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,

piercing howl shatters the night, closer than before. My heart stutters,

13:00 –

418

Ava: An Old Enemy

me. Wolves willing to risk their lives by entering enemy territory

city of White Peak. An

foot.

me as I pour on even more speed, reveling in

so close. So damn close.

of my neck. The wolves

how Lucas and Vester

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

a massive force that drives the air from my lungs and sends me tumbling across the uneven ground. I scramble for

fingernails gorahhling against the

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Ava: An Old Enemy

fight to stop my

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

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

rumbles. Fur and fangs clash in a frenzied melee, a

of their collisions, each impact punctuated by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The scent of earth and

blood.

I catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces. But they are mere flashes,

Ag

An

battle rages

then I have something far worse to worry

scramble backward, my hands clawing at the earth as a familiar wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on

up its

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

wolf, but still menacing to someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds of

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

violence, a promise of brutality in past

present.

13.00

<

An Old

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

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