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.

* * *

my walk resembles the wobbling of a

lands as twilight hits. The entire place is like a ghost

No lights on.

No people.

of life

filled with people. Some are in wolf form. A few are naked. Others

only ones to drive; everyone else used four

see so many of them

Kellan hadn't wanted to bring her, but I'd insisted

she whispers, slinking out of the car with her tail

language. She usually struts about with confidence, tail high and head erect…

Like I don't belong.

Filled with shame.

are eighteen pyres, and my heart sinks. Lucas hadn't mentioned that three more

the silence, save for the occasional mourning keen. There are no words

of bodies surrounding the pyres, the entire clearing bathed in

side as we make our way 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

jaw clenched. Even his

down on my chest until

surrounded by the weight of so much loss, I'm hit with the price of my willfulness, of my blind demand for independence. How many of these deaths are on my hands? How many lives were lost because of my

All of them.

Every single one.

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

not when my actions have caused so

of stoicism, but I can see the cracks in his armor. The way his eyes shine with unshed tears. The tightness

sorry," I whisper, my voice barely audible over

down at me, his

thinking about

me, anguish clear in his eyes. His face. In how his

again. "It's not your fault, Ava. You didn't cause

in my heart, I recognize

at that party,