Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted

Magister Orion is long gone. Tea stands cold in my cup and my reflection stares back at me from the kitchen window, hollow-eyed and pale.

My phone sits, dark and accusatory on the table in front of me. Twenty-seven dead. Twenty-eight, if I count Ivy.

You're stalling, Selene says.

"I know." This phone call has been put off too long. A single day has felt like a week, but it doesn't excuse how I didn't call my allied alpha to inform him of his sister's disappearance.

And how am I supposed to explain why we believe she's dead?

My fingers shake as I reach for the phone. The screen lights up, too bright in the dim kitchen. Clayton's number is far down the list of recent contacts, untouched since before everything went wrong.

When things were peaceful, and I still thought my world was chaos.

The phone feels heavy in my hand as I press the call button. Each ring echoes like a death knell.

"Rowan speaking."

The greeting throws me off balance. I'd prepared myself for Clayton's voice. Instead, Rowan's steady tone fills my ear.

"Beta Goldstein." My voice is less confident than I want it to be. "This is Luna Ava Grey of Westwood. I need to speak with Alpha Shadowpine."

A pause stretches between us, loaded with unspoken questions.

"Luna Grey." Rowan's voice softens immediately. "I'm afraid Clayton is indisposed at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?"

My chest tightens. "No, I... I need to speak with him directly. It's about Ivy."

Another pause, longer this time. "I see."

Muffled voices filter through the line before Clayton's familiar tone replaces Rowan's. "Luna Grey." His formal greeting will forever sound strange to me.

My fingers press against my stomach, willing the nausea away. "Alpha Shadowpine."

"What's happened to my sister?"

No pleasantries. No small talk. The direct question pierces through my carefully constructed speech.

"There was an attack. A creature breached our hospital defenses yesterday. Ivy disappeared during the attack." My voice stays steady, detached. Clinical. Like I'm reading a report instead of delivering devastating news. "The creature was unlike anything we've encountered. It moved like a shadow, but took a wolf's form."

A sharp inhale cuts through the line. "How many casualties?"

"Twenty-seven dead, more injured."

Silence stretches between us. The kitchen window reflects my pale face, dark circles prominent under my eyes. I look haggard and worn down.

"I'll send men immediately." Clayton's voice carries a forced calm, as if he's trying to control his emotions. The siblings are close; this news has to be devastating for him. "My beta can lead a search party—"

"Alpha Shadowpine." I clear my throat, wishing it was easier to give this news. "There's more."

"More?"

"We... captured the creature after the attack." My free hand curls into a fist as I struggle to find the proper words. "It's not Ivy, but it is likely that it wore her form for some time. The creature was identified as a monstrosity of nature we call a dream-eater. Something created that should not exist in this world."noveldrama

"A what?"

"A constructed being. It's not alive, exactly, but it has its own consciousness. And—"

"Where is Ivy?" Clayton's voice turns sharp; it's clear he's now understanding the full meaning of this call.

"We believe Ivy was consumed. That the dream-eater took everything she was."

The silence that follows feels endless.

"You're certain?" His words sound detached, but they're barely a whisper across the phone line.

"As certain as we can be without her body. I'm sorry, Clayton. We never suspected—"

"I'm coming myself." Papers rustle in the background. "Keep the creature contained until I arrive, please."

"Of course, but Clayton—"

The line goes dead before he responds, and I lean back in my chair with a long sigh.

* * *

Maybe you should get some more sleep, Selene says when I stumble for the fifth time.

"Are you okay, Ava?" Lisa grabs my arm. "You've been working too hard. I don't think you should be here helping with construction."

"All I've done is point and tell people where things go." My voice comes out raspy, though. The dry winter air is hell on my throat with all this talking. I watch Heize reconstruct another wall.

"That's still exhausting." Lisa's grip on my arm tightens. "Let me help with something. Anything."

The hospital's skeleton looms before us, half-restored thanks to the Fae's tireless work. The scent of fresh wood mingles with the subtle taste of magic in the air.

"There's nothing else. The Grand Sage said he's still working with the watches." Tinker's there, helping him. Two gnomes in a pod.

We still haven't heard from Lucas. Something's wrong. The certainty of it settles deep in my bones, an instinct I can't shake.

"You look half-dead. When's the last time you actually slept?"

A sigh escapes me. "I need to—" My thoughts screech to a halt. "Shit. Clayton's coming and we don't have anywhere suitable for an alpha to stay."

Have Kellan handle it, Selene suggests.

"No. Kellan's already managing security, coordinating with the scouts, and dealing with the dream-eater guard." Along with a million other things he takes off my shoulders. "He needs rest too."

"That man won't rest until he's dead," Lisa scoffs.

A hollow laugh bubbles up. "Lucas is exactly the same way." His name tastes bitter on my tongue, worry gnawing at my insides. Where is he? What's taking so long?

In the grand scheme of time, it's only been a couple days. But it still feels wrong.

"Go rest," Lisa orders me, unyielding. Selene's agreement bubbles in the back of my head. "I'll handle the accommodations for Clayton."

My shoulders slump with relief at the offer. One less thing to worry about. One less decision to make.

"Do you have a number for how many are coming?" Lisa asks.

I shake my head. The call with Clayton ended too abruptly for details.

"That's fine. I'll figure it out." Lisa's eyes drift toward the northern edge of Wolf's Landing. "Ivy's place is still empty. Clayton will probably want to stay there anyway."

The thought of Ivy's home, gone through several times since her disappearance and now with our suspicions over how long she's been taken over by the dream-eater, makes my stomach turn. "Can you get it cleaned first? Kellan and his team have been through it so many times..."

The words die in my throat. What if it was me? What if someone had disappeared my family and then sanitized away every trace of their existence? The thought of walking into a sterilized space where my loved ones used to live, where their scent should linger but doesn't—

"No, never mind. Let's prepare other accommodations instead. When Clayton arrives, he can decide if he wants to stay there or not."