Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 399 Ava: Magic Awareness

I slap my forehead. "Son of a bitch!"

The attack on Ivy's people. The possibility of corruption in our pack. Both conversations I needed to have with Lucas slip through my fingers like water. My teeth catch my inner cheek as I consider his current load—the president's assassination, the supernatural reveal, our tenuous position in this world.

I guess I can wait a little.

"Something wrong?" Grimoire floats upside down in front of me, his red hair touching the ground.

"Just remembered I need to talk to Lucas about Ivy and the corruption." I release my cheek with a sigh. "But with everything happening right now..."

"Ah. Perhaps waiting until tonight or tomorrow would be wiser. The situation with the government takes precedence."

"My thoughts exactly." I rub my temples. "Speaking of Ivy though—how long would we need to spend around her to get familiar with whatever's happening there? To really understand what we're dealing with?"

Grimoire's begins to slowly circle in midair, his hair oddly hypnotizing as it obeys gravity. "I cannot even begin to guess. The nature of corruption is... unpredictable. What manifests in one person might present entirely differently in another. We can only start by trying."

A grimace pulls at my lips. The prospect of spending extended time with Ivy, watching and waiting for signs of something amiss, makes my stomach turn. But if there's even a chance she's been touched by the taint...

"Wonderful," I mutter. "Just wonderful."

You should keep an eye on her anyway. Selene's disgruntled mood is clear, her mind voice more of a grumble than anything else.

"I know, I know. I can't bring her with me, but at least between purifications..." My fingers tap against my thigh as I consider the logistics. "I could invite her to help with the refugees, I guess. That's what she would be doing anyway."

But the thought of purification snags in my mind like a hook. Obviously, I can purify Ivy now. But if I do that, I lose my chance at recognizing this low-level corruption among others in my pack.

"Does it make me a bad person? To let her suffer just so I can figure out what corruption looks like in others?"

Grimoire stops his slow rotation, hanging upside down again with his eyes fixed on mine. "She isn't suffering yet. She's the ideal test subject."

"When you put it that way, it sounds worse." My fingers twist in the hem of my shirt. "But if there's even a chance others are corrupted... if we can learn what to look for..."

It's practical, Selene offers. But you're asking the wrong question.

"What do you mean?"

The real question isn't whether you're a bad person. It's whether you can live with the consequences of your choice.

"Consider this," Grimoire says, finally righting himself. "What would Ivy choose, if given the option? To be purified immediately, or to help protect the pack by allowing us to study the corruption's effects?"

"That's not fair. She'd choose to help the pack because that's what she thinks will prove her loyalty. She'd martyr herself for a chance at acceptance."

But then I feel like shit for saying that, because… well, my issues with her aside, Ivy's always been devoted to her pack. I shake my head. "No. She would do it because it's the right thing to do."

Then perhaps you should respect that choice.

"But it's not her choice if we don't tell her, Selene."

struggling with this decision speaks volumes, Ava.

by feeling bad about it." I press my palms against my eyes. "We should tell her. We already know what she's going to say, right? So we don't lose out on anything. I can't just not tell

like her very much, but what's wrong is still

credit,

will deserve

feels right, even if it means giving up tactical advantages. Some things just aren't worth the cost to my

I suppose.

to Selene, floating just above her head as he pokes at her ears. "Those missing memories of yours are quite

ears flatten against her skull.

now, surely you're curious about what you've forgotten? About your connection to these divine

I said no.

tiny peek? For

tail lashes back and forth.

the good of

stay out

them like a tennis match. The bickering is almost... comforting. Normal. A break from all the

wide. "The secrets of the past, the true nature of your bond

nature of my foot up

back

He started it.

floats upside down again, his hair defying gravity this time. "I

want to go poking around

not like you're using

growl fills the room. I

bite a

bite you

interrupt, unable to keep the smile from my

"I'm simply saying, if there are memories lost, they might be important

Not

"But—"

No.

"What if—"

Also no.

"You're being unreasonable."

You're being pushy.

Selene, he does have

head droops, betrayal echoing through our bond. I thought you were on

always on your side. But that doesn't mean I can't

"Thank you,

want to know what's in my head? Selene bares her teeth. Mostly it's ways to make you

you." Grimoire circles her slowly. "But surely there must be something else in there.

my temples. "You

it, Selene repeats, but

finishing it." I fix them both with what I hope is a stern look. "Grimoire, stop pushing.

look somewhat chastened. For about three