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.

My throat tightens with a sudden surge of emotion–hope,

closer than before. My heart stutters, but

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An Old

risk their lives by entering enemy territory to

falls away, revealing the city of

foot.

I pour on even more speed,

close. So

neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with

by how Lucas and Vester crowd into me, teeth bared and hackles up.

surge, a tidal wave of energy that propels me forward with impossible velocity. The city

into me from the side, a massive force that drives the air from my lungs and sends

gorahhling against

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Ava: An Old Enemy

as I fight to stop my momentum.

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

leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink tears from my eyes, struggling to make sense of what just

pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and

each impact punctuated by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my

blood.

wolf faces. But they are

Ag

Ava An

rages

far worse

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

up its prey.

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 The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by

who can’t shift. I’ve seen him

me with a menacing silence that’s somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The air around

of brutality in past

present.

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<

An Old

to strip away every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a

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.