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Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted

Penulis: Lenaleia
Fantasi
Sedang berlangsung · 6.1M Dilihat
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    Konten
  • 4.6
    141 peringkat
  • NO.62
    DUKUNG
Ringkasan

Being the pack defect is bad enough. Getting REJECTED? By your own fated mate? Yeah. THAT is a whole new level of low. Ava Grey is the pack defect, a wolfless shifter. She struggles through life with the vague dream of freedom. Her opportunity comes when she's suddenly informed that she will be attending the Lunar Gala, an annual ball for young adult shifters to find their fated mates. And she finds him. He's beautiful and intense, and his kisses send desire through her veins like a drug. Until he REJECTS her. Ava isn't about to go back to her dreary life. She escapes and forges a new identity far from her pack, and far from her alpha mate. She makes new friends and is even forcefully adopted by a hilarious husky. But just as she settles in and finds happiness, strange things begin to happen... Her husky has been holding secrets. She's hearing whispers that shifter packs all over are looking for her. And she can smell a familiar scent in her apartment, which makes no sense at all... because the man it belongs to rejected her. FEBRUARY 2024 UPDATE: Updates scheduled for 5-7 days a week as I continue recovering and working on my new WSA entry. Thank you for your patience as we move into book 7! --------- This is a wolf shifter romance with multiple triggers that like to waltz hand in hand with all the dark themes through a meadow of dead flowers. In this book you will find the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Laugh, cry, rage; you can do them all as you follow Ava in the rather perilous journey of being a wolf shifter in this generation of werewolf romance. There are R18 scenes sprinkled throughout this book like candy popping out of a pinata. Please read responsibly. ------- AUTHOR DISCORD: https://discord.com/invite/ApNZDux8kj

tagar
10 tagar
Chapter 1Ava Grey, Pack Defect

Author Note: The first two chapters have had a complete overhaul, for a better reading experience. Please enjoy. [May 28, 2024]

________________

What are you supposed to do when your pack—your family—has decided you're worthless?

Get a job.

Save money.

Dream of getting the hell out of there.

It's a futile thing to hope for, but it's the only thing I have that keeps me going.

Until then? I'm just me. Ava Grey. Wolfless. Weak. The shame of the Grey family.

Which is why I'm spending another Friday night working at Beaniverse, a popular coffeeshop in the middle of White Peak, a solid hour's drive away from pack land. No shifters, no drama, no bullying; the only people I run into all day are humans with a caffeine addiction. Or social media addictions. People love to use our lobby as a backdrop for their latest reel.

"Come out with me tonight."

Lisa pops her head into my field of view as I wipe down the espresso machine.

I have no major attachments to my job outside of my pay, but it is my favorite place to be because of her. Lisa is my best friend—okay, my only friend—and she makes me dream of something more than the Blackwood Pack and my uncertain future in it.

"Can't. Dad wants me home as soon as I can."

The grimace that twists her face gives me a warm little tingle in my chest. At least someone gets me.

Even if she's a human and has no idea that I come from a family of wolves.

Dad—our pack beta and an expert at curt text messages demanding my presence home—only allowed me to get a job because he was tired of seeing me at home, I'm pretty sure.

And because every single cent of my paychecks that didn't go to gas went to the thousand dollars I'd borrowed for my beat-up old clunker Taurus in the parking lot. It's my baby, and I love it, but I'm one weird splutter away from wrecking on the highway.

Still—the little freedom it allows me is worth it.

Anything is better than being home.

"You should just move out. We can get an apartment together and party all night." Lisa says this just about every day we work together, and it never grows old. I want that life, too. I don't even need the partying. I just want to get away from my pack.

But wolf shifters don't just let go of their own. Even wolfless defects like me.

I shove my glasses up the bridge of my nose, hating how they slide. I probably need a new prescription, but I haven't had the time—or extra money—to pour into that. I'm still wearing the same glasses Mom got me (much to her disgust) several years ago.

It's like a neon sign saying she doesn't belong with us.

No shifter has bad eyesight. It's like a gift from our wolves.

Only I don't have a wolf.

I flick the dirty towel in her direction, watching her squeal and jump back. "I would if I could, and you know it. Aren't you supposed to be restocking our cups? Our dinner rush is going to come in any minute."

"Fine, fine—but I still think one night of telling him to fuck off won't hurt. Maybe it'll teach your parents that you're an adult and they can't control you."

Hah.

That won't ever happen.

Dad's the pack beta. Even if he acknowledged me as an independent adult, I'd still have to do what he says. The only person above him in the pack is our alpha—also not someone I'd like to cross on a daily basis.

"It's a cultural thing," I mutter, and she drops it. For now.

Lisa will come back to it. She always does. She's been showing me apartments for rent, coming up with mock budgets, even discussing our school schedules. Lisa's pushy in the sweetest way, where she's just desperate for me to become independent.

She was the first person to notice the control my family has over me.

The first person to care.

The first person to say words that I still can't admit out loud.

"Your family is abusive. Who the hell does this?"

My family loved me once. Before I came of age and they realized I had no wolf at all.

I have warm memories. Sweet memories. Memories that I bring out at night during my lowest times. Memories of Mom when she used to smile and laugh and rock me when I cried. Memories of Dad when he would throw me onto his shoulders and tell me I could reach the stars. Memories of Jessa and Phoenix when they would call me their baby sister, and show me off proudly to anyone they saw.

Good times.

Gone times.

Maybe it would hurt a little less if I hadn't shared that affection with them once. Maybe it would hurt a little less if it hadn't simply… disappeared. If Mom's blue eyes hadn't gone from warm like a lake in summer to frigid winter skies. If Dad hadn't thrown me into the woods with no clothes, no food, and no shelter, telling me to survive. That the hardship would bring me what I wanted most, what I was missing.

My wolf.

Spoiler alert—it didn't work. He's still mad about it.

* * *

Leaving work is always a little production in the parking lot after closing. Lisa never leaves until I'm safely on the road, half in worry that my car will break down (and honestly, I have the same fears), and the other half because she's concerned I'm going to get mugged.

When I pointed out to her months ago that she could have the same things happen, she grabbed my hand and said seriously, "You would help me. So I'm going to help you."

I love her.

There's a little guilt that even with my one and only friend, my ride-or-die girl, I have yet to admit that I'm a shifter. I haven't explained to her that I'm from the local pack.

She just thinks I'm neglected and abused from a normal human family, and I have to convince her not to call the cops at least twice a week. Especially when I show up with new bruises.

They wouldn't be able to do anything, anyway.

The pack has different laws. No part of the government would interfere in pack matters.

Honestly, the only way to guarantee my escape from my family and pack is to find my fated mate in another. I dream about it—we all do. It's a fantasy I can't let go of.

But sometimes it hurts to even think about the possibility, because there's always the chance that I have no fated mate.

Or worse, that my life in a new pack is just like my life here.

The night air is warmer than usual for the beginning of spring, but the crisp scent of rain is carried on the breeze, telling us all that a temperature drop is coming.

The scenery changes from the bright, artificially lit business strip to the quiet neighborhoods of White Peak, occasionally lit by a street lamp every block or so. Eventually, those buildings give way to an unlit rural road that leads into the Blackwood Pack territory.

The road is familiar; I've driven it countless times in my life, but tonight, it feels different.

It's darker than usual, under the waxing crescent moon. The trees seem to close in on me, casting long shadows across the road. My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I navigate the twists and turns, feeling my anxiety wriggle about in my belly, like a fish dashing about in shark-infested waters.

The silence in my car is palpable, almost suffocating. My eyes dart to the rearview mirror every few seconds, half expecting to see glowing eyes or shadows lurking in the darkness behind me.

Being the pack defect means you're also the pack punching bag. One of the young wolves' favorite pastimes is hunting the wolfless.

They can't go after humans. The only time the government can threaten our sanctuary is when we've harmed humans.

But they can go after the next best thing.

Me.

A shudder rips down my spine and through my arms, a familiar reaction to the memories floating through my head, of the pain my body remembers.

My hands jerk on the wheel as a hulking form dashes across the streak of my high beams.

"Shit!"

I slam on the brakes, my car fishtailing on the dark road. Tires squeal against pavement. The stench of burning rubber floods my nose. My head whips forward, slamming into the steering wheel as the car spins to a stop.

"Fuck..."

I groan, squeezing my eyes shut against the throbbing pain in my skull. Stars burst behind my eyelids. The coppery taste of blood fills my mouth.

I must have bitten my tongue.

Shit. They usually wait until I'm home to corner me. Fucking with me on the road so blatantly is new.

My hands shake as I peer out the cracked windshield. The road ahead is empty. No sign of whatever ran in front of my car.

There's about zero percent chance it's anyone other than a Blackwood wolf.

I swallow hard, my heart pounding against my ribs. I need to get home.

At least that way, even if I'm beaten to within an inch of my life, Mom and Dad will call a healer when it gets too bad. They've done it before.

Probably because they don't want to lose their live-in maid, but I like to think it's because they care at least a little bit.

I need to get out of here. Now. Before they come back.

I reach for the keys, still dangling from the ignition. Pain lances through my right wrist and I hiss, cradling it to my chest. Must have sprained it in the crash. Fuck.

Gritting my teeth, I use my left hand to turn the key. The engine sputters and dies. I try again. And again. Each time, I'm met with that same pathetic whine.

"No no no, come on..." Desperation bleeds into my voice. "Please..."

I glance in the rearview mirror, half expecting glowing eyes to materialize out of the darkness. My breathing turns ragged, panic squeezing my lungs.

I'm a sitting duck out here. A rabbit cowering in the open, just waiting for the wolves' jaws to close around me.

The snap of a branch breaking has me flinching, a whimper escaping my throat. I turn slowly, dread churning in my gut as I peer out the driver's side window.

That's when I see them. Two pinpricks of eerie yellow light, hovering at the edge of the trees.

Watching me.

Anda Mungkin Juga Menyukai

The Devil's Betrothed

[Main Plot Completed] A love doomed from the start, a lost cause, a losing battle—and yet, neither hearts are willing to let go until the very end. ----- Arlan Cromwell, the epitome of the perfect Crown Prince. All he wants is to live a normal life of a human but the life of a dragon is anything but normal. He has but one goal—to find his runaway betrothed and behead her. What happens when he discovers that the woman who has snagged his heart is the one he vowed to kill? Oriana, a Black Witch, disguising herself as a man, has spent her entire life on the run without knowing what she is running away from. When the mysteries of her past slowly catch up to her, she has no one to turn to…except Arlan. But when she learns that the man she has given her heart to is the same man who wants to kill her, how can she accept the cruel card life dealt her? Two people with secrets to keep, identities to hide, and answers to find. When the certain darkness threatens to take Oriana away, will the Dragon be able to protect his mate? ----- Excerpt- “If I knew you were my betrothed, I would have killed you the very first moment we met." Arlan's gaze darkened with hatred. “If I knew I was betrothed to you, I would have killed myself before you even killed me!” Oriana mirrored the same emotions as him. He pulled out a dagger and offered it to her. “It’s not too late. Just slit your throat with this and you'll bleed out painlessly.” She accepted the knife, her fingers clutching its handle tightly. The next moment, he was pressed against the wall and the knife was on the right side of his neck. “How about I try it on you first, my betrothed?” “Feel free to try. But when you fail, this knife will first taste your grandpa's blood, then yours.” Anger rose in her eyes, and the next moment, blood was flowing through the right side of his neck. She cut deep enough to severe an important blood vessel. “You should not have challenged me,” she sneered and stepped back, waiting for him to collapse. He simply smirked and brushed his finger along the deep wound on his neck. “Seems like you failed.” She watched the wound on his neck heal on its own and felt shocked to her bones. “You.. what are you?” “Guess?” ----- Instagram- mynovel.20 Facebook- Author mynoveltwenty

Mynovel20 · Fantasi
4.6
787 Chs

The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger.

“I will not be defined as a ‘wolfless deviant’ I will not be a pawn in the 'games Alphas play' And I refuse to be mated to the stranger who crashed into my life and turned everything upside down… Only that might be my biggest challenge yet.” Those were the words Lyla chanted to herself as she left the annual werewolf gala, drenched in her sweat and her pheromones. Only days ago, she was a happy teenager existing in the human world – trying to get through college and go far away, forget everything she’s been through and start life afresh but now, she’s in the middle of the gala, sprawled on the ground with her desires in everyone’s face and Alpha Ramsey Kincaid – the Lycan leader of the White Moon Throne extending his hands towards her. If she takes it, she would bring dishonour to her family because she is in no state to be mingling with anyone, talk more of the Lycan leader who was out of her league and if she refuses, she risks being sent to the pack prison for not taking better care of herself during her heat - Yes, it was a crime for her to be without a wolf. But when he touches her, something inside her stirs… Desires? Yes! Powers hidden by the moon goddess? Yes! And maybe just maybe, the stirrings of her missing wolf whose voice can calm feral wolves and heal … Can she learn to trust this man whose mouth says a different thing and his hands speak another language or would she become a pawn – a piece of chess in the games ‘Alphas play’? One thing’s for certain- Lyla Woodlands was done being the pack’s little, dirty ‘wolfless deviant’. It’s time this wolfless wonder showed them what she’s made of. #Slow burn #Wispy old prophecies # Love Triangle - ML and FL best friend #Villian in love with FL Join my discord group: https://discord.gg/t2w9NgC4

Ejiofor_Dorcas · Fantasi
4.5
241 Chs

My Wife Is A Ghost Exorciser

Song Yan lived a miserable life. She was born with a great fortune but her ‘ luck ‘ was ‘ snatched ‘ by her half sister . It was her fortune that she was fated to marry Fu Yusheng , the Ceo and owner of the Fu corporations . However , her half sister who was jealous of intercepted in her fate and snatched her ‘ good luck ‘ away , from then on Song Yan faced countless troubles , she met with accidents , lost her scripts and finally died after meeting a road accident . But she was unwilling , unwilling because she loved Fu Yusheng and her son whom she left behind in the Fu family . Her soul that should have scattered and brought to Hell in front of King Yama , turned into a vicious ghost . Only after becoming a ghost did she realise what kind of perfect deception her half sister has planned for her . Luckily before her soul could become any more dark and become a malevolent spirit , she crosses path with a Celestial master who promises her a fresh start as long as she stays with him and learns the way of supernatural . So , Song Yan became the Celestial master’s disciple and continued to serve the Celestial master and his family as a Ghost . After five hundred years of service , she is freed by her master and get a chance to rebirth . She is reborn on the day she met with the car accident . In this life she is endowed with supernatural power to see the celestial truths . She vows to avenge herself and her son who met an unfortunate death because of her half sister . But why is her apathetic husband who never cared about her , coming after her ?

fairytail72 · Fantasi
4.5
1463 Chs

The Crown's Seduction

[Warning: r18+/strong mature content] He is her salvation. She, his demise. Yet, he refuses to let her go… Mineah, the youngest Princess of Ebodia, was cursed at birth to remain untainted and bring misfortune to those around her. This prophecy looms over her like a dark cloud, growing bigger every year it does not come to pass. She exists in hushed rumors as a pitiful figure - fragile, meek, unwanted. Underneath that mask is a strong and feisty vixen worthy of being a queen. And this would-be queen has set her eyes on breaking her curse, even if that means tricking the most cunning vampire ever born. Nikolai, though reclusive and enigmatic, is revered by the Kingdom of Valcrez as a wise and powerful ruler. Unbeknownst to his loyal subjects, his image of perfection is a web of lies that if exposed can send their kingdom and everything they hold dear crumbling beneath their feet. When these two find their paths crossed in a marriage alliance, the game of Crown's Seduction begins. But just who is the hunter and who is the prey? ******** Excerpt: “Why are you stripping naked in front of me?” she questioned with a frown, doing little to hide the irritation in her voice. Her goal was to capture only his heart, not his whole body! “Am I not allowed to have a bath with my wife?” he remarked with a cold tone. “I purposely asked for a big tub to just make sure that the two of us will fit in it together.” She sighed, not tearing her gaze away from him as she regained her composure. Seeing him smirk she forced herself to get comfortable as he spoke. “That’s more like it. You said it yourself that no one forced you into marrying me. Instead, you offered and volunteered yourself willingly for it, so I expect that you’ll be confident enough to share a bath with your husband,” Nikolai confidently stated. “After all, we’ll do more than this soon enough.” Shameless… Preventing herself from rolling her eyes, she managed to give him a smile as she said, “Don’t blame me if you die on me then.” **** Note: Volume 1: Main Story Status - Completed (Chapters 1 to 403) Volume 2: Side Story Status - Completed (Chapters 404 to 472) Volume 3: Side Story Status - Completed (Chapters 473 to 491) **** PS: Commissioned Book Cover owned by the Author! Do not use it!

Eustoma_Reyna · Fantasi
4.8
494 Chs