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.

gaps I can see the faint glow of distant lights. Civilization. Safety. My throat tightens with a sudden

than before. My

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Ava: An Old Enemy

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

trees falls away, revealing the city of White Peak.

foot.

I pour on even more speed, reveling in the rush.

close. So

back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with every second.

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

forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with every passing

air from my lungs

fingernails gorahhling against the

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An Old Enemy

as I fight to stop

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

I finally grind to a halt, I’m breathless and disoriented, the world spinning around me. Twigs and leaves cling to my

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

-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.

wolf faces. But they are

Ag

An Old Enemy

battle rages

have something far worse to worry

wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity

sizing up

sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by a visceral terror that seizes my lungs, making each breath

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

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

of brutality in past

present.

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An Old Enemy

shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing

human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be curving his lips right now, the wild look in