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

piercing howl shatters the night, closer than before.

13:00 –

418

An

their lives by entering enemy territory to find me.

of

foot.

me as I pour on even more speed, reveling in the

close. So damn close.

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

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

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

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

against the dirt and

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An Old Enemy

to stop my

into snarls and growls, of vicious, inhuman noises

breathless and disoriented, the world spinning around me. Twigs and leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink tears from my eyes, struggling

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

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 the

blood.

familiar wolf faces.

Ag

Ava An Old Enemy

rages on.

something far worse to worry about.

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

predator sizing up its prey.

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

menacing to someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds of times through the years. I’d

any snarl or growl. The air around him is

promise of brutality in past and

present.

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<

Ava: An

predatory gleam in his wolf–yellow eyes that seems to strip away every last shred of

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