Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 475

Chapter 475: Ava: Charging for Answers

I burst through the door of the Fae’s building as I charge after Acarus. Like hell he’s leaving with vague words and an ancient (but magical) phone.

Only twenty feet ahead, Acarus stands with Magister Orion, the dream-eater still bound and draped over his shoulder like a morbid trophy. They’re deep in conversation, heads bowed slightly toward each other.

"—regardless of what you think. They already know this place exists," Acarus says, his melodic voice carrying through the crisp air.

I slow my pace. I’d wanted to demand answers the moment I caught up, but his words are already sending me down a worried rabbithole. They? They who? The New Order? Or something worse...?

My steps falter as I take in the rest of the scene. Eleanor and Pip stand about twenty feet away from the vampire and magister, surrounded by a tight circle of Wolf’s Landing guards.

Eleanor gestures animatedly, her journal clutched to her chest with one hand while the other draws patterns in the air. Her voice carries fragments of "resonance patterns" and "convergent nodes" across the clearing. Pip stands beside her, chains clinking softly as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

What catches me off guard is Pip’s expression. She doesn’t look particularly friendly to me. She watches with detached politeness—the blank mask of someone tolerating a conversational bore at a dinner party. Didn’t Lisa say they were getting along? Did something change?

Then again, I could see Eleanor’s constant discussion over magic boring someone who was born into a world of it.

Acarus turns toward me when I get a little closer. "You have another question," he states.

It’s not a question. Just a flat observation that somehow knocks me off-balance. Guess it’s obvious why I’d be rushing out here.

"Yes, but first I need to know more about Wolf’s Landing’s safety."

Acarus nods once, the gesture almost robotic in its precision. "There’s likely an attack coming soon. They’re gathering forces nearby."

"They?"

"The New Order."

My mouth falls open. "You’re just telling us this now?"

He shrugs, the dream-eater on his shoulder jostling slightly. "Your survival is your responsibility, isn’t it?"

"We’re friends, Acarus. Friends share these things."

Acarus blinks, tilting his head at me. "I did. Just now."

This is what being friends with a vampire means. Selene sighs. You’ll never know if their loyalty is yours.

My wolf-husky doesn’t particularly like vampires, but I don’t have the same instinctual distrust she does. Still... I eyeball Sister Miriam’s son with a sour look on my face. "You should have mentioned it sooner."

He frowns.

I take a deep breath, trying to contain my anger. Getting pissed at Acarus is like getting mad at a cliff face for being steep. Selene’s right about vampires. Sister Miriam always played the cryptic game and kept her cards close to her chest, too. "Could you please inform us if you hear about any more attacks? We’d appreciate the advance warning."

His perfect features arrange themselves into something resembling confusion. "Aren’t you capable of defending yourselves?"

The disbelief in his words has every wolf shifter in the area stiffening. Some growls vibrate through the air.

"Yes." My teeth clench so hard my jaw aches. "But if we can prepare, we lose fewer lives."

Acarus shakes his head, the faintest hint of disdain crossing his face. "Mother said you were strong. I’m starting to wonder."

Exasperated, I stand my ground and continue, "You didn’t really explain what a ghost’s heart is—"

"If you could tell me where to find it, even, I can probably figure it out myself."

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