Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 213 Ava: It's Gone

"Did you see that?" I ask Kellan, my voice barely above a whisper.

He glances at me, brows furrowed and body alert. "See what?"

I shake my head, not quite sure how to explain the strange phenomenon. "Nothing. Never mind."

As we exit the car, I can't help but glance behind us, taking in the six guards that follow in our wake. Their presence should be reassuring, a sign of Lucas' commitment to my safety, but instead it only serves to heighten my unease.

There's something in the air, a buzzing energy that sets my teeth on edge and makes my skin feel too tight. It's like the world is holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

We enter the building, our footsteps echoing in the empty hallways. Kellan leads the way, broad shoulders tense beneath his suit jacket. I trail behind him, my heart hammering in my chest as we descend the stairs to the basement, noticing that there's no light coming from below.

Kellan and I both pull out our phones to use as flashlights, but don't stop our descent.

When we reach the bottom, I stop short, my breath catching in my throat. The office, the reception desk, the colorful artwork that had adorned the walls—it's all gone. In its place is nothing but a bare, concrete room, devoid of any sign of life. As if no office had ever existed. No drywall. No electric wires.

Just… nothing.

"What the hell?" Kellan mutters, his eyes scanning the empty space.

I step forward, my fingers trailing along the rough wall. "It was here, wasn't it? We didn't take a wrong turn?"

A silly question. It's the same building, in the same neighborhood.

Nothing's changed.

And yet Steve isn't here.

expression grim. "No, we

reeks of magic, Selene growls, her hackles

tight, making it hard to swallow. The air seems to crackle with energy, making the fine hairs on the back of my

right about Steve and her

office in the basement of a

nauseated when I looked

I think Steve's

as the air is sucked from my lungs. I crumple to my knees, one hand clawing at my chest, the other scrabbling against the rough concrete floor. Beside me, Kellan gasps, his face contorted in pain

phones snuffed out like candles in a hurricane. I'm drowning, suffocating, my lungs screaming for oxygen. Tears stream down my face, hot and stinging, as I silently beg for mercy, for

or maybe a hundred years later, it's

with great, shuddering breaths, feeding oxygen to my starving lungs. Sunlight sears my eyes, blinding after the impenetrable darkness. Spots dance across my vision as I try to make sense of my

parking lot, sprawled on the asphalt like discarded ragdolls. The guards are scattered around us, some on their knees, others flat on their backs, all

building

office, there is now nothing but empty space. No rubble, no debris, not even a single brick to mark its former presence. Just

never existed at

at the vacant lot, my mind reeling. "I think Steve's a

face ashen. "No shit," he mutters, dusting off his pants

were there all along—the strange energy that surrounded Steve, the way her office seemed to exist outside of reality, the unease that coiled in my gut every time I looked

thin air, leaving no trace of its

can only assume

magic of some

to tell Lucas. If Steve's a Fae, she could be working with the vampires. I don't know how much information

with vampires is

what she wants," I say, my voice steadier than I feel. "Why she was helping us, what her endgame is. It's possible she's not

looks doubtful, but I have a gut feeling that I'm

and