Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 100 Clayton: Clashing Alphas

CLAYTON

Lucas's voice booms through the room, frustration palpable in every syllable. The scouts cower under his scrutiny, and I can't blame them. The Blackwood leaders have proven more elusive than any of us anticipated.

I should be focused on the task at hand, strategizing our next move, but my mind drifts to Ava. Is she healing well? Has she found any measure of peace after the trauma she's endured?

Even though the mating bond didn't take, my wolf and I feel bonded toward her. It's one-sided and fragile, but it consumes my thoughts. I long to see her, to offer comfort and support. But Lucas guards any information about her whereabouts with a possessiveness that borders on obsession.

I don't blame him, but after a week of knowing nothing, the frustration is getting to me.

As the meeting concludes, Lucas and I make our way back to the alpha's house. The promise of paperwork and hacked computer files looms ahead, a necessary evil in our quest for answers. Yet, even as I try to center my thoughts on the investigation, Ava's face flickers through my mind.

I glance at Lucas, wondering how to broach the subject of contacting her. His jaw is set, eyes hard with determination. I know he sees me as a threat, a rival for Ava's affections. And perhaps I am. Everything I feel toward her is undeniable, something I've never felt toward a woman before. It's like a whisper of fate that I can't ignore.

And yet I'm not the one she's fated for.

I don't want to come between them, not if Ava has truly chosen Lucas. I respect her choices, her autonomy.

Still, the fact that she hasn't fully committed to him, that she hasn't borne his mark, and that he doesn't have hers, gives me a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, there's still a chance for us.

take a breath, preparing to voice my request, but the words die on my tongue. Lucas's posture is rigid, his

find the right moment to express my desire to see Ava without igniting

what's our next move?" Lucas's voice cuts through my reverie,

a thousand times, Lucas." My voice is steady despite the turmoil within. "We don't know anything.

least. While many have embraced the change, seeking a fresh start and a more stable future, there are those

their resistance to this new reality. Men were superior in the Blackwood pack. That is not true of Westwood, Aspen, or any of the surrounding large packs, where male and female live with

remain rogue, unsworn to any

else, these she-wolves are breaking the mold. They gather their cubs close, eyes bright with determination as they step forward to pledge their allegiance to

be unthinkable in most shifter communities. A female, leaving her mate behind to join a new pack? It goes against every tradition,

of their mates separated and under guard, for the safety of their

yet, here they are, ready to forge a new path for themselves and their young. I can only imagine the strength it takes, the courage to break free from the

he runs his hands through his hair. The silence stretches between us, heavy

"Ava asked for space. I haven't been able to

heart stutters in my chest, a flicker of hope igniting before I can quash it. Guilt follows swiftly on its

breath, his words barely audible. "I want to kill you every time I see you." He meets my gaze, eyes flashing

respond. The air between

bonded?" Lucas asks, his

knowing my answer could be the spark that ignites the powder keg. But I can't lie, not about this. "I tried to mark her," I

instantaneous. He lunges at me, a snarl ripping from his throat as his wolf takes over. I barely have time to