Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 79 Ava: Fighting Back

Todd's wolf form prowls closer, his hackles bristling with menace. His eyes burn with a feral hunger that sends tremors through me. Anticipation hums in the air between us.

The tree trunk is rough against my back as I use it for support, forcing my body to its feet. The cool weight of the pocketknife in my hand keeps me centered.

I will not cower.

The mysterious energy from before, that primal force filling my veins, is gone. It's a fleeting whisper of the past, eluding my grasp no matter how desperately I search for it.

All I have is my training and the small knife I'd stolen from home.

I flip open the blade with a flick of my thumb, the soft click lost amidst the snarls and growls of the ongoing battle around us. At least, I hope it's lost. I know wolf hearing is keen, but I don't know its limitations.

Todd's lips peel back in a vicious snarl, revealing yellowed canines. It figures that even his wolf's teeth would need some work. His breath had always smelled like those tuna sandwiches he eats.

He lunges, a blur of ruddy fur and gnashing jaws.

Instinct has me diving to the side, scrabbling for purchase on the uneven ground. He whirls to face me as I roll to my knees, gripping the knife tightly as I swipe at his muzzle. The blade catches a superficial level of skin and fur, drawing a thin line of crimson that only seems to enrage him further.

A deafening snarl rips from his throat and I dash to the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of blood overcomes all sound in the area, a static thudding in my ears.

His jaws snap shut inches from my face. Nausea churns in my belly, courtesy of his rancid breath.

I lash out with the knife again, the blade slicing through fur and flesh. A guttural yelp tears from his throat, but his momentum carries him forward, ramming into me with all the force of a large adult wolf and an entire lifetime of anger issues.

ground, the knife clattering from my grasp. Stars explode across

with crushing force. His hot breath washes over me in waves of putrid stench, his muzzle inches from

are like miniature daggers digging into my skin, immovable

I manage to free one arm and lash out blindly, my nails raking across his muzzle and smacking

mark,

snort, giving me

for the knife as he

my fingers scrabble for the knife, its silver blade glinting in the moonlight. I'm bleeding. The scent of my blood mingles with the earthy aroma of the forest floor, a sickly metallic tang

Faster, damn it.

onto my back just as Todd crashes down where I'd been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with

shallow gash across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps at my arm, ripping skin as

struggles several feet away. How many have set upon us? Too many to count. Did the entire pack make it

can't worry

to deal with

slamming into mine like a fucking freight train. I stumble, gasping for air as his claws rake across my abdomen,

Agony.

of my hand. I hit something, because blood coats

head and

back with a startled

dodge. I have no

raise an arm to protect my face as I stab low and blind, grunting as his weight slams me into the ground beneath him. My fingers scrabble against the knife as I yank it out and stab again and again, even as he snaps and bites at my face, my shoulders,

violently, his blood coating my hands in slick streaks of crimson. A strangled whine escapes

air, no longer suffocated by his rancid breath. There's no