Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 22 Ava: Paranoia and Secrets (lll)

| try to slip the crystal back into the drawer of my nightstand, but Selene darts forward, her body wriggling

betweenand the furniture like a furry battering ram. With a huff of frustration, I pull my hand back, the

crystal still clutched in my fist.

"Selene, down," | scold, but she remains resolutely in my path, those pale blue eyes fixed on the object in my

grasp.

Realizing this is a battle | won't win, I shove the crystal into the pocket of my jeans, ignoring the uneasy weight

that seems to settle in my gut at its presence. Selene's tail wags, and she trots back toward the kitchen, pausing

every few steps to glance over her shoulder, as if ensuring | follow.

The aroma of the sautéed vegetables greetsas | re-enter the kitchen, and my stomach rumbles in

anticipation. But as | move to finish plating the meal, Selene darts underfoot, nearly sendingsprawling. |

sidestep her clumsily, shooting her a glare.

"What has gotten into you?" | mutter, stirring the contents of the pan with perhaps more force than necessary.

Selene whines, her nose pointed toward the front door, and understanding dawns.

"All right, all right." I rush over to open the front door.

But Selene remains rooted to the spot, her gaze flickering betweenand the door, an insistent whine escaping

her. | frown as realization sets in—she wantsto cwith her.

"You can't be serious," | groan, but her resolute stare tellsshe's dead serious. "Fine, but just a quick walk. I'm

starving."

With a sigh, | scrape the food onto a plate and shove it into the microwave, resigning myself to eating a

lukewarm dinner in favor of appeasing my restless companion.

Selene's tail wags furiously as | clip the leash onto her collar, and she darts out the door the second it's open

wide enough, nearly yankingoff my feet. | stumble after her, the crystal in my pocket seeming to grow

heavier with every step.

The crisp evening air is a welcrelief after the stuffy confines of the apartment, and | find myself falling into

an easy rhythm, my earlier unease fading into the background. Selene trots ahead, her nose twitching as she

investigates every nook and cranny, but her path seems guided by sunseen force.

| should protest, should insist we turn back before we venture too far from home, but sinexplicable force

holds my tongue. Instead, | let Selene lead, trusting in the bond we've forged over these past few months.

Half an hour later, I'm feeling extrregret. We've made it to a nearby park, which is essentially a trail going

through a small bit of city forest. My food is cold at home, and we have at least a half hour of walking to get back

home. I'm hungry and worn out from the day, and | keep looking around like someone's about to pop out of the

shadows to kidnap me.

"Selene, we need to go home. I'm starving." | tug at her leash, but she ignores it. "Selene. Con. Now!" | tug

harder and try to start walking in the opposite direction.

She almost yanksoff my feet, and | stumble, barely catching myself before | fall. "You've gotta be kidding

me." | sigh. Selene's not usually one for these kinds of shenanigans. "Okay. Okay! | get it, you aren't done."

She hasn't gone potty once. Maybe she needs to walk longer.

I follow Selene's lead as she veers off the trail and into the shadowed treeline, the crunch of fallen leaves and

twigs beneath my boots echoing in the stillness. A shiver skitters down my spine. | can't help but touch the

crystal in my pocket, gleaning a little sense of security when I touch it.

Moonlight filters through the canopy in dappled streaks, casting an eerie glow over our path. Selene forges

ahead, her movements purposeful, almost urgent. | tighten my grip on the leash, my heart thrumming a staccato

rhythm against my ribcage.

This isn't like her. Selene has always been a relatively well-behaved companion, her antics limited to the

occasional bout of mischief around the apartment. But this? This single-minded determination to leaddeeper

into the shadows feels different. Foreboding.

A bead of sweat trickles down the nape of my neck as the air seems to thicken around us, the scent of damp

earth and decaying foliage taking on an almost cloying quality. My pulse quickens, each breath growing

shallower as an unfamiliar heat blossoms deep in my abdomen.

What is happening to me?

Selene pauses, her nose twitching as she scents the air, and | take the opportunity to glance around, trying to

get my bearings. But the trees seem to blur together, an endless maze of bark and branches that offers no clear

path of escape.

A tremor wracks my frame, my fingers clenching spasmodically around the leash as a wave of dizziness washes

over me. The world tilts precariously, the shadows lengthening and distorting until they seem to reach out with

gnarled tendrils, seeking to ensnare me.

| squeeze my eyes shut, fighting against the disorientation, but it does little to quell the roiling in the pit of my

stomach. Something is happening—something | can't begin to comprehend. But every fiber of my being screams

that something's wrong.

A low whine from Selene breaks through the haze, and | force my eyes open, blinking rapidly to clear the spots

from my vision. She stands before me, her pale gaze locked on mine, and in that moment, | see a flicker of

something—a spark of recognition, of understanding.

She knows.

The realization is like a punch to the gut, stealing what little breath remains in my lungs. Selene has been trying

to tellall along, and I've been too blind, too stubborn to listen.

The crystal seems to pulse in my pocket, its weight now a tangible thing, a tether bindingto this moment,

this path I've been set upon.

Selene steps closer, her nose touching mine, cold and wet. Then, a whisper in my mind. Hello, my human. I'm so

glad you're finally listening.

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