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.

and through the 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.

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

13:00 –

418

An Old

Wolves willing to risk their lives by entering enemy territory to find me.

of White Peak. An

foot.

on even more speed, reveling in

so close. So damn

howl, this one laced with a chilling resonance that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with

how Lucas and

wave of energy that propels me forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with every passing heartbeat, the details

slams into me from the side, a massive force that drives the air from my lungs and sends me tumbling across the uneven ground. I scramble for

gorahhling against the

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An Old

I fight to

growls, of vicious, inhuman

I’m breathless and disoriented, the world spinning around me. Twigs and leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from

and eerie shrieks of pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur

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 the air, mingling with the metallic tang of

blood.

chaos, I catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces. But they are mere flashes,

Ag

An

rages

far worse to

eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the core.

up its

its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom

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

somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The air around

violence, a promise of brutality in past

present.

13.00

<

An Old Enemy

that seems to strip away every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a trembling rabbit for dinner.

I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be