Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 255 Ava: The Golden Stranger

Light illuminates the room, and Marcus steps back, hiding me more fully behind his bulk.

"Who are you?" he asks, and I glance at the knife he's holding behind his back.

When I try to step around him to see who's talking, Vanessa steps forward to block the gap. I can't see anything, and yet I know who's talking. I just can't remember who they are.

"Easy, wolves. I am no enemy of yours, and no danger to the witch you shield."

"Give us your name," Vanessa snaps, uncharacteristic hostility in her tone. "Who are you, and why do you know us?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose you wouldn't know. I am known as Acarus, of the Fourth Beginning. You know my mother."

"Mother?" Marcus asks, shifting his weight as he edges a little closer. "And who might that be?"

"And what the hell is the Fourth Beginning?" Vanessa's annoyance is clear. "You can't throw around words and expect them to mean a thing."

"Oh. Yes, I suppose you wouldn't know that, either." A long pause. "Don't look at me so, wolves. My mother is Miriam, of the Fourth Beginning. Or, as you know it, Dakota Sanctuary." There's a lilt in his voice that tells me he's probably smiling. "Does that help?"

"Miriam?"

The talk of a mother dislodged a long-forgotten memory, and I shove past Marcus.

The golden stranger stands before us, his palms raised in a gesture of peace. His ethereal beauty is just as striking as I remember—inhuman in its perfection. Golden hair catches the light, and those piercing blue eyes seem to shift to a crimson hue as they move. A mild smile plays on his lips, but it does little to ease the tension in the room.

Marcus and Vanessa tug me back, their protective instincts kicking in, but I shake them off as I exclaim, "It's you!"

I turn to my friends, eager to explain. "He was in the woods during the Blackwood riot. He didn't harm me then."

Acarus nods in my direction, his gaze appraising. "You've become stronger since we last met, Ava Grey."

A question that's been nagging at me since our first encounter bubbles to the surface.

"Are you the vampire Margot was talking about?" I blurt out.

Confusion flickers across his perfect features. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

before I found you in the woods." It was so long ago, the details blur in my mind.

and he tilts his head in thought. "That seems unlikely. I have no contact with

don't quite satisfy my curiosity, but before I can press further, he changes the

don't you all come down for dinner? I'm sure you must be hungry

feel their hesitation, their distrust of this

him," I say, surprising myself with the conviction in my voice. If Sister Miriam is his mother,

"He knows things

mother is our

his posture tense. "He was near Blackwood before we began working

from the bottom of the stairs. "Come along.

first, his movements cautious as he descends the stairs. His hand

a giant dining room. The entire house looks familiar,

just like the first place I met Sister Miriam. This one isn't quite the same, but it definitely has

outside the windows is nothing but trees. Wherever

he says, as if a huge table

like a hearty stew steaming in earthenware bowls. It's far from

Vanessa

Wait a second.

know we would

the sound is perfect. Melodious and deep, like a

the head of the table. "I'll do my best to answer your

a chair, ignoring the pointed looks from Marcus and Vanessa. They reluctantly join us, positioning themselves on either side of me like

"How is that possible? She never mentioned having children, and vampires aren't usually…" Well, that's kind of silly. She's the product of a vampire and something else herself. "Well, do

smile. "Mother can be selective with the information she divulges.

danced around the subject or promised to answer things later, much like Selene

says, motioning for us to partake as he sits

tempted by the food. Though I'm pretty sure it's safe, I follow their

young. In every way that matters, she is my mother. Do

"How did you know

would arrive. I've been preparing a meal every day for weeks." He nods toward the food on the table. "At least this time I won't be throwing it out for

the pigs, but I keep my mouth shut. More important things

were coming?" Marcus asks again, each word like a