Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 72 Clayton: Her Identity

CLAYTON

The hospital holds too many memories, and my wolf snarls and whines as it tries in desperation to sniff out any hint of Ava's scent when we arrive.

There's nothing, of course. Just the smell of the injured, the sickly, and disinfectant.

Ivy's room is in our family wing on the top floor, and I head straight there, unable to even look at the button for floor 12.

Ava's floor.

Mate, my wolf whines, and I wonder how much worse this would be if we had a fated connection instead of a chosen one. Lucas' single-minded determination has never made more sense to me than now, as we've spent over a week searching for any hint of the men who took Ava.

Someone had covered their tracks. Every airline, every taxi company, every rideshare, every car rental—their systems were hacked and wiped, so we can't even ascertain how she left.

Air? Car? Even the trains were messed up for a while as they had to go through tickets by hand to verify passengers.

There are no security cameras we can rely on. Everything in the city was wiped. Everything.

I can't imagine what level of influence is needed to take down all of these things in a major city. It's beyond any single pack in the Northwestern Territories.

Was she taken by someone outside of them? But who, and why?

There are no answers to be found.

I settle into a chair beside Ivy's bedside. The natural healing abilities of every wolf are varied in strength, and Ivy's are so low that she heals almost at the rate of a normal human.

Thanks to the medication in her veins, she sleeps in peace. All of her tests are coming back with positive signs of recovery.

If I could find the bastards who did this to her, it would be even better.

I cradle Ava's phone in my palm, running my thumb over the smooth surface. The screen remains dark and lifeless. My jaw clenches as I stare at the pitiful list of contacts—just my number and Ivy's.

As an alpha, I should have pushed harder, gotten the information I needed. It was obvious in Ava's evasiveness and refusal to divulge personal details, the way she dodged questions about her family, that she was running from something. I let it slide because I was too focused on her heat, and then on keeping her here without scaring her off.

name, and she's missing. Taken from beneath my nose in a place she should have been

wolf whines, sensing my turmoil, and I force myself to take a deep breath, reining in the torrent of

left behind is our only lead, our sole connection to Ava's past. She must have bought it when she was shopping with Rowan. Smart girl. Too bad she was

hacking into it or the high-level skills required to

pack's technology will rise. No more relying on outside resources when our security

work with the shifters, even in our cautious alliance—as if the last remaining

very few packs think of dominating this world, knowing the humans existence betters all of our lives. Without their numbers, their talents, and their sheer work force, our societies would

is no good thing to

and I look up to see Rowan's concerned gaze. My beta has been a

he asks, stepping into

in my throat. "Not yet. I'm still waiting for the results from the burner

brow furrows. "You sent it out last

can't admit that most of the technical jargon is over my head. I'm not even sure they're making it the priority they said they

attacking tonight. He's forwarded all the evidence they've gathered

forgotten all about that

ours to Westwood in case they

be too late by the time they arrive," Rowan

Blackwood doesn't have a fighting chance at head-on combat, but Lucas will need manpower after they take over the territory, keeping the peace until the Council decides what to

sending out whatever orders will get the job

in frustration, feeling a headache

confirms, just as his phone

Where are you, Ava?

you running

have a lead…" The cautious note in Rowan's words

his phone, my gaze fixed on the image before me. There she is, unmistakable with her dark blonde hair and striking blue eyes. They've haunted my dreams since the day she disappeared. Ava, alive and well, captured on camera walking

my worst fears—the very day she vanished from the

the details, my blood running cold when I recognize the man beside her. Phoenix Grey has his hand on the small of her

Why?

myself to study the image again, committing every

voice a low rumble as I struggle to contain the wolf

"White Peak International Airport. They must have flown her out

They.