Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted

Our strange captive never does wake, and we drag them on a makeshift sled. Kellan and the others make do with some long, willowy branches and armfuls of pine.

Practical skills like this are so much more impressive to me than conjuring fire out of nothing.

Really thought we'd run into the intruders out here. It's strange there's nothing.

Selene's musings almost have me tripping over my feet, and Kellan glances over his shoulder in concern.

I wave him off with a weak smile.

You mean this person isn't the reason they went off?

Selene and Grimoire are quiet.

When they're intentionally silent like this, their lack of noise has a heavier weight in my head.

My silver husky looks up from my side, and I swear her pale blue eyes are digging their disappointment straight into my stupid brain. You thought this one was responsible for the alarms?

Grimoire adds, The wards are quite a distance from camp. For all of them to go off at once, do you really think a single being could do it?

Okay. Okay, look. Maybe it was the epitome of stupidity to think that—

It was, the book confirms without hesitation.

But seriously, two epic situations at the same time? Who expects that?

Literally every wolf surrounding us at the moment, mine says. I thought you were waiting to hear from the scouts. I didn't realize you left your brain back at the hospital.

Of course. Damn it. All that hyping myself up about being a responsible and capable Luna—

She's spiraling again, Grimoire observes. Should I tell her this is an inappropriate time?

She can hear you just fine.

My groan this time isn't over their interaction. It's at me, myself, and I.

You aren't used to dealing with these kind of emergency situations, Selene offers, her attempt at understanding ringing inauthentic. You aren't trained the way they are. It's understandable you would let down your guard.

Grimoire grunts. So we lie to her now? Is that acceptable?

All right. No spiraling. No self-flagellating. Focus, focus, focus. My inexperience isn't an excuse when lives are at stake. Move on and forward.

Multiple alarms plus strange attack by strange being plus missing Ivy. Three separate, possibly related but right now separate issues. I need to figure them out instead of relying on Kellan to do it for me.noveldrama

Jogging up to catch up to the eternally polite, angry beta, I hope no one else has noticed my incredible lack of self-preservation. Of pack-preservation.

"Has anyone reported back from the perimeter?"

"No signs of intrusion detected yet." Kellan's voice maintains that crisp, professional tone that cuts worse than any angry outburst. It's not quite similar to my mother's cold distance, but it makes me feel just as small. "All of Wolf's Landing remains on high alert. We will find them, Luna."

Curious that they haven't struck, Grimoire muses. We are quite exposed out here.

It isn't that easy to find someone, even in a mile's radius. A single mile can be impossibly large when someone is hiding from detection. Selene breaks off from my side, trotting further ahead. There is a lot more than a single mile to check. We could be quite far from any of them, or they can be watching us now. That's why we must remain vigilant.

Grimoire doesn't respond, but his mental presence remains thoughtful.

Her words make sense, but I'm with Grimoire. Whoever's tripped our perimeter alarms has a reason for doing so. Wouldn't they be on the hunt for any of us? And a giant group of us, slowed down by our unexpected baggage, would be a perfect target.

That is under the assumption you—or the pack—is their target. It could be anything. Keep your mind open, Ava. The scouts haven't found their trails yet. Not a single one. That suggests there isn't an army about to burn us to the ground.

My feet falter, and Kellan's hand lashes out to grab my arm, tugging me forward. He must have thought I was about to fall.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

His eyes cut toward Selene. "Just be careful."

That's it. Just a mild rebuke. Not that he would do more than that over such a minor stumble, but my skin still crawls over how distant he's being.

I'm definitely flashing back to my life at home, feeling tiny and worthless, all over Mom's disapproval.

You aren't tiny or worthless. You're Luna. Selene's words are simple enough, but there's another whisper inside my head, telling me she's wrong.

What's wrong with you? She returns to my side and hits my thigh hard with her nose. Get out of your wallowing. Why are you acting like this?

Trauma, Grimoire says, and he sounds far away when he talks. She's struggling. Why does she keep thinking of her mother?

Fuck.

I smack my cheeks hard, the sound ringing out and causing several of the guards to look my way. Kellan frowns, his own pace finally slowing.

"Luna? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Shaking off my strange little fugue, I take a deep breath. Inadequacy will always be my trigger, I guess. That, and people I care about showing they're upset with me.

You need to work on that. Grimoire's voice sounds normal again, right in my head, clear as day.

Yeah. Straightening my shoulders and blowing out a deep breath, I focus on each step. This isn't the time to sink into bad habits or feel sorry for myself. Jesus.

I thought I was getting better, but…

Wallowing, Selene says.

Fighting the urge to smack my cheeks again—they still sting, and the cold air isn't helping—I gulp down another breath of frigid air.

Not the time, Ava. There are far more important things to focus on. Like invaders and the lives of your people.

"How is it possible no one's found anything yet?" I ask Kellan, wondering if my voice sounds weird.

He doesn't seem to notice. "It's not surprising. We don't have exact coordinates, and so far there's no scent trail. They're searching for signs of disturbance or any recent tracks, but it takes time to cover that much space."

Thinking of Selene's words, I mull it over. "Is it likely to be some sort of direct attack?"

"We would have caught the trail of any large army headed our way." His eyes flicker to my face, his brows raised just a little. I think he approves of my questions.

Thanks, Selene.

You're welcome.

"So, maybe some sort of widespread reconnaissance?"

"My guess would be it's the forward scouts. There could be a force following behind. Maybe a few hours. Maybe a day. It's impossible to tell yet."

"Forward scouts in those numbers?"

He shrugs. "It's possible. We always need to keep the worst case scenario in mind."

My shoulders relax as he continues to answer my questions. The remnants of Mom's presence fade from my head, no longer intertwined with Kellan's anger.

Different.

It's different, and so am I.

One little mistake—okay, a big mistake—and I immediately walk down roads I thought I'd closed off.

You've always done it. Just less than before.

Selene bumps against my thigh as Kellan moves on to explain the evacuation scenarios in place. Still overly polite, but no longer do I feel paralyzed by his anger.

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