Unshift 211
Unshift 211
211 Ava: Bringing Trouble to the Pack
There's a simple text on my phone, from an unknown number.
[UNKNOWN: Come to Dakota Sanctuary. We have a place for you. Now that you've unlocked your power, you're a danger to everyone around you.]
"Is everything okay?"
Marcus' eagle eyes must have noticed the blood draining from my face.
I don't want to lie to him, but I don't know how much he should
know about the situation.
Then again, the man's my bodyguard.
How can he effectively guard me if he doesn't know what's going
on?
Tell Lucas, Selene says, sounding grim.
I will. "This text. Probably the same as the unknown call from before." Handing Marcus my phone, I watch as his face zones out to inform Kellan or Jericho of the situation. Or both of them. Probably both. My gaze flicks to the book, but the words that had appeared moments ago are gone, leaving only those illegible runes once again. The cryptic message lingers in my mind, unsettling in its implications.
I don't like this, Ava, Selene says, her voice laced with concern. It feels like we're being herded into something.
17:38
211 Ava: Bringing Trouble to the Pack
The thought of being manipulated, of being led down a path I didn't choose, brings nothing but unease
What are our choices right now? I ask, hating the tremor in my mental voice. If my power really is a danger to everyone around
me...
I trail off, not wanting to finish that thought. The idea that I can hurt the people I care about, that my mere presence could put them at risk, is a heavy weight on my chest.
I've already hurt so many people.
But leaving isn't an option.
So what the fuck am I supposed to do?
It feels like I'm being forced into making a bad decision. There has. to be another way, right? Like Vanessa said-I was always thinking in black and white. So, now I need to find gray. Or orange. Or whatever other color it could possibly be.
Somehow.
Lucas' face flashes through my mind, and I can already imagine his reaction to this new development. Can he really keep me safe from my own power? Can I keep him safe?
The Unregistered city is an unknown, Selene says. We need to talk
we can
the only lead we have is
her.
I don't think she intends.
17.38
2/7
Trouble
admits, though I can hear the reluctance in
Her concern mirrors mine.
on, we were ready to take so many risks.
with the people we care about warning us, time after time,
After the vampire attacks?
She's learned caution.
So have I.
my attention. "Kellan and Jericho are
rising panic in my chest. Kellan and Jericho will
on others to do your work for you, Ava. You
nothing that comes to
my plans in the past have led to
found freedom
Did I?
been a niggling
Did I find freedom?
it the first stage of
317
Trouble to
but I
of the world don't. apply. Where vampires and other creatures
And Lisa's already there.
there for
go. I could save
what, some sort of exploding time bomb
just keeps rushing in circles, making me dizzy with the force
+17
to think in a moment like this, but even I have to admit that Jessa was never one to panic.
Then there's me.
out how to mend my relationship with a pack without
Vanessa.
I had done
your family realizes how much
Ava. They're nothing
you,
flaws.
4/7
<
Trouble to the
easing the pressure in
at my family as people
you've been trained to,
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