Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 250 Ava: Clear Her Mind

My phone rings, and I nearly leap out of bed to reach for it.

Marcus grabs it as I fall into an unceremonious tangle of blankets and legs on the floor, staring at me with an impassive face that hides his amusement.

I know he's laughing inside, because there are little crinkles at the corners of his eyes, and his jaw's a little tenser than normal, as if holding back laughter.

"Unknown number," he reports, handing it to me.

Damn. Not Lucas.

Then again, maybe it is.

I answer eagerly, before I'm free of the mess I've created. "Hello?"

"Is this Alpha Westwood's mate?" The voice is soft and feminine, her words coming out in a rush.

I don't recognize it. "Yes. Who is this?"

"You must return to the pack, or everyone will be slaughtered." The woman's voice trembles, urgency lacing every breathy word. "You can't trust the Fae."

My heart leaps into my throat. The room spins, and I grip the phone tighter, its edges cutting into my fingers. "What? Who is this? What's happening?"

"There's no time to explain. Just come back as soon as you can. We need you."

"But who's in danger? What's going on?" My voice rises, panic seeping into every syllable.

"Everyone. Or else Alpha—"

The line goes dead.

"Hello? Hello!" I shout into the phone, but there's nothing but silence.

Marcus snatches it out of my hands, hands tapping at the screen. "Can't dial back."

No surprise there; the number didn't even show up. I struggle out of the tangle of blankets trapping my legs. "We need to go back. Everyone's in danger."

He frowns. "Ava, calm down. Sit, first."

"I can't calm down. Lucas—"

He shoves a hand over my mouth, shoving me back until my knees hit the bed.

over the edge of his

brows drawn in as his eyes bore into mine. "You need to listen to me before

pounds like crazy. It's a war drum, each beat reverberating through my body. The rush of blood in my ears wants to drown out the world, but I force myself

expression. Narrow eyes. Tight

about

into my lungs and stretching them as far as I can bear, before releasing

hand drops from my mouth as he takes a step back, giving me

trapped by the panic fluttering in my

voice steadier than I feel inside.

up my phone, tapping the screen as he stares at me. "First, we can't trust random phone calls. Anyone could be

lip. "But what if it's not? What if Lucas and the pack really

you're worried. But we need to be smart about this. You can't run off half-cocked.

"—or worse."

course he's

is on impulse and instinct, and

ignoring how small I feel when I realize how much I'm still

logically, I take a moment

to do, but there's a reason he isn't throwing

my job, as

Ava. Strange phone call, vague statements, and

Wait.

Ward. It shouldn't have gotten through to us. It

relax; I hadn't realized how bunched up

encouragement in his voice makes it feel like we're in a classroom, and I'm responding to a

it helps my

asked if I was Alpha Westwood's mate. She didn't call me

"Good. Keep

Luna?" That's what the

strange," he agrees.

think back. "She said I can't

Another nod.

Only Lucas." Everyone who knew is at Blackwood. "Maybe she's Blackwood?

very few know I'm mated

"Exactly."

voice has my back straightening and my chin

anything else that strikes

together, thinking. "I don't think so. She was cut off in the middle of talking about Lucas…" My voice trails off. "No,

surprised to see his nose wrinkle in disgust. "Just call him Renard.

Ah.