Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 171 Ava: Trusting Vanessa

Vanessa shows up before dinner, with a bag full of doctor stuff and a glint in her eye that tells me I'm not doing anything until she gets the information she needs.

So I suffer through the blood pressure, my blood being drawn and taken away by one of my new stone-faced bodyguards, of which there are at least 6, and a lot of questions she asks me every single day.

My answers haven't changed, but she still asks them.

I watch intently as Vanessa packs up her medical supplies, my mind churning with the weight of the secrets I'm keeping. With the half-baked plans inside my head. With my desperate need to save Lisa from whatever fate the Mad Prince has planned.

I wet my lips, trying to find the right words.

"Vanessa, how do you feel about keeping secrets from your mate?" The question slips out before I can stop it.

She pauses, a knowing smile playing on her lips, her eyes twinkling. "Trouble in paradise already with the overbearing Alpha?"

I glance toward the bedroom door. "Can the bodyguards hear everything we say in here?"

She looks amused. "No. Your prior Alpha had this room soundproofed."

Relief washes over me and I take her hands in mine, desperation clawing at my throat. "I have secrets, Vanessa. Secrets that I want to share with you. Most of it is stuff Lucas knows, and some are things I haven't told him yet. But I need to know whose side you're on."

Her expression sobers, her grip tightening on my hands. "Ava, I'm loyal to the Westwood pack and to my Alpha." She pauses, conflict flickering in her eyes. "But I'm also loyal to my Luna. I can't give you a straight answer on where my loyalty lies. I can only promise to act on my own judgment. However, if this endangers the pack…"

won't," I assure her, my interruption swift. "It doesn't endanger Westwood. But Lucas won't like that I'm doing

"I can't give you

and the fear

option right now, Selene reminds me gently. You need an

deep breath. "Selene isn't

shifts to one of bewilderment. Her brows knit together, creasing her

is that possible?" she asks slowly, her eyes flickering between me and Selene, who yawns

a straight answer out of her. It's

in Vanessa's eyes. "Oh. That's good, at least." But I can see the wheels turning in

talk to my mother's wolf. I want to try. The real problem is that we have to force her to renounce her

says automatically, glancing again toward Selene. "And only an alpha can force a switch in pack allegiance. Even

need to be

frowns. "Let me think this through for a moment. There has

would be good if there is,

her breath, occasionally shaking her head as if dismissing ideas that don't quite fit. The sight of her deep in thought, trying to find a solution to our predicament,

the sensation of her head and ears beneath my touch. It's a small comfort amidst the chaos swirling in my

the human host is unconscious?" Vanessa

might be possible, she admits, her voice echoing in my mind. But

many variables to know for sure," I relay to Vanessa, watching as

about your mother's wolf?

a loss for words. Loyalty is a complex thing, especially when it