Tangled

C

78 Ava: An Old Enemy

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. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

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

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78 Ava: An Old Enemy

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.

My lungs burn with the effort, but I don’t slow. Can’t slow. This is what it means to be truly alive, to embrace what dwells within me. To hell with being human; right now, I am so much more.

can see the faint glow of distant lights. Civilization. Safety. My throat tightens with a sudden surge

than before. My heart stutters, but I

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418

Ava: An Old

willing to risk their lives by entering enemy territory to find

away, revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s drive

foot.

laugh escapes me as I pour on even more speed, reveling

close. So

the hairs on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining,

can tell by how Lucas and Vester

me forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with every passing heartbeat, the details sharpening.

the side, a massive force that drives the air from my lungs and sends me tumbling across

fingernails gorahhling against the dirt and

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Ava: An

I fight to stop my

and growls, of vicious, inhuman noises torn from the vocal chords of wolves.

halt, I’m breathless and disoriented, the world spinning around me. Twigs and leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink tears from my eyes, struggling

everywhere, glints of white teeth in the darkness, and eerie shrieks of pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and

flesh, -saliva flying in glistening arcs. The ground trembles with the force of their collisions, each impact punctuated by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The scent of

blood.

the chaos, I catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces. But they are mere flashes, lost in an instant

Ag

Ava An Old

rages on.

something far worse to

shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the core.

predator sizing up its

mere. moments ago has evaporated, leaving me feeling weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my

someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds of times through the years. I’d never mistake him for

more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The air around him is filled with

a promise of brutality in past and

present.

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<

An Old Enemy

that seems to strip away every last shred of my

ever closer. If he were human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be curving his lips right now, the wild look