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.

shakes his head, his expression grim. "No,

reeks of magic, Selene growls, her hackles raised. Be

hard to swallow. The air seems to crackle with energy, making the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Every instinct screams at me to run, to get as far away from

was never right about Steve and her

the office in the

when I looked into her

think Steve's

knees, one hand clawing at my chest, the other scrabbling against the rough concrete floor. Beside me, Kellan gasps, his face contorted in pain as he

lungs screaming for oxygen. Tears stream down my face, hot and stinging, as I silently beg for mercy, for release

as suddenly as it began, or maybe a hundred years later,

oxygen to my starving lungs. Sunlight sears my eyes, blinding

guards are scattered around us, some on their knees, others flat on their backs, all of them gasping and coughing as they

the building is

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

it never existed at

stare at the vacant lot, my mind reeling. "I think Steve's a Fae," I say lamely, the words falling

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

were there all along—the strange energy that surrounded Steve, the way her office seemed to exist outside of reality, the unease that

into thin air, leaving no trace of its existence. It's the

least, I can only

magic of

through his hair, his expression grim. "We need to tell Lucas. If Steve's a Fae, she could be working with the vampires. I don't know how much information she's funneled their

with vampires is a new level of

I feel. "Why she was helping us, what her endgame is. It's possible she's not working with them

have a gut feeling that I'm

is she, and why is the building