Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 112

112 Ava: Waking Up

Darkness.

Light.

So cold.

It burns.

My lungs ache.

Something’s holding me down.

There are whispers. Prayers, I think.

Chaos reigns in this hazy world. Something beeps. incessantly.

I’m sweating. My hands are too warm.

1. up. 

What’s that?

… Ava, you…

Who’s that?

can you hear me? 

I struggle to reach the voice that calls me,

but

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112 Ava: Waking Up

something sucks me away again.

Frustration simmers, but I’m too tired to fight it.

Ava, you have to wake up. 

There it is again.

I know you can hear me, because I can finally hear you. 

Hear me? Hear me what? Am I talking?

Yes. 

No, I don’t think I’m talking. I’m too tired. My body is crushed beneath the earth. Fire ate every last bit of me. I drowned. The air was sucked away.

You’re alive. You’re asleep in the hospital. You’re just fine. You just need to wake up. 

No, no.

No, no, no.

Waking is pain.

I remember the pain.

There will be no pain, Ava. Just wake up. Come back to 

1. me.

No way.

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< 112 Ava: Waking Up

It’s peaceful here, in this hazy place.

Ava, you have to come back. This is not where you 

should be. 

No place for me? But I’m here, in this serenity of darkness. I feel pain, but it doesn’t kill me. It isn’t enough to kill me.

You won’t die, Ava. You’re alive.

Alive.

Alive means death-

Ava, that’s enough. Wake up. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You never died. Wake. Up! 

***

My eyes crack open. They feel like sandpaper scraping against my lids. Everything is blurry, shapes indistinct. White. Harsh lights.

Ava.

Selene. Her voice is warm honey in my mind,

comforting. Grounding. I try to speak but my throat is parched, voice a ragged whisper. “Selene?”

A wet nose presses into my palm. The slight weight of

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112 Ava Waking Up

her head resting on my hand. I turn my head slowly, painfully. She’s there, silver fur shining, blue eyes bright with intelligence and worry.

You’re awake. Relief colors her tone.

I swallow dryly, my tongue heavy and thick. “What happened?” The words scrape out.

Later. Rest now. She nuzzles into my arm. I want to protest but exhaustion drags me under again.

Someone’s calling my name, but I’m already gone.

***

Awareness returns gradually. The steady beep of a heart monitor. The chemical scent of disinfectant.

Starched sheets rough against my skin. An IV pinches the back of my hand.

My eyelids are heavy but I force them open. The ceiling swims into focus–white tiles, fluorescent lights. A hospital. Selene is curled up beside me, a comforting warmth.

Welcome back. Her relief washes over me.

Lucas and Lisa are here. They’re asking me questions, one talking over the other. It’s painful to my ears.

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Three weeks, Selene whines softly. We were so 

worried.

Easy, Selene cautions as I waver, dizzy. You’ve been 

through a lot. 

Lucas reaches for my face, his fingers hesitant and gentle against my skin. Warmth flows between us, a feeling of comfort, and the urge to press my cheek into his hand, nuzzling close.

For so long, I yearned to shift, to run beneath the moon. To be whole. But now, with all the strangeness surrounding my heritage, the idea fills me with trepidation. I flick a glance toward my wolf, disguised as a husky for a reason she has yet to explain, and her ears flick as she licks my face, settling into my lap as though she’s a lap dog.

Don’t be afraid, Selene soothes, sensing my unease. This is natural for you 

Natural. The word tastes like ashes on my tongue. Nothing about my life has been natural. Is Vanessa right? Are you going to be a part of me now?