Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 402

Chapter 402 Ava: Reporting to Lucas

"Nothing." Vester's voice carries through the tent flap. "Not even static. Just dead air."

I pause outside the debriefing tent, my heart thudding against my ribs. The grim tone in Vester's voice makes my news about Ivy seem trivial.

"And the watch?" Lucas asks.

"Same as the others. No signal, no connection." A pause. "This isn't like Ryder. He knows better than to go dark without warning."

I push through the tent flap. Both men turn toward me, their faces drawn with concern. Maps and papers litter the table between them, markers dotting locations I don't recognize.

"How long since his last check-in?" Lucas asks Vester, though his eyes stay on me.

"Eight hours. He should have reached Jericho's location by now."

My fingers twist together. The weight of their conversation presses down on me, making my own concerns feel small. One of Lucas' deltas is missing—possibly in danger. My news about Ivy and her strange corruption can wait. It isn't as urgent.

"What is it, Ava?" Lucas' voice softens when his eyes land on me. He extends his hand toward me, an invitation I can't resist.

Stepping closer, I savor the warmth of his hand curling around mine. "It can wait. This is more important."

"If you're here, it's important." His thumb strokes over my knuckles. "Tell me."

Vester shifts, his attention moving to the maps. The illusion of privacy in a space too small for secrets.

Tell him, Selene urges.

There's something inside her. A corruption, maybe, but different from what we've seen before.

tightens.

at the maps, at the markers showing Ryder's last known position. "She passed out in the middle of telling me about it. About feeling something clawing inside

"When did this start?"

on her escort team. I'd like

Vester spreads his hands over a section of the map marked with a red X. "Blood everywhere. Signs of a

no bodies?" My

multiple

have been

the map. "Most likely. The tracks were confusing. Some led north, others south. Most were

"What about Ivy's account?"

Vester. "She described a brutal ambush. Said her entire escort died

"I believe her."

"We do, too."

her voice when she spoke of her lost pack members

map. "By her own account, she was surrounded. Yet she made it here with only minor cuts

"Could she have shifted?"

head. "She arrived

trying to make sense of it. But there are no

reach us. In that time, she didn't run into a single

settle like ice in my stomach. Either Ivy possesses skills she's never revealed, or something else carried her through that frozen wilderness. Something that left that controlled corruption

know what really happened out there." Lucas straightens, his

might be able to see traces of whatever's inside her. Maybe

response is

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