Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted - Chapter 394

Chapter 394: Ava: Casual Conversation
“Hot chocolate delivery!” Lisa’s voice carries across the clearing, and I turn to see her balancing a large tray of steaming mugs.

The kids swarm her like hungry puppies, but Lisa navigates through them with practiced grace. Her skin looks almost translucent against her dark sweater, and shadows pool under her eyes.

“Thanks for the assist.” I help her distribute the mugs, making sure each child has a secure grip before letting go. “Careful, it’s hot.”

“Blow on it first,” Lisa reminds Tommy as he tries to gulp his down.

We settle on a nearby log while the kids huddle in small groups, sipping their treats and chatting about their successful hits during training. Lisa’s hands tremble slightly as she wraps them around her mug.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine.” Lisa takes a careful sip. “Why?”

“You don’t look fine. You’re pale as the snow.”

Lisa’s free hand flies to her cheek. “Really? I feel fine, though.” She presses the back of her hand against her forehead. “No fever or anything.”

“Then what have you been up to?”

“Oh.” Lisa brightens. “I was actually training with something new the Grand Sage created.” She extends her pinky finger, showing off a delicate silver ring. “What do you think?”

I squint at the unremarkable piece of jewelry. “It’s… pretty?”

“It’s not much to look at,” Lisa admits. “But it can send up an emergency flare if I’m in trouble. It also has a secondary function, though. It can send a ten-second recording to a paired ring that the Grand Sage has. He’s been fiddling with the technology from the magic watches he created.”

“Hmm.” Not sure how to respond, I take a sip of my hot cocoa.

“It’s kind of neat. Nothing super crazy, but it might be useful.”

“Could be,” I agree, though I’m a little confused on why it would be more useful than the magic watch Lisa already has. Why send a limited voice recording with a tiny ring when you can just use your magic watch to call someone?

But I guess it might be helpful in an emergency. Still doesn’t seem that great, though.

“It also doesn’t need to be charged as often. And I can send a video of this right now. It’s pretty much undetectable, he says, so it can all happen under the nose of any vampire or Fae. This way, if I get kidnapped again, it’ll be easier to find me.” She pauses. “In theory.”

Oh, a video recording… That would make more sense. “How does that work? Wouldn’t it need a camera or something?”

“No, because it’s magic video. And no, I don’t understand any of it, so don’t ask. I can’t control where the focus of the video is, so he’s hoping to figure that out, but he did manage to get the locator working. He could find me anywhere in the compound just from using the paired rings.”

Now we’re talking. “That sounds amazing. As soon as Lucas hears about it, he’ll probably put one on every finger.”

“Every finger and toe,” Lisa agrees with a grin.

Steam rises from our mugs as we watch the kids chase each other through the snow. They’ve finished their drinks in record time, with the immunity to tongue burn that only little kids seem to have.

Tommy shows off his snowball-making technique to the group, his chest puffed with pride. He’s landed the most hits on me.

Fifteen out of twenty-eight, Grimoire reports.

“Why bring the hot chocolate out here?” The question slips out as I notice the elaborate setup. Tables and chairs, as if it was planned. “The cafeteria would have been easier.”

Lisa’s face twists. “Ivy’s back.”

My grip tightens around the ceramic mug. “What? She shouldn’t be back for at least another week.” The travel time alone should have kept her away longer.

“Her wolves were attacked.” Lisa’s voice drops. “She was the only one who made it back. Lucas and Kellan spent all morning questioning her.”

“I hadn’t heard anything about this.” A frown tugs at my lips. Why wouldn’t Lucas mention something this significant?

It isn’t common knowledge yet, Selene says softly. At least, it wasn’t until about thirty minutes ago when she showed up in the cafeteria to eat.

“How do you know that?”

Because I’m listening to the gossip right now.

I blink, realizing Selene isn’t anywhere near us. The mental image forms of her sprawled under a cafeteria table, ears perked as she eavesdrops on conversations above.

My first reaction is irritation that Lucas didn’t tell me about Ivy’s return. But even as the emotion rises, I recognize it as unfair. Lucas doesn’t typically seek me out for every development that doesn’t directly involve my responsibilities. We catch up throughout the day, sharing information as needed.

Still, this is Ivy.

You’re being territorial, Selene comments, sounding pleased.

“Shut up,” I mutter into my cocoa.

“What?” Lisa asks.

“Nothing. Just talking to my nosy wolf. Did Kellan tell you?” A tiny smidgen of jealousy flares at the idea that Kellan would take time out of his day to warn Lisa, when Lucas won’t even tell me—damn it, no. Down, Ava. You’re better than this.

You’re not.

Shut up.

“No. I got to hear all about it when her adoring fans fawned all over her, asking why she has a bandage on her face. No idea how a woman can look so glamorous with bandages on her head, but she managed to.” My best friend sounds sour; she’s very against Ivy’s existence ever since our little girl talk over the she-wolf.

Glad I’m not in the cafeteria, if that’s the subject of the day. Unable to help the bad mood that’s descended, I try to focus on enjoying the cup of hot cocoa in my hands.

“You’re going to break that cup if you hold it any tighter,” Lisa points out.

Damn it. I’ve been living with the plan to kill Ivy with kindness and acceptance, but I enjoyed her lack of presence too much. Having her back destroyed that bit of tranquility. Even with all the shit that’s happened, at least I didn’t have to see her face as she kept doing things to make her seem indispensable.

It’s hard to throw a fit when your opponent is always doing good things. I’d look absolutely out of my gourd for throwing a fit because someone helps other people or saves lives or finds a giant chunk of quartz for me to store my magic in.

Forcefully relaxing my fingers around my cup, I sip at my hot cocoa, only to blink in surprise. My cup is empty.

“Here, I’ll get you some more.” Lisa plucks the mug out of my hands, but I hold her back with a shake of my head.

“Don’t worry about it. Just stay here with me.”

“I wasn’t going to tell her you’re out here.” Lisa settles back on the log, her breath visible in the cold air.

A groan escapes me. “Is it pathetic that I’m out here avoiding another she-wolf? I mean, I’m Luna. I should be able to handle one person without hiding behind snowball-wielding children.” But damn it, it’s so freaking hard to deal with her without looking like the one being unreasonable.