Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 78 Ava: An Old Enemy

The terror that had gripped me so tightly finally begins to loosen its hold, washed away by the exhilarating rush of my feet pounding against the ground, the world flying past in my periphery.

It's a simple rhythm.

One foot in front of the other.

Vault over an obstacle. Veer to avoid a tree.

The wind against my skin is harsh, like a thousand icy whips snapping against my cheeks. But the pain is almost euphoric.

My feet pound against the forest floor, each step fueling the fire of freedom burning within me.

It's a feeling unlike anything I've ever experienced—raw power, an almost frenetic energy, thrumming through my body with an intensity that steals my breath away. The trees zoom past in blurs of shadow.

I can hear the wolves keeping pace beside me, their breaths ragged growls that harmonize with the frantic beat of my heart. My unnatural speed helps me keep pace. I'm not faster than they are, but I'm far faster than their human forms.

They probably have questions.

I don't know how to answer them.

But, that's for another time. Right now, we need this.

There's no fear now, no uncertainty. Only an overwhelming sense of freedom so pure and intoxicating that I want to lose myself in it forever. I am unleashed, unchained—a force of nature given form.

I don't slow. Can't slow. This is what it means to be truly alive, to embrace what dwells within me. To hell

the gaps I can see the faint glow of distant lights. Civilization. Safety. My throat tightens with a sudden surge of emotion—hope, relief, gratitude. I'm going to make it.

night, closer than before. My heart stutters,

me. Wolves willing to risk their lives by entering enemy territory

trees falls away, revealing the city of White

pour on even

so close. So damn

one laced with a chilling resonance that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with

can tell by how Lucas and Vester crowd into me, teeth bared and

me forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with every

across the uneven ground. I scramble for purchase, fingernails scrabbling against

vicious, inhuman

around me. Twigs and leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink tears

teeth in the darkness, and eerie shrieks of pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and fangs clash in a frenzied melee, a tangle of snarling beasts. Their forms are indistinguishable from one

their collisions, each impact punctuated by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The scent of earth and rage hangs thick in the air, mingling with

the chaos, I catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces. But they are

I have something far worse to worry

wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with

in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced

an average-sized wolf, but still menacing to someone who can't shift. I've seen him hundreds of times through the years.

toward me with a menacing silence that's somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The air around him is filled with the energy of barely restrained violence, a

every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a trembling rabbit

my mouth as he prowls ever closer. If he were human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be