Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 168 Ava: Riot

It isn't impossible, but it might kill her before we get any results. Her answer isn't quite hesitant, but not firm, either.

"You're not telling me something."

It is hard to explain. Selene stands and shakes herself. The only thing we can do is try. But it is a great risk. We should talk to Vanessa before trying, I think, if you wish to have her renounce her pack. As a healer, she might be able to help us through the roughest part.

That makes sense, only—

Selene and I share a startled glance as the chaotic noises from outside crescendo into a cacophony of snarls and shouts. Terror seizes my throat, memories of the party flashing through my mind, but I push past it.

We rush to the window, and my heart nearly stops at the sight below.

It's a full-on brawl. Wolves. Shifters in their human form. They're all locked together, dozens of Blackwood wolves overwhelming the few guards at the lodge.

Ava, we need to go. Selene's voice is sharp in my mind, urging me into action.

We race downstairs, my pulse pounding in my ears. There are no bodyguards to stop me; they're in the fray.

Fuck. I'm going to end up with twenty of them after Lucas hears about this.

"Ava! Get back inside!" Kellan's voice rises above the din, his face a mask of fury as he grapples with a snarling wolf.

Before I can respond, movement catches my eye. A Blackwood. Someone I vaguely recognize.

He launches at me, his body twisting and contorting as he shifts in midair.

But Selene is faster. She meets the wolf head-on, and her snarl sends ice through my bones as she knocks him down.

I guess her body isn't very domestic dog, after all.

Chaos erupts around me. Claws and teeth flash past, barely missing me as I dodge and weave, my bodyguards struggling to form a protective wall between me and the battling wolves. Snippets of conversation reach my ears, painting a grim picture.

"—fuck all of you—"

"—never going to submit—"

the air, deep and powerful. Clayton. Relief mingles with dread in my gut.

a lifeline,

idea where she is. I can sense her in

the fray, determined to help subdue the riot. Shouts of "traitor" and "bitch" assail me from

Todd Mason's mother, her eyes

guilt and terror freeze me for a second too

my throat, squeezing, choking off

explodes through me, but my body reacts on instinct. A twist, a shove, and she's off me, my hands moving to

slams against the parking stop with a

God. What have

roar in my ears. I stumble back, my heart

Selene's voice, distant and muffled.

seizing in my chest as the reality of what just happened crashes over

Todd Mason's

Ava! Get it together!

avoid another wolf before one

haze of shock threatening to consume me. On your

oncoming threat. Another Blackwood wolf, eyes blazing with hatred, lunges at me. My body moves before my mind can fully process the danger, muscle memory from countless training sessions

I use his own momentum against him, sending him crashing to the ground. He lands with

moment, I stare at his limp form, my heart pounding against my ribs. Is he dead? Did I just kill another one? But then I see the faint rise and fall of his chest, and relief floods through me. Unconscious. Just

guilt and horror of what I've done. It's easier this time, knowing he's not dead by my hand. But the weight of Todd Mason's mother's lifeless body still presses down on me, a suffocating reminder of

howl cuts through the chaos, and I whip around to see Clayton's massive wolf form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other wolves. Their arrival shifts the tide of the battle, the Blackwood wolves

the distance, flickering at the edge of my vision. I squint, trying to make out what it is, but the darkness and the swirling mass of bodies make it impossible

mind, my voice tinged with urgency. Do

a mix of curiosity and wariness. I don't

though she can't

shadow. My heart pounds in my ears as we draw closer, adrenaline surging through my veins.

instinct that I can't ignore. Selene runs at