Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 75

75 Lucas: Going In

LUCAS 

The air is thick with tension as we approach the heart of the Blackwood pack lands. Every step is calculated, every movement deliberate. One false move can jeopardize everything. A single shifter can alert an entire pack.

I can’t afford that.

Not when Ava’s life hangs in the balance.

Vester moves like a wraith beside me, his footfalls silent despite the underbrush beneath our boots. The four shifters flanking us are some of the most loyal and strongest members of the pack, well–versed in reconnaissance. Between their skills and the scent diffusers coating us to avoid detection, we make it through their territory without incident.

Our cars are still in White Peak, so getting Ava out will be an ordeal, especially since she can’t shift. Alpha Xavier’s offer of help has come in handy; once we get her, we just have to call in a distraction.

13:05

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75 Lucas Going In

Hopefully by the time they realize what it is, we’ll be in cars and on our way back to Westwood lands.

Nightfall cloaks our approach as we close in on the Grey home, a modest suburban home to the edge of the territory, as most high–ranking wolves are. No wolf likes to be enclosed on all sides by buildings.

Vester signals for us to hold position as he links with Ryder, who’s already with the Silvermoon forces. With the Whispering Pines pack territory between

Silvermoon and Blackwood, Xavier had to submit an informal request to the Whispering Pines pack to allow his forces through.

The Whispering Pines pack has turned a blind eye to the situation, allowing them to camp on the border of their lands, and now we have a distraction from a direction that bastard Blackwood would never expect.

Moments later, Ryder links with me. They’re in

position near the border and ready to cause a stir. All we have to do is wait.

Each minute passes with agonizing peace. I can see the occasional flash of Ava in her window, looking stressed as she paces. Two guards stroll the perimeter.

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75 Lucas Gongr

They aren’t even ranked wolves; they’re weak. It won’t be hard to overpower them before they can alert

anyone.

Then, much as a small flame can burst into an inferno. there’s activity. A flurry of it, seen in glimpses through bright windows.

Alexander Grey and his daughter, Jessa, rush out of the house, taking separate cars. They’re silent, though I imagine their minds are cacophonous with pack links.

Grace is still inside. She’s weaker than she appears, but she’s intelligent. We’ll have to avoid her mind–linking to warn anyone of what’s going on here.

I nod to Vester and the four shifters we’ve dragged

into this mess of a mission.

Vester, you’re with me. We have to overpower the beta’s mate before she can sound the alarm. You four, break off into pairs and take the guards. Remember, they can’t have the chance to mind–link any of their pack, or we’ll be fighting all of them. 

They all nod in unison, faces grim and determined.

Let’s go. 

75 Lucas: Going In

We move in a tight formation, the world around us fading into our breath, our every movement. My focus narrows to the scents drifting on the crisp night air- humid summer nights, pine trees, and the scent of a particular brand of perfume, with jasmine and honey

notes carried through an open window.

A silent hand signal, and we split off. Vester and I veer toward the back entrance while the others flank the guards patrolling the perimeter. Time slows as we wait with bated breath for the telltale signs of engagement.

Suddenly, a muffled grunt shatters the silence. followed by another in rapid succession. The guards have been neutralized with ruthless efficiency, just as we’d planned.

Vester meets my gaze. No words are necessary; a single nod and we proceed. The door is unlocked, to our surprise, but as one we slip through it, our steps a mere breath against the hardwood floors.

Perfumed fragrance tickles my nose as it grows stronger. My wolf strains against its restraints, growling with the thirst for the hunt. But I can’t afford to lose control, not yet. Not until Ava is safe.