Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 402 Ava: Reporting to Lucas

"Nothing." Vester's voice carries through the tent flap. "Not even static. Just dead air."

| pause outside the debriefing tent, my heart thudding against my ribs. The grim tone in Vester's voice makes my

news about Ivy seem trivial.

"And the watch?" Lucas asks.

"Sas the others. No signal, no connection." A pause. "This isn't like Ryder. He knows better than to go dark

without warning."

| push through the tent flap. Both men turn toward me, their faces drawn with concern. Maps and papers litter

the table between them, markers dotting locations | don't recognize.

"How long since his last check-in?" Lucas asks Vester, though his eyes stay on me.

"Eight hours. He should have reached Jericho's location by now."

My fingers twist together. The weight of their conversation presses down on me, making my own concerns feel

small. One of Lucas' deltas is missing—possibly in danger. My news about Ivy and her strange corruption can

wait. It isn't as urgent.

"What is it, Ava?" Lucas' voice softens when his eyes land on me. He extends his hand toward me, an invitation |

can't resist.

Stepping closer, | savor the warmth of his hand curling around mine. "It can wait. This is more important."

"If you're here, it's important." His thumb strokes over my knuckles. "Tell me."

Vester shifts, his attention moving to the maps. The illusion of privacy in a space too small for secrets.

Tell him, Selene urges.

"It's Ivy." The words tumble out. "She's sick—but it's more than that. There's something inside her. A corruption,

maybe, but different from what we've seen before. More controlled."

Lucas' grip tightens. "Controlled how?"

"It pulses with her emotions. Responds to them. And she's aware of it, even if she doesn't understand what it is."

| glance at the maps, at the markers showing Ryder's last known position. "She passed out in the middle of

tellingabout it. About feeling something clawing inside her."

"When did this start?"

"After the attack on her escort team. I'd like to know more about that."

"The attack site was... messy." Vester spreads his hands over a section of the map marked with a red X. "Blood

everywhere. Signs of a serious fight."

"But no bodies?" My stomach churns.

"None." Lucas' jaw tightens. "The snow was disturbed enough to suggest multiple casualties, but we found no

remains. The blood patterns indicated fatal wounds."

"Could they have been taken?"

Vester traces a line on the map. "Most likely. The tracks were confusing. Sled north, others south. Most were

obscured by fresh snowfall before we arrived."

"What about Ivy's account?"

Lucas exchanges a look with Vester. "She described a brutal ambush. Said her entire escort died protecting her."

"I believe her."

"We do, too."

Despite our issues, the raw pain in her voice when she spoke of her lost pack members rang true. "But how did

she survive?"

"That's what troubles us." Lucas releases my hand to lean over the map. "By her own account, she was

surrounded. Yet she made it here with only minor cuts and bruises."

"Could she have shifted?"

Vester shakes his head. "She arrived human, fully clothed."

| study the map, trying to make sense of it. But there are no answers.

"There's another thing." Lucas taps the attack site. "It took her three days to reach us. In that time, she didn't

run into a single patrol. None of our scouts picked up her scent until she was practically at our doorstep. Nothing

that worried us before, but..."

The implications settle like ice in my stomach. Either Ivy possesses skills she's never revealed, or something else

carried her through that frozen wilderness. Something that left that controlled corruption inside her.

"We need to know what really happened out there." Lucas straightens, his expression grim.

"I can help with that." The words cout before | can stop them. "I might be able to see traces of whatever's

inside her. Maybe track it back to its source."

"No." Lucas' response is immediate. "It's too dangerous."

"| agree with Lucas." Vester's normally calm voice carries an edge of concern. "If something out there can take

down an entire escort and possibly one of our deltas, we can't risk you exposing yourself to it."

| shake my head. "I don't mean I'm going to run out and chase it down. | mean here. With Ivy. Our source." The

corruption pulses in my memory, so different from the chaotic taint I've been fighting. Understanding it could be

key to everything we're facing. "And if this somehow spreads to others, we need to know."

Lucas studiesfor a long moment. "Only if you take precautions. And you don't attempt to interact with

whatever's inside her without discussing it first."

"Agreed." It's an easy promise to make. Right now, | just need to understand what we're dealing with.

Be careful, Selene warns. This feels like a trap.

Everything feels like a trap lately, | reply, but | know she's right. Whatever happened to Ivy's escort, whatever's

happening to her now, it's all connected to something bigger.

Hopefully not something that's been waiting for us to notice it.

Lucas' fingers brush against my arm, drawing my attention back to him. "Thank you for telling us this, Ava."

Heat rises to my cheeks at his praise, but more than that, the knot of anxiety in my chest loosens. I'd thought

briefly that | should walk away, that Ryder's situation was more urgent. Now, pulling together the extra

information, it seems that Ivy's situation is worse than | thought. | wouldn't have known if I'd swallowed my

words and walked away.

"I almost didn't. It felt small compared to what you were talking about." Admitting the truth makesfeel a

little like a child asking for more praise, though.

"Nothing about this situation is small." Lucas pullscloser, his warmth steady and reassuring. "Your ability to

sense these things, to notice what others might miss—it's invaluable. Don't ever hesitate to bring your concerns

to me."

Vester nods in agreement. "The smallest detail can reveal the largest threats. If you hadn't mentioned this about

Ivy, we might have missed a crucial step in our investigation. More lives could be at stake."

My gaze drifts to the maps again, seeing them with new eyes. Every marker, every note that might be

significant. How many other "small" things have we overlooked?

Lucas squeezes my shoulder. "We need every piece of information, every observation. Your perspective helps us

see patterns we might otherwise miss. Don't underestimate the importance of what you know."