Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 149 Lisa: Enthralled (I)

LISA

When moonlight fades and the sun rises, I can see my cell with more clarity.

Rust clings to my wrists and ankles, the metal biting into my skin with every trembling movement. Chains rattle against stone, a sound that mocks my rising panic. No matter how I strain and yank, they hold fast, ignoring the blood that streams down my arms when my skin breaks under the pressure.

This cell, this prison, is a nightmare made manifest. Cold, damp air seeps into my bones, and the stench of decay fills my nostrils. No comfort of a bed greets me, only the unforgiving hardness of the floor beneath my body.

A single, rotting bucket sits in the far corner, a cruel taunt of basic needs denied.

My eyes dart around, desperate for some sign of escape, but the walls offer no salvation. Rough-hewn stone and brick, marred by the telltale stains of suffering, mock my desperation. Those dark splatters, rust-brown and eerie in the dim light filtering through the tiny window above, speak of horrors I can't begin to imagine.

But I don't need to imagine, do I? I'm living it now.

Why? The question pounds in my head. Why me? What does my captor want?

I grasp at my memories, trying to make sense of the jumbled pieces. The party, the laughter, the punch that made my head swim. Bren. The vampire.

But nothing else.

Tears sting my eyes, hot and bitter as they slip down my cheeks.

I want to scream, to yell until my voice gives out, but some instinct warns me against it. Don't let them know you're awake. Don't give them a reason to come.

been peaceful so far, but that

I want to

all night, and no one came

to shut me

as the chains allow, trying to make

me, of keeping me alive? The

pierce the silence, dragging me from my

that I realize the odd dripping sound, the one that had been my constant companion, disappeared while I was lost in fitful

unnatural noise that sets my teeth on edge and causes my head to ache. The whispers, too, become more distinct, though I can't make out the words. The voices are low, urgent, and filled with a malevolence that makes

to go, nowhere to run, because I'm chained to

scraping stops, and for a moment, there's only silence. Heavy, oppressive, making it hard to

eyes widen as part of the wall slides into itself, revealing a dark passageway. A figure steps through,

vampire

all pale skin and dark hair, with eyes that gleam with a predatory light. His lips curve into a smile, but there's no warmth

purrs, his voice like

allow, despite the pain in my wrists, bleeding and swollen

My voice is tremulous, despite my efforts to keep it

"Oh, we'll get to that," he says,

approaches. I can't look away, can't move, can't breathe. It's like I'm frozen, trapped by

that I can feel the chill emanating from his skin. Close enough that I can see the hunger in his eyes, the way they seem to darken as they roam over my face, my neck,

murmurs, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from my face. His touch is like

but it comes out more like a plea. Not the demand I wish I could throw out,

not in a position to make demands, kitten," he says, his voice low and dangerous. "You're mine now, and I'll do