Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 261 Ava: Yanking At Her

It's almost like a presence saying hello.

Thinking of that little string, I tug back. Twice.

An answering jerk. One. Two. Three

The words I just spoke drift into my head: It's like the book is alive.

Is it crazy to talk into this void in my head, in the general direction I hope the book is in?

Sure. But at least no one can see or hear me doing it.

Hello? I call out, trying to use the same mental channel I use to speak with Selene. Are you there?

Another tug on that string.

I really, really need you to come to where I am. It's safer here. Or something. How do you explain to a book that the world has gone to shit and you want to keep it from being used to create further catastrophe?

Please.

Being polite never hurts.

This time, that string-y feeling yanks, and it feels like my heart is constricted, interfering in its ability to beat.

I can't breathe. Pain explodes in my chest, radiating outward like a supernova. My lungs burn, desperate for air that won't come. The world around me blurs, sounds fading into a high-pitched buzz that fills my ears.

One second passes. An eternity compressed into a heartbeat.

Two seconds. The edges of my vision darken, reality slipping away like sand through an hourglass.

began, the pain recedes. The world snaps back into focus, colors sharpening and sounds returning. I gasp, drawing in a ragged

Are

me gently but insistently. I blink, trying to orient myself. We're still in the truck. Marcus is at the wheel, his knuckles white as he grips it tightly, eyes darting between the road and

as a croak. Swallowing hard, I

What the hell just happened? It felt like my heart was being squeezed in a vise, like something was trying to pull it right out of

a thrumming in my

sure?" Vanessa looks me over with a frown. "Your face went white as a sheet and you groaned like you were

hadn't I? The memory of those endless seconds without air sends a shiver down my spine. "I think

in the mirror.

still scattered, my mind overflowing. "I'm not sure. I was reaching out to it, trying to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off, unsure how to describe the sensation. "It

her head. "Stupid question.

questions, and so few

try to

idea. "No, it wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How

again, and I swear

we can't risk you getting hurt. Maybe we should wait until

soothe the strange thrumming in my veins. It's like my

wait until we're somewhere safe before I try contacting the book again.

sense of self-preservation in

desperately

sends a pang through my

of you made contact yet?" I ask, looking between Vanessa and Marcus. Hope flutters in my chest,

her head, a worried frown creasing her brow. "No, nothing yet. Vester should be able to reach me

sense him?" Surprised, I peer out the window, but there's nothing

deepens. "Well, you've been 'focusing' in the back for about an hour

The realization is chilling.

talks with his eyes glued to the road. "I felt a pack presence once," he admits. "But it was brief.

matter of getting closer," Vanessa says, her tone reassuring. But I can hear the undercurrent of worry beneath her words. "We'll make contact soon.

churns in my gut. Too many strange