Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 261

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.

Ava! Are

lingering fog in my mind. Her hand grips my shoulder, shaking me gently but insistently. I blink, trying to orient myself. We're still in the truck. Marcus is at the wheel,

comes out as a croak. Swallowing hard, I try

was trying

a thrumming in my

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

of those endless seconds without air sends a shiver down my spine. "I think I made contact with the book.

meet mine in the mirror. "What

it, trying to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off, unsure how to

that normal?" Vanessa asks, before shaking her head. "Stupid question. How would

and so few

try

point, but something in me rebels against the idea. "No, it wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How

me tugs again, and I swear it's

hand finds mine, squeezing gently. "Either way, we can't risk you getting hurt. Maybe we should wait until we reach

arms, trying to soothe the strange thrumming in my veins. It's like my body is

wait until we're somewhere safe before I try contacting the book again. Too many weird things keep happening to me.

have a sense of self-preservation in

if I desperately want

Lucas sends a pang through my

I ask, looking between Vanessa

worried frown creasing her brow. "No, nothing yet. Vester should

him?" Surprised, I peer out the window, but there's nothing to see in the

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

chilling. How much time am I losing, slipping away into

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

a matter of getting closer," Vanessa says, her tone reassuring. But I can hear the undercurrent of worry beneath her

nod, but anxiety churns in my gut. Too many strange things

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255