Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 407

Vanessa’s coming.

Selene’s sudden warning jolts me out of my I’m-not-that-tired couch nap. You know, the kind where you sit down and think, I’m not that tired, and wake up hours later? Yeah. One of those.

"Is it about Ivy?" My voice is more croak than words, but thankfully she’s able to pluck the words straight out of my head.

I would assume so.

My muscles protest as I shift on the couch, stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. Selene’s claws click against the wooden floor as she makes her way to the door, her silver fur catching the dim light. Only one lamp is on, which in hindsight might be why I fell asleep. It’s too dark in here.

A sharp, quick succession of knocks rap against the door.

"Come in." My voice is still rough. A series of pops accompany my stretch. Relief floods through my spine, and I cough to clear my throat.

Vanessa opens the door, her hair pulled back in a messy bun. She smells like antiseptic, which isn’t unusual for someone in the medical profession.

"Sorry to wake you." She steps inside, looking exhausted. "But I thought you’d want to know about Ivy’s condition."

I straighten, my fuzzy brain slowly clearing. "Has something changed?"

"She’s stable. Her fever’s down, but still elevated. She woke up for a few minutes, but thought I was her mother." Rubbing her eyebrow, Vanessa settles into a chair across from me. "Halfway through our conversation, she fell back asleep. She asked for a strawberry birthday cake."

Not sure how to even respond, I can only stare.

The healer shrugs. "She’s not oriented to person, time, or place."

"I see."

"Could be the fever. Could be whatever this stuff is you’re trying to hunt down. Her symptoms are too nonspecific, and our testing abilities here are too limited."

My head feels too heavy to hold up, so I rest it against my hand, leaning into the couch cushions. My eyes burn from exhaustion as I blink at Vanessa. Something’s off about this late-night visit—she wouldn’t trek through the snow just to tell me Ivy’s fever is down.

"What aren’t you telling me?"

Vanessa grimaces. "She asked how much longer she has to give her blood away."

My spine straightens despite my fatigue. "What?" That sounds distinctly like she’s involved in something vampire-adjacent. _{freёwebnovel.com}

"I need to emphasize that she’s completely delirious." Vanessa holds up her hands. "She thought I was her mother, remember? She was asking for birthday cake. Whatever she’s saying right now, we can’t take it at face value."

True, Grimoire chimes in out of nowhere. Fever dreams rarely make sense.

But how often do fevers talk about giving away blood?

"Did she say anything else?"

"No. She drifted off right after that." Vanessa’s scrubs rustle as she shifts in her chair. "Her temperature is still high. Enough to possibly account for confusion and hallucinations."

"But you felt it was important enough to tell me."