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.

shatters the night, closer than before.

13:00 –

418

Ava: An Old

Wolves willing to risk their

falls away, revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s drive has taken much

foot.

pour on even more speed,

So damn close.

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

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

tidal wave of energy that propels me forward with

into me from the side, a massive force that drives the air from my lungs and sends me tumbling

gorahhling against

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An

I fight to stop my

into snarls and growls, of vicious, inhuman

cling to my hair,

pain interspersed between the rumbles. Fur and fangs clash in a frenzied melee, a tangle of

-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

blood.

catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces. But they

Ag

An

rages on.

have something far

its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the core. The raw

up

weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound

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

than any snarl or growl. The air around him is filled with the

promise of

present.

13.00

<

Ava: An

that seems to strip away every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more than a trembling rabbit for

the arrogant smirk that would be curving his lips right now, the wild look in his eyes that