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.

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.

than before.

13:00 –

418

An Old

beside me. Wolves willing to risk their lives

city of White Peak.

foot.

escapes me as I pour on

so close. So

on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with every second. I can sense their

tell by how Lucas and Vester crowd

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

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

fingernails gorahhling against the dirt

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An Old Enemy

to

inhuman noises torn from the vocal chords

cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink tears

the rumbles. Fur and

jaws snap mere inches from vulnerable flesh, -saliva flying in glistening arcs. The 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, mingling with

blood.

catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces.

Ag

Ava An Old Enemy

rages

far worse to worry about.

scramble backward, my hands clawing at the earth as a familiar wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the core. The

sizing up its

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

to someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds of

a menacing silence that’s somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The air around him is filled

violence, a promise of brutality

present.

13.00

<

Ava: An Old

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

he prowls ever 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