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.

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. My heart stutters,

13:00 –

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An Old

willing to risk their lives by

city of White Peak. An hour’s drive

foot.

escapes me as I pour on even more speed,

so close. So damn

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

tell by how Lucas and Vester crowd into me, teeth

wave of energy that propels me forward with

that drives the air from my lungs

gorahhling against

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Ava: An Old

to stop my momentum.

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

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

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

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.

the chaos, I catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces. But

Ag

An Old Enemy

battle rages

have something far worse to worry about.

earth as a familiar wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an

predator sizing up its

evaporated, leaving me feeling weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by a visceral terror that seizes my

still menacing to someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds of times through the years. I’d never mistake him for another.

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

a promise of brutality in past

present.

13.00

<

An Old Enemy

his wolf–yellow eyes that seems to strip away every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a

smirk that would be curving his