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.

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.

the night, closer than before. My heart stutters, but I don’t

13:00 –

418

Ava: An

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

last of the trees falls away, revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s drive has taken much longer on

foot.

breathless laugh escapes me as I pour on even more

close. So damn close.

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

and

within me surge, a tidal wave of energy that propels me forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with every passing

me from the side, a massive force that drives the air from

against the dirt

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Ava: An Old Enemy

as I fight to stop my

explodes into snarls and growls, of vicious, inhuman noises torn from the

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

glints of white teeth in the darkness, and eerie shrieks of pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and fangs clash in a frenzied

collisions, each impact punctuated by

blood.

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

Ag

Ava An

battle rages on.

have something far

as a familiar wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on

sizing up

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

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

somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The

violence, a promise of brutality in

present.

13.00

<

Ava: An Old

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

arrogant smirk that would be curving his lips right now, the wild look in his eyes that mirrors that of his