Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 343 Ava: Prototype Progress

Ivy and her people are settled into a place of their own, and I'm left feeling awkwardly unbalanced between trusting her and feeling like I can't.

Lucas doesn't seem to have the same misgivings, and—despite Selene's soft growls in my head—I leave him to handle the Aspen wolves, resolving to talk to him later.

It doesn't feel like the issues with Ivy will be detrimental to the pack or cause issues with our alliance with Aspen, but it's not something I want to ignore, either.

She's a strange one, Selene murmurs.

Grimoire sounds thoughtful. She seems to have a great amount of power and respect in her pack. Perhaps she had always hoped to mate another alpha and become Luna, rather than an alpha's sister.

"Maybe." Heading toward the gnome's cabin, I add, "She was strange before Lucas ever entered the picture, though."

Yes, when you mated with the Aspen alpha.

My feet stumble over nothing. "I didn't mate with him. I was in heat."

He marked you, Grimoire points out. That's mating. Though you're lucky it didn't take.

It's a grim reminder of a dark past I really don't want to think about. "Let's move on from this topic."

It didn't take because we are stronger, Selene says, proudly ignoring my request. She is only matched by our Alpha.

Her smug tone irks me. "You hated him, remember? I distinctly recall you making snide remarks and encouraging me to sleep with—"

The past is the past, she mutters, and I can practically feel her metaphorical tail tucked between her legs.

Oh, so the all-knowing wolf is capable of mistakes? Grimoire sounds positively gleeful at this new knowledge of Selene's past. She isn't perfect after all?

up, book. All you have is theory with no real life experience. You've lived between pages

a wolf who pretends to know everything when she

and forth, and I slip into the gnome's cabin after a quick knock.

up over a pile of gadgets and gizmos on his dining table, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "Ava!

smile back. "Hello, Dr. Blackwell. How's the prototype coming

arm wildly around to gesture at

even know where he's gotten that much paper from. It must have come from one of the supply runs. Everyone wants

come, let me

the (presumably) organized chaos. The dining table, once a

at with the magic watch?" I ask, genuinely curious about his

see, we've successfully integrated the quartz magic batteries you provided into the basic digital watch structure. The energy conversion rate is remarkable! We're achieving

nod, trying to follow

magical field within the watch casing, which allows for the storage and manipulation of magical energies without interfering

"The crystal display now serves a dual purpose - not only does it show the time, but it also acts as a focal point for magical energy

amazing," I say, genuinely impressed by the words I'm not fully understanding.

a bit of a snag. You see, while we can project magical energy through the crystal, we're having trouble maintaining

to degrade after about fifty miles. We need to find a

lean in, examining the watch more closely. But to me, it just

Sage perks up. "Yes. You see, the magic used here is dormant. It's like the last of an echo. Your magic, however, is live, coming straight from you. If

mind if I took a small sample of your

my magic has been unpredictable or dangerous.

you to infuse it into this crystal. It's been specially prepared." He holds up a piece of what looks like pristine quartz, not the little

at the quartz, I ask in confusion, "How is this different from the

barely contained, "the quartz stones you've been working with are meant to store magical energy, like batteries. It feeds off the power given to it. This crystal, however, is

ear to keep my vision clear, I tilt my head and peer a little closer at the

like plain

"How so?"