Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 111

111 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (IV)

LISA 

Three fucking weeks.

No matter how many times I count, it’s been three fucking weeks.

The calendar on my wall mocks me, today’s date staring me in the face from any particular point of my

kitchen.

Selene whines when I nearly step on her paw for the third time this morning. “Sorry, girl. Give me a second, and we’ll go see her.”

I’m drenched in sweat. Jericho hasn’t blinked a single eyelash over Ava being in the hospital, and we’ve all settled into a new kind of normal.

It’s not normal at all, but it’s life now. At least until Ava

wakes up again.

I’m stronger. Fastér, though nothing compared to these shifters who surround me. I’m learning some basic self–defense, and Selene has helped with the hands–on training to evade and defend against wolf

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111 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (IV)

attacks.

I have bruises and wounds everywhere, and a few of them have even gotten infected, but Healer Vanessa is a godsend who always has some magical cream on her somewhere. Antibacterial, antifungal, prevents scarring, and smells divine. I have no idea why they

don’t sell it in the human markets.

Probably because they’d never be able to keep up with the demand. For all I know, it probably reduces wrinkles, too. Shifters age well, though, so who knows. Maybe they don’t need wrinkle cream.

I slip into the shower, with Selene’s reproachful blue eyes watching me.

The water pounds against my back, a blistering reminder of just how tense I’ve been. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to punch something.

Preferably Kellan, if he was even here. He’s not as scary as Lucas, but just high enough in the pecking order to earn my rage.

He hasn’t been around much lately, too busy running the Westwood pack while Lucas plays vigilant mate at the hospital. I get it, I do. Lucas has every right to be

111 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (IV)

there, and Kellan has every responsibility to keep things running smoothly. But fuck if I don’t feel like I’m drowning in this new world without any sort of lifeline.

Vanessa’s in the same boat. She hasn’t seen her mate, some high–up shifter in the pack called Vester, in two weeks, not since he left for the Blackwood territory to keep things running there. I can’t even imagine how she’s holding up, but she never lets it show. Always the consummate professional, that one.

I shut off the water and step out, wrapping myself in a towel that feels too soft against my skin. Everything in this place is too soft, too luxurious.

I miss Ava.

She should be here with me. Selene’s finally here. We should be connected, a trio whose first priority is always what fun is around the corner.

Instead, she’s lying in a hospital bed, unresponsive to the world around her. And the rumors are already flying.

I can hear them whispered in the halls, see them in the sidelong glances thrown my way. The Blackwood

111 Lisa: Ava’s Absence (IV)

daughter, unconscious in a Westwood hospital. It’s a political nightmare, even I can see that.

The Council is rallying behind Westwood, but Jericho says there’s a lot of movement in the shadows. He’s been training me harder than ever, teaching me how to defend myself against any threat.