Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 76 Ava: Saved

Lucas' scent hits me after I've already tried to murder him.

An unmistakable blend of the outdoors, of amber and campfire smoke, of something so uniquely mate that it draws me in even through the pain of our past.

It's him. He's here.

The knife clatters from my trembling hand as every muscle in my body goes lax with relief. I'd been so tense, coiled tight like a spring ready to snap, terrified of losing my life tonight. But now Lucas is here.

He came for me.

"Lucas," I breathe out, hope and prayer all in one, the sound barely more than a whisper. My entire body crumples, overworked in its stress.

He's really here. I'm not dreaming. He's not a hallucination. This is real. Real.

My mate.

My savior.

Strong arms wrap around me, drawing me in against an embrace both hard and warm, filled with assurance and yearning. His hands hold me as if I'm some tender, precious thing, going from my back, up to the back of my head, brushing gently against my hair.

He's dropping kisses over the top of my head, against my eyebrows, then my eyes, whispering my name in a ragged chant before crushing me to him once again.

"Ava. Ava. Sweet Ava. You're safe now. Shh, it's okay. I've got you, Ava.

You're safe now." His voice rumbles, vibrating his chest against my cheek. One hand cradles my head, the other runs soothing lines down my back.

to ask him why he's here. To thank him for coming. To tell him how terrified I was. To explain everything. But only a choked sob

face, soaking into the fabric of his shirt as I cling to him, as if

holds me closer. "It's alright, sweetheart. Let it out. I'm here now. No one's going to

shifter I didn't notice murmurs from

holds my head firmly against his chest, rubbing me in that soothing rhythm as I

you need to bring with you?" Lucas asks,

Nothing.

nothing here

going to carry you, Ava. We need

a short, choppy movement of my head, blowing

Another breath out.

one under my legs and lifting me as

too heavy. I just lean against

shoulder,

of the room, I fight the urge to think about the past—his rejection, my complicated feelings for Clayton, or the tangled web that brought me here. I just want to be a boneless lump

at my consciousness, and I jerk slightly in his hold. "Wait," I murmur, struggling to find my voice.

hands it to one of the shifters accompanying us. Without blinking, the strange shifter crushes the device in his hand, destroying any

mist. The scent is earthy and familiar, very neutral-seeming. "This will help conceal your scent for a while," he explains, before handing me a small pill. "And swallow this. It's a long-lasting scent diffuser that will make it harder for anyone to track you

without question, trusting Lucas and his team implicitly. The pill leaves a bitter taste

occurs to me that I had so much suspicion when Clayton came to my rescue, but with Lucas—despite our history—I can feel

bonds are crazy like that, I

way, his strides purposeful and determined, and the strange shifter with the scent diffusing drugs is right behind him. Four more appear out of the shadows as we

is heavy with the scent of

smell a single one of