Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 277 Lisa: Kellan

After the third time I stumble while walking, the naked shifter stares at me with a curled lip.

"Why are humans so weak?" he asks, his tone grating on my already frayed nerves.

I bristle at his words. Who does he think he is? "None of your business," I snap, surprising myself with the venom in my voice. Jericho said I do pretty well for a human, thank you very much. I'm just weakened.

I'll get back into shape and then wipe that cocky stare off his face on the mat.

Though, I have yet to have a legitimate win without any handicaps during our training spars… But a girl can dream, damn it.

The shifter's eyebrows shoot up, clearly taken aback by my sass. He peers at me more closely, his brow furrowing. "Do I know you?"

Before I can answer, he leans in, his nostrils flaring as he sniffs at me. I recoil, but he's already pulling back, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You don't have much of a scent," he says, sounding perplexed.

I catch the Grand Sage's eye, noticing a mischievous twinkle there. The bracelet must mess with my scent, too. It bolsters my courage for some reason. "That's because humans like to shower," I retort, my chin jutting out defiantly.

The shifter's eyes narrow. "You don't smell like you've showered recently."

My jaw drops. Did he really just say that? The audacity! I'm about to unleash a tirade on this insensitive jerk when a bone-chilling growl cuts through the air.

My heart leaps into my throat as a massive reddish-brown wolf emerges from nowhere, its teeth bared and hackles raised. Without thinking, I stumble backward, instinctively seeking shelter behind the naked shifter.

Bad move.

can feel the

at the animal, nearly losing my balance in the process. The naked shifter holds up his hands once I've been sacrificed,

the other shifter. Its massive jaws snap at the naked man, a

ground, bellies pressed to the earth in submission. The air crackles with tension, and

quite strong," the Grand

stand still. Which is less likely to get the wolf's attention? It seems angry. I don't want to be

looking for all the world as

a swift motion to get between

by the fierce visage of a growling apex predator, he gestures in my

Excuse me?

thighs, almost knocking me off balance. When I grab at its fur to hold me up, I swear the damn thing rumbles in

hiss at the

me!" he snaps, before shifting into his wolf form again and cowering to the ground like the

everyone lost

beast seems to melt under my touch, its eyes half-closing in bliss as its

mind. I turn to the Grand Sage, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. Bitterness, to be clear, that he was willing to sacrifice me off to a rabid

fight the urge to shake him. "If you can't figure it out now, my dear, you will soon enough." He turns to address the wolf. "We need to continue on our way.

snap at the Grand Sage, but then

and bones realign, the wolf's body stretching

Kellan.

the other shifter, whose nudity had barely registered, I find myself appreciating Kellan's form with a reverence that surprises me. My gaze travels from his broad shoulders down his chiseled chest, following the trail of hair that