Page 124 of Fool Moon First Aid

My father, unmoved by the tragedy, looks on with satisfaction. “This is the purity we must preserve! They are mere beasts!”

Fury consumes me. “You’re the beasts! You instigated this massacre!” The lifeless body before me belonged to someone—someone loved and cherished. “How can you justify this bloodshed?”

Ethan and the others hold me back. “Not now, Ava,” Ethan whispers. “We’ll seek justice later.”

His words fall on deaf ears. Chaos erupts around us, the sounds of battle filling the air. As violence consumes the clearing, I’m powerless to stop the bloodshed that taints the ground, the dirt churning into mud.

“We need to get you to safety.” Ethan tries to pull me away, his face full of sorrow and fury. “We need to leave. Please, Ava.”

“No,” I protest, tearing free from their hold. “It ends now.”

As if the spirit comet consents to my declaration, the clouds part, allowing the moon to cast a solemn light over us, signifying renewal and hope.

I embrace my transformation, the shift as natural to me as breathing.

“Ava, no!” Ethan’s plea echoes in the clearing.

I ignore him. The moon’s promise of a fresh start, a new dawn for the spiritkin, empowers me. Now is the time for change, for the spiritkin to embrace a new beginning, one forged from unity and strength.

My father watches the ensuing chaos with detached amusement, taking in the fall of hunters and shifters alike. As I draw closer, though, a sense of conviction emboldens me. Gone is the girl they wanted to manipulate, and in her place is a fierce shifter, fully prepared to protect her family.

His laughter is scornful when his eyes latch onto me. “What can you possibly do? You’re merely a woman and just as weak as your mother?—”

He doesn’t get to finish. With a surge of strength, I tackle him, cutting off his words. Elijah intervenes, but I quickly dispatch him, sending him into Ethan’s grasp.

Hovering over my father, I tremble with uncontainable rage. He’s gravely mistaken about us, and his refusal to see the truth seals his fate.

“We are the superior ones,” he defiantly claims.

In an instant, I’m back in my human form. “You’re wrong,” I declare, my fury undiminished. “We aren’t here to claim superiority. Our purpose is coexistence.” The devastation surrounding us, filled with loss and destruction, is a scene I’ll never forget, and one I never want to see again.

For the first time, fear creeps into his eyes, but his realization comes too late. He had decades to realize his actions are harmful.

“And you were prepared to kill me, just as you killed Mama?” I question, my voice ice-cold.

“She was tainted,” he insists.

“So am I,” I respond, the threat in my voice unmistakable, but before I can act, a sharp pain pierces my stomach. I was too distracted, thinking I had the upper hand.

“If that’s the case, then you are better off dead,” he retorts bitterly.

Oh hell no. With a swift motion, I retaliate, slicing a claw along his neck, his blood marking me as I witness his demise. He was never a father to me.

I wait until his breaths slow, until his lungs rattle, until his eyes glaze over. Only then do I acknowledge the pain in my stomach.

Gasping, I tilt to one side. I know I shouldn’t move, but I can’t help it.

“Ava.” Brody rushes to my aid, concern etched in his expression. “Ava.” His hands hover around me as if he doesn’t know how to help me or where to touch me.

Silly doctor.

Ignoring the pain, I focus on Brody. “He’ll never harm another spiritkin,” I say, even as my strength wanes. All around us, spiritkin take out the last of the hunters, though I know many got away.

Brody lays me down on the ground, his worry palpable.

“It’s not silver,” I tell him. “Listen, if you yank it out and I shift really fast, it’ll heal.”

“Pulling it out could be dangerous,” Brody cautions. His fingers ghost along my skin just below where the knife protrudes.

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