Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 111 Lisa: Ava's Absence (IV)

LISA

Three fucking weeks.

No matter how many times I count, it's been three fucking weeks.

The calendar on my wall mocks me, today's date staring me in the face from any particular point of my kitchen.

Selene whines when I nearly step on her paw for the third time this morning. "Sorry, girl. Give me a second, and we'll go see her."

I'm drenched in sweat. Jericho hasn't blinked a single eyelash over Ava being in the hospital, and we've all settled into a new kind of normal.

It's not normal at all, but it's life now. At least until Ava wakes up again.

I'm stronger. Faster, though nothing compared to these shifters who surround me. I'm learning some basic self-defense, and Selene has helped with the hands-on training to evade and defend against wolf attacks.

I have bruises and wounds everywhere, and a few of them have even gotten infected, but Healer Vanessa is a godsend who always has some magical cream on her somewhere. Antibacterial, antifungal, prevents scarring, and smells divine. I have no idea why they don't sell it in the human markets.

Probably because they'd never be able to keep up with the demand. For all I know, it probably reduces wrinkles, too. Shifters age well, though, so who knows. Maybe they don't need wrinkle cream.

I slip into the shower, with Selene's reproachful blue eyes watching me.

The water pounds against my back, a blistering reminder of just how tense I've been. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to punch something.

he was even here. He's not as scary as Lucas, but

too busy running the Westwood pack while Lucas plays vigilant mate at the hospital. I get it, I do. Lucas has every right to be there, and Kellan has every responsibility to keep

in the same boat. She hasn't seen her mate, some high-up shifter in the pack called Vester, in two weeks, not since he left for the Blackwood territory to keep things running

in a towel that feels too soft

I miss Ava.

be here with me. Selene's finally here. We should be connected, a trio whose first

in a hospital bed, unresponsive to the world around her. And

the sidelong glances thrown my way. The Blackwood daughter, unconscious in a Westwood hospital. It's a political nightmare, even I can see

is rallying behind Westwood, but Jericho says there's a lot of movement in the shadows.

follows the Grey girl like ducks to their mamas," he told me yesterday, his scarred face grim. "And you're her best friend. That makes you

is waiting by the door, her tail thumping against the floor. She's been my constant companion these

me as I pass, their eyes scanning the hallway for any potential

the pick ups and drop offs, giving me a

Always.

is in his usual spot by Ava's bedside, his hand clasped tightly around hers. He looks up as I enter, his eyes bloodshot

change?" I ask, though I

shakes his head. "Nothing yet. But she's strong. She'll come back to

seat on the other side of the bed, reaching out to brush

still. Like she's just sleeping, and any moment now she'll wake up and start cracking jokes about how we

She hasn't

curling up at Ava's feet. She's been doing

chair, closing my eyes for a moment. I'm so tired, so fucking tired of all of