Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 313 Ava: What Do You Think I Should Do?

Grimoire's presence inside of me is unfazed after his revelations from the morning. I swear his book form even looks cheerful, sitting there on the table.

You seem worried, Selene says, sounding distracted.

"I am. I still don't agree with Grimoire."

About the summoning?

"Yes. Wouldn't you know if you were summoned?"

I suppose. Selene goes quiet for a bit, before asking, How does Lucas feel about it?

Lucas.

He's standing by the window, watching the light rain drizzle across our world. The soft patter of droplets on glass is the only sound outside of my voice. Sister Miriam and Vester left a while ago, leaving us to contemplate our next move. Lucas hasn't spoken since they departed, his thoughts as opaque as the cloudy sky outside.

"I don't know."

He seems ambivalent to the idea of summoning his wolf, but I can't blame him.

After dropping the bomb of Selene's alleged summoning—though she denies it—he did mention the possible negatives.

While Lucas would not lose his sense of self, he might lose his wolf. Like me, he would exist as a human. But unlike me, he wouldn't have magic to bridge that supernatural gap.

No healing. No strength. What would happen if he were challenged then?

Is it any better than now?

His wolf would be strong, but can an Alpha survive without his internal wolf? Would the pack accept that?

in silence, I slip my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek against the broad expanse of

anchor in the

warm, familiar, and yet so new. We stand like this as the rain

and uncertain. The warmth of his scent fills my lungs, surrounding me in assurance, soothing the anxiety beating

breaks the silence, low and rumbling. I can feel the vibration of

The options before us are all shit, covered in more shit, until it becomes a

it weren't for the

it weren't for the

we'd have more

wouldn't be forced into these

learned so many

admit softly. "There's so

fingers tighten slightly over mine. "Tell me what

all the weight of the

sense of self… I worry that you would feel as if you were living half

it feels

Selene has changed my world, but it's still different from the bond any normal shifter has with their wolf. Distance can create emptiness within our bond. And—scariest of all—I can die and leave her

and I'll be alone

wavers slightly. "And I worry about what that would mean for you as Alpha. Would the pack accept

silent, but I can sense him listening

to him. "And selfishly, I miss you. The you who remembers our

my arms, his golden eyes searching my face. "I feel that connection with you," he says softly. "Even without the memories, there's something right about being with you. It's here." He taps

swells. "I feel it too," I

his hands, his touch gentle. "But this isn't just about us. I

leaning into his

that we are not one body?

admit. But I can't imagine not being able to touch

the same for