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.

trees begin to thin, 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

night, closer than before. My heart stutters,

13:00 –

418

An Old Enemy

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

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

foot.

as I pour on even more speed, reveling

so close. So damn close.

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 every second. I can sense their

found us. I can tell by how Lucas and Vester crowd into

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

the air from my

gorahhling against

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Ava: An

fight to stop my momentum.

explodes into snarls and growls, of vicious, inhuman noises torn from the vocal chords of wolves.

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

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

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

blood.

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

Ag

An Old

rages

far worse

eyes locked on

sizing up its prey.

through my veins mere. moments ago has evaporated, leaving me feeling weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of

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

stalks toward me with a menacing silence that’s somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The air around him is filled with the energy of barely

a promise of brutality in past

present.

13.00

<

Ava: An Old Enemy

last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more

would be curving his lips right now, the wild