Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 195

Chapter 195 Ava: A Familiar Face

I never expected to add my former boss being held up by a flock of bodyguards, a solid thousand miles from Cedarwood, to my list of fucked up shit that happened today.

So it takes a minute for me to process what I'm hearing.

"Mrs. Elkins?"

Selene flattens against the ground, her ears going back as she belly-crawls her way to my bench.

Her bizarre demeanor doesn't even register in my head, because—well, frankly, she's been weird as hell for the past several hours.

"Ava! My dear girl."

Those familiar rheumy eyes and her welcoming smile have me so intensely, terribly homesick for Cedarwood that I have to blink like a maniac to keep the tears at bay. "Mrs. Elkins, how did you get here? And on pack lands?"

Vanessa follows behind as I push my way through the bodyguards, who refuse to let me get too close.

"Calm down, boys. She's a friend of our Luna."

Vanessa's at least forty years younger than any of these men, but they respond to her words anyway, letting me through their human barricade.

I've got to figure out how to wield whatever flimsy authority I have. Even Vanessa gets people to listen to her. Granted, she's a healer—no one wants to get on a healer's bad side. Not even the alpha.

Reaching the old woman, I can see that she's carrying a huge parcel, hugging it to her chest.

"Ava, my dear. Are you all right?"

Her hand shakes as she reaches for my face, as though reassuring herself I'm really alive.

"I'm fine."

hand in mine. It's delicate and fragile, her paper-thin skin soft against my palm. My mind is still working at wrapping itself around

not that

out. "Oh, Ava, it's a story for the ages. But that can wait." Her eyes, sharp despite their age, sweep over me with a critical gleam. "You've lost weight, Ava. Have you

a rueful smile tugging at my lips. "Actually, I've gained weight. Even though I look skinnier. Must be all the muscle

knit together in concern. "And you're here of your own will? These people..." She glances warily at the

Mrs. Elkins," I assure her quickly. "None of these people are

turning

their postures shifting subtly to block the path. Vanessa's eyes narrow, and she takes a moment, her gaze unfocused. Mind-linking, I realize.

will be here shortly," she explains to Mrs. Elkins, her tone apologetic. "But I'm afraid we

titters, waving a hand. "Of course, of course. I understand completely." She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a small ziplock bag. "Here, Ava. I brought you some of your favorite

Homemade, of course."

at the gesture, and I reach for the bag with a smile. "Thank

can close around the bag, it's snatched out of

question. "What the hell? Give that

stoic expression. "I'm sorry, Luna, but we'll have to check these for safety before

never hurt me.

can you explain how you entered

thick in his voice, and I see Vanessa tense from the corner of my eye. Mrs. Elkins looks around at the hostile faces,

you in some sort of

intent on saving me even from a

are imminently reasonable, and I'm wondering the same things. Not to mention—Selene's hiding

feeling that I'm about to

I look at this situation, for an old woman to have accidentally stumbled onto me here, a thousand miles away,

something more going

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