Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted - Chapter 333

Chapter 333: Ava: Wolf’s Landing
Several days pass in relative peace, and the general atmosphere of this place has changed.

For one, it has a name now. Wolf’s Landing. Not my doing; Lisa’s. Then Kellan ran with it. And now everyone’s calling it that.

They’re starting to take pride in the place, realizing we’re here for the long haul. At least for now. It’s no longer a temporary refuge, but our new (albeit still temporary) home.

Our freezers are slowly filling. Wolves are excellent hunters, but it doesn’t mean every hunt ends in success. Two expeditions to town have filled our pantry, and a group of she-wolves have come forward to take over the general cooking.

“Why didn’t they do all this before you took over?” Lisa asks, peering over my shoulder as I doodle on paper.

“They were, but they had very few supplies to work with, and many families were just going out and feeding themselves, thinking it would be better to be self-sufficient. Some fed others they knew needed help. But it just wasn’t organized.”

“And since no one was starving, it wasn’t something that really came up.”

“Right. But if we’re going to make efficient supply runs now that our ability to go into town is limited…” I tap my pen against the paper, distracted once again. Every day, I introduce myself to at least five new people. My goal is to know all their names and families.

Aurum has been sleeping more and more lately; the pack seems under the impression that Lucas is on a mission, buying us time. For now, I need to ingratiate myself to the pack members, show them their leadership is thriving despite the situation we’re in.

Vester is back, Selene reports. He’ll be there in five minutes.

“Grimoire, Vester’s—”

I heard her, the book says testily. I’m in your head too, you know.

Yeah, yeah. Thumping my knuckles against his cover, I remind him, “You know I’m technically your master, right?”

It’s a tidbit Selene let me know during a particularly sassy lesson; the bond I have with Grimoire is very different than my mating bond and my bond with Selene. He isn’t a part of me, but a spirit pledged to serve me.

In other words, he’s my servant. Or—well, there’s a worse word for it, but I try to avoid that one.

An uneducated master, he mutters.

“I can always order you to—”

But a benevolent and wise master you are, yes.

His false praise has my lips twitching, and Lisa sits across the table, resting her chin in her hand. “I really wish you could see this from my point of view sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” Now that I’m done teasing Grimoire, I slide him into a messenger bag Kellan brought back during their supply run. It’s sturdy and perfectly sized for Grimoire’s hefty weight.

“You just say things out of nowhere, and I’m always having to fill in the gaps on my own.”

“Ah.” I grimace. “Sorry. I was just teasing Grimoire.”

“It’s fine, Ava. I just think it’s kind of funny. You should see some of the story lines I’ve cooked up watching you guys.”

Adjusting the strap of Grimoire’s new home, I squint at Lisa, noticing the watch on her wrist for the first time today. “Is that—?”

“No, it’s just a watch. See?” When she holds it up, I can read the time clearly. “The Grand Sage is pretty close to the first prototype, though. He said your little crystal things helped.”

Grimoire taught me to infuse some of my magic into quartz. It’s a readily available mineral, and the young children have fun looking for stones with quartz in them, keeping them out of their parents’ hair and giving them something to do.

Quartz, especially in the concentrations found in these random rocks, doesn’t hold a lot of my magic, but it’s enough to at least turn into some sort of battery for the tinkering gnome. I have no idea how it works; I just do as I’m told.

Today, though, we have another mission in mind.

Creating my first security wards, and keeping my pack safe.

I lean down to hug Aurum, his warm fur soft against my cheek. He’s sprawled across the couch, dead to the world. “I’ll be back soon,” I whisper, though I doubt he hears me.

Lisa’s voice comes from behind me. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him until Selene gets back.”

I straighten up, turning to face her. “Thanks. Selene shouldn’t be gone too long. She’s just out hunting.”

“We’ll be fine here.”

A knot of worry tightens in my chest. “If anything happens—”

“I know, I know. Tell the guards to tell Selene.” Lisa rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “You’ve only said it about a hundred times.”

I sigh, frustration bubbling up. “I hate how roundabout this is. If I could just access the pack bond myself…”

“But you can’t, so we work with what we’ve got.” Lisa’s tone is gentle but firm.

Giving Aurum one last pat, I sink my fingers into his thick fur. He doesn’t stir, his breathing deep and even. Vanessa’s assured us he’s just sleeping, and Selene tells me he’s not in danger, but it still worries me to see him like this.

Still, it’s probably a good sign that he’s sleeping. Sleeping is healing and all that.

“Alright, I’m off,” I say, heading for the door.

Outside, the breeze bites through my sweater, warning me that winter’s around the corner. Slipping my coat on helps with the chill, but not as much as I’d like. It’s fine for a quick walk through camp, but it’s going to be brutal later, especially once the sun goes down.

“Luna.”

I turn to see Vester approaching, his expression serious as always.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

I pat the messenger bag at my side, feeling the reassuring weight of Grimoire inside. “As I’ll ever be.”

Vester nods, his eyes flicking to the bag. “Then let’s get started. Where first? North?”