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.

throat tightens with a sudden surge of emotion–hope, relief, gratitude. I’m

than before. My heart stutters, but

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418

An Old

risk their lives

last of the trees falls away, revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s

foot.

I pour on even more speed, reveling in

close. So damn close.

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

I can tell by how Lucas and Vester crowd into

forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with

from my lungs and sends me tumbling across the uneven

fingernails gorahhling against the dirt and

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Ava: An Old Enemy

to stop

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

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

interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and fangs clash

The ground trembles with the force of their collisions, each impact punctuated by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The

blood.

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

Ag

An Old

rages

far worse to worry about.

emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the core. The raw hunger in that gaze is unmistakable

sizing up

feeling weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by a visceral terror that seizes my lungs, making each

an average–sized wolf, but still menacing to someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds

snarl or growl. The air around him is filled with the energy of

a promise of brutality in

present.

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<

Ava: An

shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a

were human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be curving his lips right now, the wild