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.

the gaps 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

night, closer than before. My heart stutters, but

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An Old

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

falls away, revealing the city of White

foot.

escapes me as I pour on even

so close. So damn

on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining,

how Lucas and Vester crowd into me, teeth bared

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

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

fingernails gorahhling against the

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as I fight to stop

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 hair, my palms stinging from the

glints of white teeth in the darkness, and eerie shrieks of pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and fangs clash in a frenzied melee, a tangle of snarling beasts. Their forms are

impact punctuated by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The scent of earth and rage hangs

blood.

chaos, I catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces.

Ag

An

rages

far worse

emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the core. The raw hunger in that gaze

sizing up its prey.

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

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

stalks toward me with a menacing silence 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.

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Ava: An Old Enemy

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

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