Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

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.

you know your people are in battle, right now, with vampires?" His smile stretches too wide, revealing far too many teeth. "As we speak, blood spills and

My back stiffens.

eyes narrow. "How would you know

his nose and winks, letting out another unsettling chuckle.

me, adding another layer of protection. He smells wrong, Ava.

I come with you?" the man asks, swaying slightly. "To your home. I promise

not," Vester answers before

dramatically, making a show of his disappointment. "Such a shame, such a shame. To encounter such prejudice, even this

you?" I demand, dropping all pretense. "Because I

his hands like I’ve said something delightful. "Am

say flatly.

like ice cracking. "Wolf, wolf, big bad wolf.

feels unpredictable and dangerous. The way he sways, the hunger in his gaze;

can bind me. I understand why you’d want to. I won’t fight. I won’t hurt you. I just

gesture doesn’t match the gleam in his

is palpable.

his finger against his lips. "The Alpha’s sister," he stage-whispers, then dissolves into more giggles. "But it’s

muscles lock up. He’s

about the

from him? Can you tell

silence that stretches too long, Grimoire speaks with strange reluctance. He isn’t seem human, but...

powers of observation? Look

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

drops to his hands and knees in the snow, pressing his forehead to the ground in

begs, voice muffled. "I’m

confusion behind me, Vester’s tension beside me.

use magic? I ask Grimoire. Anything you can pick up

pause. Nothing magical about

Another long pause.

of someone’s soul, gone slowly mad. The worst he could do is possess someone, but