Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 460

Chapter 460: Ava: Deranged Bird

Chapter 460: Ava: Deranged Bird

A man appears out of nowhere, stumbling in the snow only twenty feet from us.

My skin crawls just looking at him.

He’s dressed as if he’s homeless, with bare feet, dirty skin, and matted hair. If we were in the middle of a city somewhere, I wouldn’t think twice over his existence. Here?

It’s strange.

Where’s he from? How is he surviving this cold in his threadbare clothing? Why no shoes? And how did he just appear in front of us?

Eleanor makes a soft sound. "He looks cold," she says, and I stick my arm out in silent warning for her to stay back.

Vester growls, and my bodyguards come between us. "Who are you?" he demands of the man.

He catches me staring and throws his head back, cackling with a laugh that splits the air like a blade. It’s high-pitched, manic, bouncing off the snow around us.

"Don’t you recognize me, little wolf?" He points at me, fingers dirty and nails blackened.

We’ve seen him before, Selene murmurs. I remember his scent. It was the time you took me shopping for that terrible kibble.

"I do," I say, my voice tight. "You were in Cedarwood." My stomach twists as recognition dawns. Not full recognition, but a hint of it. I vaguely recall this: a man who’d given me the creeps, staring at us a little too intently.

His eyes are hungrier now, his posture more predatory despite his frail appearance.

He wags his finger at me, clicking his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re lying. Naughty girl. Only the wolf recognized me. Only the wolf." His voice slides up and down scales like he can’t decide what pitch to use.

He takes a step toward us, and Vester snarls, taking a step forward with his chest puffed out.

"Stay back."

The homeless man skips backward, an exaggerated hop, painfully childish for a grown man. He giggles again, a piercing, high-pitched sound.

His smile stretches too wide, revealing far too many teeth. "As we speak, blood spills

My back stiffens.

eyes narrow. "How would you

nose and winks, letting out another unsettling chuckle. His eyes never

another layer of protection. He smells wrong, Ava. Like living death. He did then,

home. I promise I won’t bite." He

answers

his disappointment. "Such a shame, such a shame. To encounter such prejudice,

my fear. "What are you?" I demand, dropping all pretense. "Because I

light up and he claps his hands like I’ve said something delightful. "Am I not human? If I am not human, then

I say flatly. "I’m

ice cracking. "Wolf, wolf, big bad wolf. It all comes back to

he sways, the hunger in

plaintive. He extends his hands, wrists pressed together. "You can bind me. I understand why you’d want to. I won’t

match

is palpable. "And

finger against his lips. "The Alpha’s sister,"

muscles lock up. He’s

talking about

you getting anything from him?

speaks with strange reluctance. He isn’t seem human, but... I don’t

my own. Are you using your powers of observation? Look at him. Any fool

it, Grimoire admits. But I truly don’t think he means us

to his hands and

begs, voice muffled. "I’m

me, Vester’s tension beside me. But I’m focused on the truth that

able to use magic?

a pause. Nothing magical about

Another long pause.

alive, Grimoire finally says. He’s a spirit. A leftover wish of someone’s soul, gone slowly mad. The

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