Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 435: Ava: Stronger

The flames lick at the night sky, consuming our dead. Each tongue of fire carries a name, a story, a life cut short. My wolves' howls pierce the air, raw with grief, and the weight of their pain settles deep in my bones.

Selene's voice is a clear bell through the haze of exhaustion. You need rest.

The smoke stings my eyes. Or maybe those are tears. "Has everyone returned to Wolf's Landing?"

Most have. Only the families remain.

"And Lisa?"

Kellan took her home.

There was something about her tonight, something off. At one point she'd even wandered from her place; Selene was the one to alert her guards. Maybe I should have insisted she stay in her cabin for the night. "Did you notice anything strange about her?"

Humans react differently to pack grief. Selene bumps into my thigh. Even those who've lived among us struggle when hundreds of wolves channel their emotions at once. The energy can be overwhelming.

A memory surfaces—unwanted, unbidden. A crowd of shifted wolves surrounding me, their eyes bright in the dark of night. The fear that comes with such a sight… It no longer has the same effect on me, but I can still remember my days in Blackwood. "You're right. I forget sometimes, how intense it can be."

Turning away from the pyres, I walk toward Wolf's Landing. My guards follow behind, and I wonder if they took enough time to grieve. They were silent for most of the ceremony, paying more attention to my safety than the rites.

Most of the Fae are already gone, probably seeking warmth. They don't seem to like this cold. Only two remain to maintain the barrier, their magic containing our howls of mourning within these grounds.

The feel of their magic is different from mine, but familiar; it's surprising to feel a wave of vague homesickness for the Fae Ward. Not a place that was home, but one of only two places I lived as Ava. Just Ava.

Life seemed so hard then, but it's nothing compared to the responsibility weighing me down now.

Selene observes, keeping pace with me as

voice disappears, fading into a long sigh. What do I need? Lucas, safe and home. Our pack whole again. The ability to turn back time and save those twenty-seven souls.

You are strong.

last of the pyres burning against the night sky, I

Stronger.

our home—to not feel the need to run away and sacrifice myself as the

been quiet all day; grief isn't something he dabbles in much, and he's

always had a strong will, Selene retorts.

Ouch.

lights of Wolf's Landing pierce through the darkness ahead, but my feet

when she's finally spending time with her mate. They might even be in

for the human?

rise. Weren't

preferred form of

rumbles from Selene's chest. Twenty-seven of our pack

Ava's loss. But watching their bodies burn brings me

me, along with a silence that echoes Lucas' absence.

into a strong blaze, but the warm glow does nothing to chase away the emptiness. "Lisa seemed off during the rites. She wandered off a little at one point. Nearly gave me

I see.

to hear all that noise and be surrounded by hundreds of wolves. Even knowing she's safe with the pack, her body probably wanted to run." It's a feeling

you didn't run,

seem to understand my life

stronger then, too, but it was different. The kind of strong where I could just survive a little easier; that's all I ever wished for. Todd Mason's face flashes through my memory, and that beautiful, moonlit night the