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.

of distant lights. Civilization. Safety. My throat tightens with a sudden surge of emotion–hope, relief, gratitude.

night, closer than before. My heart stutters,

13:00 –

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Ava: An Old

their lives by

the city of White Peak. An hour’s drive has taken much longer

foot.

as I pour on even more

So damn

of my neck. The wolves are

tell by how Lucas and Vester crowd into

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

me from the side, a massive force that drives the air from

fingernails gorahhling against the dirt

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An Old

fight to stop my

growls, of vicious, inhuman noises torn

around me. Twigs and leaves cling to my hair, my

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

by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The scent of

blood.

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

Ag

Ava An Old

rages on.

then I have something far worse to

backward, my hands clawing at the earth as a familiar wolf emerges from the shadows, its golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me

predator sizing up

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

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

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

of brutality in past

present.

13.00

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Ava: An Old

predatory gleam in his wolf–yellow eyes that seems to strip away every last shred of my humanity, reducing me to

closer. If he were human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be curving his