Tangled

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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.

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. After everything, I’m finally going

shatters the night, closer than before. My heart stutters, but I

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418

An Old Enemy

risk their

the trees falls away, revealing the city of White Peak.

foot.

pour on even more speed, reveling in

So

hairs on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with every second. I can sense their urgency,

by how Lucas and

forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer

the air from my

against

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An

fight to stop my momentum.

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

a 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

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

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 earth and rage hangs thick in

blood.

familiar wolf faces. But they are mere flashes, lost in an instant as

Ag

An Old Enemy

rages on.

far worse to worry

from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that

sizing up its

mere. moments ago has evaporated, leaving me feeling weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by a visceral

Mason’s wolf is an average–sized wolf, but still menacing to someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen

snarl or growl.

promise of brutality in past and

present.

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<

An Old Enemy

gleam in his wolf–yellow eyes that seems to strip away every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a

human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be curving his lips right now, the wild look in his eyes that mirrors that of his wolf so accurately.