Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 160 Ava: Eyes Wide Open

It smells like him, Selene grumbles, her wet nose twitching as she sniffs around the plush rug in the center of Lucas' bedroom. Everywhere.

I glance up from where I'm unpacking my suitcase, one eyebrow arched. "Well, it's his room. What did you expect?"

She huffs, her tail swishing in annoyance. I expected not to be assaulted by the scent of alpha male posturing every time I breathe. Her mental words are sour, but without the bite they used to have when she spoke of Lucas.

A laugh escapes me despite the heaviness still lingering in my chest from the earlier confrontation with Margot. "Posturing? Really? It's just his scent."

Yes, really. She flops down on the rug, her chin resting on her paws. It's like he's marking his territory. Letting everyone know this is his space.

"Is it really posturing when he just sleeps in here?"

Yes.

I roll my eyes, turning back to my suitcase. She's reaching for reasons to complain, but knowing that her grumbling doesn't have the fierce hatred of before helps a lot. "He's the alpha. Isn't that kind of his job?"

There's a difference between being an alpha and being obnoxious about it.

Her complaints continue as I move about the room, hanging up clothes and arranging my toiletries in the en-suite bathroom.

It's a beautiful space, all dark wood and rich fabrics, with a massive king-sized bed dominating the center. It's all masculine without a single feminine touch, which somehow pleases me.

The thought of sleeping here, surrounded by Lucas' scent, makes me smile—even if my wolf hates it.

But Selene's complaints nag at me, pulling me out of my reverie. I pause, a shirt dangling from my fingers, and turn to face her.

"Okay, what's your deal with Lucas? I thought you were over your issues with him now that we're together."

sighs, a heavy sound that seems to deflate her

shirt on the bed and move to sit beside her, my fingers sinking into her thick fur. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're just being

stubborn. She's still grouchy, but there's less heat in

has proven himself time and time again. He's been there for me,

a good man, Selene

cryptic words of some sage, but at times like this, she's just a

"But…?"

against the ground. Once.

Ava. I'll explain it another

so defeated that I don't argue, just pet her head and ears. "Promise that it's not the same kind of 'another day' where you don't say anything until I'm kidnapped, rescued, and then go into a

you hadn't gotten yourself kidnapped again in the first place, Selene grumbles, though it's

get her out of her little funk, I add, "Besides, I didn't get kidnapped by the vampire this time." My heart sinks as I think that over, my heart sinking. Maybe if I had been, Lisa wouldn't be alone and

for someone who

"Hush."

window, I glance over at the pack lands spread out before me. The small city feels stagnant, a far cry from

stepping back in time

urgency, as if they're afraid to linger too long in any one

gender dynamics that have always been present in the Blackwood pack, but which I've

seen the difference when I attended school in White Peak, or worked there. But I always felt, deep down, that the difference was because wolf shifters are

Now?

relative equality and freedom of Aspen and

me to my core. This is not because

okay? Selene's voice echoes in my mind, her concern

fixed on the scene below. A female I recognize hurries across the street, her arms laden with bags. She has a few young pups, if I remember

says something, his posture aggressive, and

an unfamiliar male strides over, breaking up their confrontation, that I realize my shoulders are tense and drawn up, my fingers gripping the windowsill with all my