Moonlit Bonds

Chapter 460: Ava: Deranged Bird

Chapter 460: Ava: Deranged Bird

A man appears out of nowhere, stumbling in the snow only twenty feet from us.

My skin crawls just looking at him.

He's dressed as if he’s homeless, with bare feet, dirty skin, and matted hair. If we were in the middle of a city

somewhere, | wouldn't think twice over his existence. Here?

It's strange.

Where's he from? How is he surviving this cold in his threadbare clothing? Why no shoes? And how did he just

appear in front of us?

Eleanor makes a soft sound. "He looks cold," she says, and | stick my arm out in silent warning for her to stay

back.

Vester growls, and my bodyguards cbetween us. "Who are you?" he demands of the man.

He catchesstaring and throws his head back, cackling with a laugh that splits the air like a blade. It's high-

pitched, manic, bouncing off the snow around us.

"Don’t you recognize me, little wolf?" He points at me, fingers dirty and nails blackened.

We've seen him before, Selene murmurs. | remember his scent. It was the tyou tookshopping for that

terrible kibble.

"I do," | say, my voice tight. "You were in Cedarwood." My stomach twists as recognition dawns. Not full

recognition, but a hint of it. | vaguely recall this: a man who'd giventhe creeps, staring at us a little too

intently.

His eyes are hungrier now, his posture more predatory despite his frail appearance.

He wags his finger at me, clicking his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're lying. Naughty girl. Only the wolf recognized

me. Only the wolf." His voice slides up and down scales like he can’t decide what pitch to use.

He takes a step toward us, and Vester snarls, taking a step forward with his chest puffed out.

"Stay back."

The homeless man skips backward, an exaggerated hop, painfully childish for a grown man. He giggles again, a

piercing, high-pitched sound.

"Do you know your people are in battle, right now, with vampires?" His smile stretches too wide, revealing far too

many teeth. "As we speak, blood spills and souls depart. Tick tock, tick tock."

My back stiffens.

Vester’s eyes narrow. "How would you know that?"

The homeless man taps the side of his nose and winks, letting out another unsettling chuckle. His eyes never

leave mine.

Selene steps in front of me, adding another layer of protection. He smells wrong, Ava. Like living death. He did

then, too.

"Can | cwith you?" the man asks, swaying slightly. "To your home. | promise | won't bite." He snaps his teeth

together with an audible click.

"Absolutely not," Vester answers before | can.

The man’s face falls in an exaggerated pout. He sighs tically, making a show of his disappointment. "Such

a shame, such a shame. To encounter such prejudice, even this far from humans."

Something about his phrasing cuts through my fear. "What are you?" | demand, dropping all pretense. "Because |

know you're not human."

His eyes light up and he claps his hands like I've said something delightful. "Am | not human? If | am not human,

then you, too, are not human."

"I'm not human," | say flatly. "I'm a shifter."

He giggles, the sound skittering across the snow like ice cracking. "Wolf, wolf, big bad wolf. It all comes back to

wolves, doesn’t it?"

His madness feels unpredictable and dangerous. The way he sways, the hunger in his gaze; it’s no wonder all my

guards are on edge.

"Please takewith you," he says again, voice suddenly plaintive. He extends his hands, wrists pressed

together. "You can bind me. | understand why you'd want to. | won't fight. | won't hurt you. | just need to see my

friend."

The pathetic gesture doesn’t match the gleam in his eyes.

Vester’s suspicion is palpable. "And who's this friend?"

The homeless man winks again, tapping his finger against his lips. "The Alpha’s sister," he stage-whispers, then

dissolves into more giggles. "But it’s not. It's not."

My muscles lock up. He's not talking about Ivy.

He's talking about the dream-eater.

Grimoire, are you getting anything from him? Can you tell what he is?

After a silence that stretches too long, Grimoire speaks with strange reluctance. He isn’t seem human, but... |

don’t think he’s a threat.

Selene’s surprise mirrors my own. Are you using your powers of observation? Look at him. Any fool can see he’s

dangerous.

| can’t explain it, Grimoire admits. But | truly don’t think he means us harm.

The man sighs deeply, his entire body deflating. Then, without warning, he drops to his hands and knees in the

snow, pressing his forehead to the ground in front of me.

"Please," he begs, voice muffled. "I'm harmless. Please bringwith you."

| can feel Eleanor’s confusion behind me, Vester’s tension beside me. But I'm focused on the truth that Grimoire

has sensed.

Can you tell if he’s able to use magic? | ask Grimoire. Anything you can pick up on?

No, Grimoire answers after a pause. Nothing magical about him. But...

Another long pause.

He's not really alive, Grimoire finally says. He's a spirit. A leftover wish of someone’s soul, gone slowly mad. The

worst he could do is possess someone, but with how fractured he is, | don’t think it's even possible.

The man remains prostrate in the snow, not shivering despite his bare hands against the ice.

"So you're saying he’s... what? A ghost?" | ask, trying to clarify.

Yes, Grimoire answers. You can probably see it that way.

The man suddenly springs up from his prostrate position, all traces of desperation vanishing as he twirls in the

snow. His bare feet leave no impressions as he spins.

"Ghost, ghost, everybody's toast," he sings in his unsettling high pitch. "Wander here and wander there, no body

to house, no soul to share!"

The way he transitions from groveling to dancing makes my body itch.

| don’t remember him being this disturbed before. Creepy, yes. Deranged? Not so much.

Selene’s ears flick. He wasn’t. He could pass for normal then. Not like this.

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That's what | thought. This

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My bodyguards exchange glances, clearly uncertain how to proceed.

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Grab him," | order, nodding to two of

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The guards move without hesitation, approaching the dancing man from opposite sides. One of them reaches out

to grab the man’s arm—

And his hand passes straight through.

Eleanor gasps. "He's really a ghost?"

The man cackles, spinning away. "Can’t touch this!" he sings, distorting the song. "Spirit fingers, spirit toes! No

body to punch, no bones to break!"

The other guard tries, but it's the sresult. His hand goes through the man like he doesn’t exist.

I" [1 :

An outrage!" the ghost shrieks

suddenly, flapping his arms wildly.

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An outrage! Manhand(ing fhé& YEH

d ib YeSpect for the dead!’

Epart: espect for the dead!

He hops from one foot to the other,

resembling a deranged bird doing

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content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

"We can’t contain him," Vester states the obvious, keeping himself positioned between the ghost and me.

Grimoire clears his throat. | hate to be the bearer of bad news... but | believe he will follow us, regardless of our

wishes. We may as well return.