Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 431

Chapter 431: Ava: Ivy's Fate

Magister Orion and his Fae friends are settled into the Grand Sage's cabin, though there isn't much room. Elverly, shockingly, takes it all in stride, without a single complaint. She treats the Fae with respect; it's so strange, coming out of that cranky old gnome woman. Is she ill?

Magister Orion settles into his vigil over the dream-eater, and the weight of responsibility lifts from my shoulders, if only for a moment. He's the only other person who can help me in this situation.

It's nice to have backup.

I am here, Grimoire points out.

It's not the same.

The question burns in my throat, but I need to know. Everyone else has left the room—once Elverly's room, but we've moved her bed into the Grand Sage's in order to use it as a temporary holding cell—except for Magister Orion, who studies the dream-eater's unconscious form with intense focus.

"Magister." My voice is soft; it's hard to let the words come out. "I need to ask you something."

His eyes meet mine. "Yes, child?"

"Ivy Shadowpine. She's a wolf shifter, a strong one. She's been missing since the dream-eater appeared at our hospital."

His head inclines slightly, encouraging me to go on.

"There was a strange feeling within her, something that felt corrupted and alive inside her."

His expression shifts, a subtle tightening around his eyes. "You suspect possession."

"Is it possible?" Heat rises to my face. "Could the dream-eater have taken over her body?" It's a fantastical question, especially once the dream-eater showed a form that doesn't look anything like Ivy. But she's still missing, and there's no other conclusion I can come to.

the creature. His massive frame seems to grow still,

answer is expected, but still horrifying. My stomach

gestures to the dream-eater. "These creatures do not possess in the way you are thinking; they leave

The words stick in my throat. It's hard to

quite some time. The signs would have been subtle. The dream-eater did not take her body, but stole her form. If you wolves did not

this creature was walking among us, wearing her face. Her voice. Even her scent.

learned her mannerisms, her relationships." Magister Orion

breaks through the conversation as

me. "Go. Rest. I

Could you call Vanessa to

over for a

* * *

admits she suspected much of the same. We both wonder how

table offering little comfort. The scent of coffee fills the air—rich, bitter, and mildly nauseating, like the thoughts swirling in my mind. Lisa's quiet sips from the couch punctuate

The words are dirt in my

voice carries that stern Beta authority, probably because the

steely gaze. "It has to come from me. It would be disrespectful..." My voice trails off. The memory of Ivy confiding

does Lucas do this?

Dark circles ring her eyes, testament to the chaos of

matter-of-fact, but it makes sense when she faces death so regularly. I don't wish I had her experience, but I do wish I

brain can't handle it anymore.

silence stretches. Vanessa's shoulders slump further. "Twenty-seven confirmed. Three more are critical. The others…

Twenty-seven.

My heart aches.

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