Tangled

77 Ava: Running

The haunting howls of wolves echo through the night, sending fear deep into my soul.

I shudder.

The strange shifter with the drugs curses under his breath. “They’re on the hunt,” he says, his voice low and urgent.

Lucas‘ arms tighten as he runs. It’s not the most comfortable, with all the jostling, but he manages to run while holding me as though my extra burden

doesn’t affect him at all.

How long has it been? Hours? That he’s maintained his pace without faltering. I can’t help but admire it, even

as I worry.

“It’s going to be okay,” he murmurs, his tone cold with

determination.

We pick up the pace, the shadows of the forest

seeming to press in around us as we hurry along. The howls grow louder, closer, sending icy tendrils of fear slithering through my veins.

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77 Ava: Running

“How much farther?” I ask, my voice a hushed whisper.

Lucas‘ subordinate’s response is grim. “Too far to be comfortable.” There are a few grunts of agreement among the other wolves. “We should have shifted. We would be there by now.”

Lucas just growls. “Not an option.”

The weight of his words settles over me, and I realize with a pang that he knows–he knows I can’t shift.

I swallow hard. How long has he known?

It isn’t as though it was a secret in our pack.

But it still hurts.

trees, the sound itself nipping at our heels. Anxiety spikes

He signals to the others, and they fan out, forming a protective circle around

1. us.

thick and

to hold its breath with us.

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77 Ava: Running

this

glowing like

Lucas doesn’t flinch. With a fluid motion, he sets me down and steps forward, planting himself between

down,” he growls, his voice laced with an unmistakable

its hackles raised, but something in Lucas‘ unwavering presence seems to give it pause. For a long,

wolf’s snarl fades, and it lowers its head in a grudging show of

to me, his expression softening ever so slightly as he scoops me up

he says,

at his arms until he lets me down. “I can’t shift, but I can run. I’m fine. We’ll

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77 Ava: Running

better time if you

that he wants to protest, but he thinks better of it. “Fine. Let’s go. Stay close,

howl. I

still haven’t caught our trail, but they’re getting closer. We’re still

it in reassurance. My lips quirk into a small smile as I squeeze back. I

this. I

from exertion–not yet. Terror still grips me, its icy tendrils constricting my lungs with every rasping breath. But each footfall on the forest floor kindles a tiny

Freedom.

fueling my legs to push harder, faster. The men around me struggle to keep

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77 Ava Running

his

concern.

reply. Selene’s

it sound like it

if I

And it is.

now, a thrumming beneath my

deep inside that I’m right.

-to an abrupt halt.

depths–disbelief, confusion, worry. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ FɪndNovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters

into a blur of shadows and silence. It’s just us, our ragged breaths intermingling in the scant space

he nods.