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.

his expression grim. "No,

magic, Selene growls, her hackles raised.

on the back of my neck stand on end. Every instinct screams at me to run, to get as far away from this place

about Steve and

the office in the

felt nauseated when I

think

is sucked from my lungs. I crumple to my knees, one hand clawing at my chest, the other scrabbling

us, the light from our 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 release from this

as it began, or

my eyes, blinding after the impenetrable darkness. Spots dance across my vision as

the asphalt like discarded ragdolls. The guards are scattered around us, some on their knees, others flat on their backs, all of them gasping and coughing as they suck in lungfuls of

the building

once stood an abandoned structure housing Steve's office, there is now nothing but empty space. No rubble, no debris, not even a single brick to mark its former presence. Just overgrown

it never existed

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

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

strange energy that surrounded Steve, the way her office seemed to exist outside of reality, the unease that coiled in my gut every time

air, leaving no trace of its existence. It's the kind of magic that only the

I can only

magic of some

a Fae, she could be working with the vampires. I

working with vampires is a new level of

my voice steadier than I feel. "Why she was helping us, what her endgame is. It's possible she's not working with them at all. Just because she isn't a wolf, doesn't mean she's not

looks doubtful, but I have a gut feeling

where is she, and why is