Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 192 Ava: Mom's Legacy (V)

The hospital is eerily quiet, our steps echoing through the halls. Visiting hours are long over, and night shift reigns.

Vanessa is unfazed by the creepy quality of the place at a late hour, but I jump when the elevator dings, signalling its arrival in front of us.

"You okay?" she asks, concern knitting her brows.

Selene—who's finally out from beneath my bed, though she refuses to talk about why she avoided me for the rest of the day—leans against my leg in silent comfort. "It's just so quiet. I'm not used to hospitals without people bustling around."

There's a giant machine coming down the hall in our direction, cleaning the floor with whatever algorithm powers its movement.

I always wondered how hospitals kept their floors so clean. I guess everything's automated these days.

Vanessa nudges me onto the elevator, pressing the button for my mom's floor before we've all even made it in.

Four bodyguards flank us. Massive overkill, considering that there isn't much we're expecting to happen on this visit.

Still, Lucas—and Jericho—are taking no chances on my safety.

Marcus, at least, is getting a break, and a new guy seems to be the one to shadow me for the night. He's a little short, but his eyes are black and intense, and I wouldn't want to be found in an alley with him in the dark.

He smells like death, Selene says. To me, such words are atrocious, like I should avoid the person. To her? She speaks as though she admires him.

And that's a good thing?

Selene's ears flick toward me, and I can feel her side-eye even without her eyes moving. He is a capable guard. This is a good thing.

Right. I guess that's true.

"You seem on edge," Vanessa murmurs, looking straight forward as the elevator numbers change from floor to floor.

"Just a little." I've been avoiding thinking about my mom, or her wolf. Avoidance has always been my specialty.

habits are

mother's room feels longer than it should, each step heavy with dread. Selene presses close to my side,

turns, I realize

last, and yet it feels as though

I ask, confusion

a strange smile playing on her lips.

apprehension as we enter the room. Two of our guards take up positions outside, while the other two

the bed where my

to the frail figure beneath the sheets. The sight of her

not long

wolfsbane is taking its toll," Vanessa murmurs, her voice tinged with something

my mother's eyes flutter open. They're dull, lacking the fire I've always associated with her.

come to curse me into the afterlife," she rasps, her voice

physical blow,

to sit up, her arms trembling with the effort, before finally

honesty cuts

sound is vile, coming out

their daughter so much that even the sound of her cough is

you're here,

as a nurse steps in, holding a syringe and an impossibly tiny vial filled with clear liquid. "We're about to give you something

wouldn't be agitated if you would remove that filth from

much as I'm trying not to flinch at the words she throws my

against my hand keeps me grounded. Don't let her bait you, she whispers

eyes dart around the room like a cornered animal. She scurries out, leaving an unsettling silence in her wake, broken

tongue, but I swallow them back. Now's not the time to satisfy my

the clear liquid into the syringe,

comfort, but I'll take what I can

on my mother's face, trying to block out the vitriol spilling from her lips. Her features, once soft and warm, are now sharp and twisted with loathing. It's hard to reconcile this bitter shell of

her laughter was infectious. She'd pull me into her lap, tickling me until I was breathless with giggles, and whisper promises

to be the happiest little girl in the world, Ava," she'd say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You've been blessed since before you were