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.

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 to escape this nightmare.

shatters the night, closer than before.

13:00 –

418

An

risk their

city of White Peak. An hour’s

foot.

me as I pour on

so close. So damn close.

resonance that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the

and Vester crowd into

propels me forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with

air from my lungs and sends me tumbling across the uneven ground.

against the dirt and

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Ava: An

fight to

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

leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging

shrieks of pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and fangs clash in a frenzied melee, a tangle of snarling

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 the air,

blood.

wolf faces. But they are

Ag

An Old

rages on.

then I have something far worse to

golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the

sizing up

weak and sluggish in its wake.

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

terrifying than any snarl

violence, a promise of brutality

present.

13.00

<

Ava: An Old

that seems to strip away every last shred of my

closer. If he were 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