Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 371 Lisa: Mira

LISA

Early morning is a bitch.

I've never really been lazy, exactly. Having to wake up early isn't something that usually ruins my day. But there's a huge difference between waking up in your apartment and driving to work or school, and waking up in the middle of your strange werewolf compound, dressing yourself in a thousand layers to keep warm, and leaving before the sun even rises—to spend hours trudging through snow.

Living out here gives me a hell of a lot more respect for those social media homestead influencers I've watched. It used to be vague fun to watch them make bread from scratch and gather their own milk while eating something I picked up from a drive-thru on the way home.

Living this life is…

Well.

It's definitely a different experience.

And I don't hate it. Most days.

But this morning, I'm seriously regretting begging Kellan to bring me along

Snow crunches under my boots with each labored step. My thighs burn, but I keep pushing forward, following the path Kellan's long legs have carved through the deep drifts. The sled he's dragging behind him mocks me, bouncing along behind him like it's nothing.

No way am I sitting in that thing.

My breath comes out in harsh puffs of white vapor. The cold air stings my lungs, but I maintain my steady pace. Sure, I complain about the ungodly hour and arctic temperatures, but that doesn't mean I'm going to wimp out.

It was my idea to come here. I need to prove I can handle it.

A flash of movement catches my eye as one of the refugee she-wolves pulls up beside me. She matches my plodding pace with effortless grace, barely breaking a sweat despite the freezing temperature.

"You're doing amazing," she says, her voice warm and encouraging. "Most humans wouldn't even attempt this."

"Thanks." I recognize her heart-shaped face and copper-colored curls from the newcomers who arrived last week. "Mira, right?"

Her smile brightens her whole face. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You're

like they're made of lead, but her words give me a boost of

laugh

useless. Humans are just different. You guys deal more with technology. I locked myself out of my smartphone

are you originally from?" I ask between breaths, genuinely curious about her background. Most refugees don't volunteer information about their past unless asked directly. I guess Kellan and

how to differentiate between the packs. Maybe Ava

was a Westwood wolf before,

catch me before my face meets the ground, and it

it impossible to move sometimes. Like a gazelle in four

me, her grip firm but

mean, you were a Westwood wolf

"I moved there after we met. I was actually on my way to visit my

my pants, relief flooding through me. For a second, I thought she was some sort of defect and I was making friends with someone who might have a questionable past. "At least you get

smile vanishes. My stomach drops as I

I'm so sorry.

ones. I wasn't anywhere near the cities when the attacks happened. My mate bond disappeared, and I found out what

brain scrambles to make sense of the travel. "Wait, you were traveling between…

always fly or drive to visit family, but some of us like to shift

I stop dead in my tracks, mouth hanging

like being with your wolf, feeling that freedom. Just you and

multiple states?" I shake my head in disbelief. "What about food? Water?

sparkle with amusement at my endless questions. "And yes, I slept in

"Safe houses?"

supplies. Most packs maintain them for traveling

mind reels at this whole hidden network. "That's incredible. Like

her scarf against the wind.

a buffoon. A mean-spirited one. I don't

smile dims. "I will have to return, yes. My mate's family has certain... rights. They will want any grandchildren to be raised in