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.

as scary as Lucas,

vigilant mate at the hospital. I get it, I do. Lucas has every right to be there, and Kellan has every responsibility to keep things running smoothly. But

in the pack called Vester, in two weeks, not since he left for the Blackwood territory to keep things running there.

towel that feels too soft

I miss Ava.

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

the world around her. And the rumors are already

way. The Blackwood daughter, unconscious in a Westwood hospital. It's

of movement in the shadows. He's been

yesterday, his scarred face grim. "And you're her

against the floor. She's been my constant companion these past few weeks, a comforting presence in a world

way down to the hospital, the route so familiar now I could walk it in my sleep. The guards nod at me as I pass, their eyes scanning the hallway

pick ups and drop offs, giving

Always.

by Ava's bedside, his hand clasped tightly around hers. He looks up as I enter,

I ask, though I

But she's strong. She'll

not trusting myself to speak. I take my usual seat on the other side of the bed, reaching out to brush a strand of

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

She hasn't for three

She's been doing that

closing my eyes for a moment. I'm so