Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 58 Ava: Return Home

I settle into the chair beside Phoenix, my soul crushed under the weight of despair. The plane hums to life around us, a mechanical beast ready to whisk me back to the hell I'd escaped. Phoenix barely spares me a glance as he crowds me against the window, effectively trapping me in my seat. Even going to the bathroom will be impossible without him knowing about it.

Selene's whimpers echo in my mind, a mirror of my own anguish. Ava, I'm so sorry. I tried... I'm still trying...

I know, I whisper back, my heart clenching. It's okay. It's not your fault.

No matter how fast she is, a wolf can't outrun a car.

And even if she did—what are we going to do, against the people under Phoenix's control?

Honestly, it's not okay. Nothing about this is okay. I'm being dragged back to the very place I'd fought so hard to escape, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

Selene, listen to me. I picture my parents' house in my mind, every detail etched into my memory. The sprawling ranch-style home, the meticulously manicured lawn, the wrought-iron fence that always felt more like a cage than a boundary. This is where they're taking me. The Blackwood pack territory. My parents' address is—

I rattle off the information, each word feeling like a nail in my coffin. Selene absorbs it all, her presence in my mind a flickering candle in the darkness.

I'll find you, she promises, her voice fierce despite the tremor of fear. No matter how long it takes, no matter the distance. I'll never stop looking.

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back, refusing to let Phoenix see me cry. I know you will. But Selene, it's far. Really, really far.

paws pounding against the pavement as she races toward the airport. But we both know it's futile. She'll

her determination a living, breathing thing. I won't give up on you,

builds in my throat, but I swallow it down. I won't give up either, I vow, meaning it with every fiber of my

and impersonal. All of the announcements are done, and I didn't even notice them happening. The

you, I whisper, pouring every ounce of my

her presence fading as the

gone, the connection

* * *

it, because there's no point in being awake. I don't want

as I see the forest near

myself? How many times have I had pack members stalk me through the woods, waiting until I arrive home, just to taunt me? To throw stones?

can't remember. It's impossible to remember. It's happened so often, everything blurs together. It's like asking about every

throat

was hoping to never see this place

hackles, they'd

could talk to Selene, but the distance

throat as Phoenix escorts me inside the house that fills me with such dread. His lip curls in disgust as he sniffs me. "Get the Aspen stench off you before Dad gets home," he orders. There isn't

been worried about