry body is a balm to my soul as we cuddle in on the sofa, a random show playing in the background. My eyes drift to the new phone sitting on the nightstand.

Is it safe to use? Could Clayton or someone else have hacked into it, using it as a way to track my every move? A shiver runs down my spine at the thought.

Selene stirs beside me, her head lifting as she blinks in the dimness. Her piercing blue eyes find mine, and I feel the gentle brush of her consciousness against my own.

You're being paranoid again, she murmurs, her mental voice a soft caress against my frazzled thoughts.

"Can you blame me?" My voice comes out in a whisper "After everything that's happened, I don't want to take any risks that could turn my life upside down again. I just don't know how far I can trust Clayton."

I know, pup. Selene nuzzles my cheek with affection. But driving yourself mad with worry isn't the answer either. We'll be cautious, but we can't live in fear.

I swallow hard, wishing I could just turn off the constant stream of anxious thoughts whirring through my brain. "I just finally felt like I had a handle on things. And now..."

Now everything has been ripped away from me once more.

It isn't over, Selene points out, ever the voice of reason. Hugging her as she crawls into my lap, I sigh.

"I feel like something's going to happen," I admit, reaching up to touch the necklace that's once again around my neck. Selene nudges it with her nose.

Everything will be okay. Don't be so quick to assume the worst of that alpha.

Rubbing her ears helps calm down the anxiety fluttering in my belly, and Selene rolls over in bliss at the attention. We've missed each other terribly this past week.

"It just worries me. All this stuff, the care he's taking—it makes me feel like he's decided I'm his mate, and he's just waiting for me to accept it and follow along like a good little she-wolf." Her fur is soft against my cheek as I rub my head against hers. "I don't want that kind of life."

I know.

The weight of the world is on my shoulders, it feels. Sighing, I snuggle even closer to Selene's warmth, taking what comfort I can get. "What about my heat. Am I going to go through that again?"

another week in bed with him might give him even more

another heat with a stranger sends a

edge. It should be taken care of, with the ring and the necklace,

its comforting weight reassuring me of its

my lap, stretching out her lean body before resettling against me. The necklace acts as a dampener. As long as you're wearing it, you should maintain control over yourself during your cycles, among

frown, rolling the information over in my mind. "Why did I go into heat as soon as I didn't have it

suppressed. It burst out as soon as it had a chance. The ring acts as a shield for your power.

I'm

Yes.

it seems to contain. So much about my life has

if I don't wear them?" I

stronger than the last, until

to freak

his name before; he's well-regarded

strong enough to claim me,

I have no answer

"Lucas?"

your fated, but that doesn't mean

take

know, pup. Selene licks my cheek comfortingly. We'll figure this out together, one step at a time. You're not

I try to think

history as wolf shifters is a lie. We're all cursed, and wolf shifters actually have two souls in our

I'm somehow… different?

I say, "I still don't understand how

head. You are born, and therefore

I'm different, with a giant question mark on why. I have the power of ancient magicians, but if I use it I'll

did you choose me,