Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 342

I push the doubts aside, focusing on the task at hand. "What brings you here, Ivy?" I ask, injecting a note of authority into my voice. "Lucas mentioned you asked for me specifically."

"Always straight to the point, aren’t you, Ava?"

Was I? I don’t really remember our past encounters that way. It always felt as though I were dancing around her, never sure what she really thought of me.

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing well. Clayton said you would likely be with the Westwood Pack. It’s been a long time, and I had no way of contacting you since you left your phones behind."

The way she speaks makes it sound as though I’d left them behind on purpose.

I push aside the nagging unease about Ivy as Lucas guides me to the table. As we sit, she takes a seat across from us, her smile still warm and inviting. It’s this warmth that throws me off balance, making me question my earlier impressions.

Why does Clayton’s sister have to be so enigmatic? Her brother is straightforward, his intentions clear as day. But Ivy? She’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery.

"How are things in Washington?" Lucas asks, calm beside me. He doesn’t seem to sense anything strange with the woman.

Ivy’s face transforms, the smile fading into a somber expression. "We barely made it through a vampire attack," she says, her voice low. "It was intense. We lost many lives."

As she describes the attack, I can’t help but compare it to what we faced here. The force she talks about seems almost paltry compared to the onslaught that hit Westwood. It’s hard to reconcile the two experiences.

"What about the rest of the area?" I ask, leaning forward slightly. "Have there been other attacks?"

Ivy nods, her green eyes meeting mine. "Some of the larger human cities have been hit, but it’s been mostly quiet on the coast. The biggest issue is communication. We can’t get cell towers or internet up and running."

"How are you getting information then?" Lucas asks.

"Radio, mostly," Ivy replies. "All the news networks are basically dead. It’s like we’ve stepped back in time."

Her gaze sweeps over us, taking in our appearances, the room, everything. "How has it been here? The closer we got, the more evidence of fighting and destruction we saw."

Lucas shifts beside me, his arm brushing against mine. "It’s dangerous to leave Wolf’s Landing," he says, his voice grave. "There are hunters out there, searching for any supernatural presence."

Ivy tilts her head. "Hunters? We haven’t encountered any of those."

"Have you been in the cities?"

She shakes her head. "No. We did travel by car, but the past three days have been on foot, shifted."

Lucas looks thoughtful. "You were lucky to get here unscathed. The supernatural communities seem to be allied with the attackers. A traveling pack would be easy to track."

"What?" Ivy’s confusion is evident. "That can’t be right. Our supernatural communities were attacked, just like our pack."

"How do you know that?" Lucas asks, his voice sharp.

She doesn’t flinch under his questions. "I’ve been to them," she says simply. "When Clayton first started reaching out to see how widespread the devastation was, I volunteered to make contact. We have no real affection for them, but this isn’t the time to be picky about our allies."

"You’ve been able to travel freely?" I ask, unable to keep the disbelief from my voice.

Ivy nods, her expression softening. "It hasn’t been easy, but yes. We’ve managed to establish contact with several communities along the coast."

"And they’ve all been attacked?" Lucas presses.

"To varying degrees," Ivy confirms. "Some worse than others, but none have been left untouched."

I exchange a glance with Lucas, seeing my own confusion mirrored in his eyes. If what Ivy’s saying is true, then the situation outside our little bubble is vastly different from what we’ve experienced. But why? What makes this area so different?