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.

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 going to make it. After everything, I’m finally going to escape

closer than before. My heart

13:00 –

418

An Old

their lives by entering enemy

revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s

foot.

I pour on even more speed,

So damn

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

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

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

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

fingernails gorahhling against the dirt

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Ava: An Old Enemy

to stop

world explodes into snarls and growls, of vicious, inhuman noises torn from the vocal

halt, I’m 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,

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

-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

blood.

wolf faces. But they are mere flashes, lost in an

Ag

An Old Enemy

battle rages

I have something far worse

golden eyes locked on me with an

sizing up its

has 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 lungs, making

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

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

violence, a promise of brutality in past

present.

13.00

<

An

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

dries my mouth as 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 accurately.