Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 195 Ava: A Familiar Face

| never expected to add my former boss being held up by a flock of bodyguards, a solid thousand miles from

Cedarwood, to my list of fucked up shit that happened today.

So it takes a minute forto process what I'm hearing.

"Mrs. Elkins?"

Selene flattens against the ground, her ears going back as she belly-crawls her way to my bench.

Her bizarre demeanor doesn't even register in my head, because—well, frankly, she's been weird as hell for the

past several hours.

"Ava! My dear girl."

Those familiar rheumy eyes and her welcoming smile haveso intensely, terribly homesick for Cedarwood

that | have to blink like a maniac to keep the tears at bay. "Mrs. Elkins, how did you get here? And on pack

lands?"

Vanessa follows behind as | push my way through the bodyguards, who refuse to letget too close.

"Calm down, boys. She's a friend of our Luna."

Vanessa's at least forty years younger than any of these men, but they respond to her words anyway, letting me

through their human barricade.

I've got to figure out how to wield whatever flimsy authority | have. Even Vanessa gets people to listen to her.

Granted, she's a healer—no one wants to get on a healer's bad side. Not even the alpha.

Reaching the old woman, | can see that she's carrying a huge parcel, hugging it to her chest.

"Ava, my dear. Are you all right?"

Her hand shakes as she reaches for my face, as though reassuring herself I'm really alive.

"I'm fine."

| grasp Mrs. Elkins' hand in mine. It's delicate and fragile, her paper-thin skin soft against my palm. My mind is

still working at wrapping itself around her being here, in the flesh, a thousand miles from home.

"How did you get here, Mrs. Elkins? | mean, not that I'm not happy to see you, but... how?"

She sighs, the sound weary and drawn out. "Oh, Ava, it's a story for the ages. But that can wait." Her eyes, sharp

despite their age, sweep overwith a critical gleam. "You've lost weight, Ava. Have you been eating

properly?"

| shake my head, a rueful smile tugging at my lips. "Actually, I've gained weight. Even though I look skinnier.

Must be all the muscle I've put on during training."

Her brows knit together in concern. "And you're here of your own will? These people..." She glances warily at the

stoic bodyguards flanking us.

"No, no, Mrs. Elkins," | assure her quickly. "None of these people are the ones who tookfrom Cedarwood. |

promise."

She frowns at the bodyguards, their impassive stares unwavering under her scrutiny. Vanessa mutters something

about bull-headed men before turning to Mrs. Elkins with a polite smile. "Why don't we head inside? I'm sure

you've had a long journey."

The bodyguards tense, their postures shifting subtly to block the path. Vanessa's eyes narrow, and she takes a

moment, her gaze unfocused. Mind-linking, | realize. Probably with Jericho.

"Jericho will be here shortly," she explains to Mrs. Elkins, her tone apologetic. "But I'm afraid we can't let you

inside without approval from the head of security. Protocol, you understand."

Mrs. Elkins titters, waving a hand. "Of course, of course. | understand completely." She reaches into her pocket,

pulling out a small ziplock bag. "Here, Ava. | brought you sof your favorite cookies.

Homemade, of course."

My heart swells at the gesture, and | reach for the bag with a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Elkins. You have no idea

how much I've missed—"

Before my fingers can close around the bag, it's snatched out of my hands.

| whirl on the bodyguard in question. "What the hell? Give that back!"

He meets my glare with a stoic expression. "I'm sorry, Luna, but we'll have to check these for safety before you

can have them."

"Safety?" | echo, disbelief coloring my tone. "Mrs. Elkins would never hurt me. She savedin Cedarwood.

She's a genuinely good person."

Another guard steps forward, professional and blank-faced as he addresses Mrs. Elkins. "Ma'am, can you explain

how you entered pack lands without detection? And how you made it all the way to the alpha lodge?"

There's suspicion thick in his voice, and | see Vanessa tense from the corner of my eye. Mrs. Elkins looks around

at the hostile faces, bewilderment plain on her features.

"Ava, dear, are you in ssort of trouble?"

Glancing at my guards, all on alert and intent on savingeven from a little old woman, I sigh.

Their questions are imminently reasonable, and I'm wondering the sthings. Not to mention—Selene's hiding

under the bench is beyond suspicious.

| can't shake the feeling that I'm about to hear answers I'll regret having heard.

No matter how I look at this situation, for an old woman to have accidentally stumbled ontohere, a thousand

miles away, without knowing my true identity...

There's something more going on.

Straightening my shoulders, | take a deep breath, ready to side with my bodyguards against the sweetest

woman in the world.

"No, Mrs. Elkins. But we are going to need sanswers."

She hugs her parcel a little closer to her chest, looking over each of my bodyguards in turn, before nodding to

herself. Her faded eyes crinkle at the corners as she offers them a placating smile. "I didn't walk through your

pack lands, dears. That's why | haven't run into anyone on my way here."

My brows knit together in confusion. If she didn't walk through the pack lands, then how did she get here?

There's no way she could have made it to the lodge without someone stopping her.

The bodyguards share my bewilderment, their postures tense and wary.

Vanessa steps forward, her voice gentle but firm. "Mrs. Elkins, I'm afraid we don't understand. How did you get to

the alpha lodge if not through the pack lands?"

Mrs. Elkins chuckles, the sound warm and familiar, and | feel a pang of homesickness so intense it steals my

breath. "Oh, | cdirectly from Cedarwood, of course. Straight to the alpha lodge."

Straight from Cedarwood? That's impossible. Cedarwood is a thousand miles away. There's no way she could

have just appeared here, unless...

My thoughts are interrupted by Mrs. Elkins' voice, soft and knowing. "Ava, dear."

| meet her gaze, and there's a glimmer in her eyes that | can't quite place. Something ancient and wise, a secret

knowledge that I'm not privy to.

"Did the necklace return to you safely?"

The necklace. My hand flies to my throat, where the amethyst pendant once rested against my skin. The same

necklace that had been lost, only to reappear in my suitcase, broken and bloodstained.

It's not onnow, but the ghostly weight of it remains.

"How did you know about the necklace?" My voice is barely above a whisper, my heart pounding so hard that it

deafens my ears.

Mrs. Elkins smiles, and it's a smile I've seen a thousand times before. Warm, comforting, and tinged with a hint of

mischief. "Oh, Ava. There's so much you don't know. So much | couldn't tell you before."

She steps closer, and my security team goes tense, ready to intervene. But Mrs. Elkins pays them no mind, her

focus solely on me.

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