Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 176 Ava: Attending the Rites

Odd? How so?

Selene's soft whine catches Kellan's attention. "We'll be there soon. Will she be okay?"

It doesn't seem that he realizes the dog is not actually a dog. "She's fine."

I thought I had all my memory, but when I try to think back, everything is fuzzy. Even my own name doesn't come to mind.

My head aches at the thought of trying to unravel that. What kind of memories? From becoming a dog?

Not exactly. My past life. My identity. Many things… Things I thought I remembered. Vanessa's words sound familiar, but I cannot access the memories. It feels important.

That just sounds… Yeah. She's right. It's odd.

How long have they been missing?

Silence.

Then, I don't know. Forever.

Leaning down, I rub at Selene's head. It'll be okay. I'm sure we'll figure it out. But we both know my promise is hollow. I have no way of keeping it.

Selene whines again, resting her head on her paws as she stays beneath my chair. Ava, am I a detriment to you?

Of course not. My denial is swift and from the heart. But… I think we might make bad decisions together.

Her mood plummets; I can feel it in the back of my head. Like Lucas and his wolf, as children.

Scratching behind her ears in gentle consolation, my heart is buoyed when she leans against my touch. You have given me much strength by being here. We'll figure it out together.

Together, she confirms, but that insecure edge to her words is still there.

* * *

walk resembles the wobbling

make it to the pack lands as twilight hits. The entire

No lights on.

No people.

signs of life

a large field deep in the forest, filled with people. Some are in wolf form. A few are naked. Others are

everyone else

see so many of them turn in our direction, surprised by our

presses against my leg; Kellan hadn't wanted to bring her, but

whispers, slinking

her with such insecure body language. She usually struts about with confidence, tail high and head erect… But I feel

Like I don't belong.

Filled with shame.

eighteen pyres, and my heart sinks. Lucas hadn't

the silence, save for the occasional mourning keen. There

of bodies surrounding the pyres, the entire clearing bathed in the

to the back of the crowd. His hand rests on the small of my back, guiding me with gentle pressure as he points or tugs me in different directions as he

ahead, his jaw clenched. Even

mood is somber, a heaviness pressing down on my chest

blind demand for independence.

All of them.

Every single one.

aches for Lisa, trapped in the clutches of a madman, but it bleeds for the dead. For the families left behind. For the pack that will

blink them back. I have no right to cry, not when my actions have caused so much pain. Not when I've been so focused on my own desires that I

a mask of stoicism, but I can see the cracks in

barely audible over

at me, his

selfish. For not thinking about how my choices would

in his eyes. His face. In

turns away, staring ahead again. "It's not your fault, Ava. You didn't cause this.

in my heart, I recognize the

been at that party, those vampires wouldn't have