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.

throat tightens with a sudden surge

before. My heart stutters, but I don’t

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418

An Old Enemy

beside me. Wolves willing to risk their

trees falls away, revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s

foot.

breathless laugh escapes me as I pour on even more speed, reveling in the

So damn

hairs on the back of my neck. The wolves are gaining, closing the distance with every second. I can sense

and Vester crowd into me,

within me surge, a tidal wave of energy that propels me forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with every passing heartbeat,

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

gorahhling against the

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Ava: An Old Enemy

I fight to stop

of vicious, inhuman noises torn from the

leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink

Fur and fangs clash in

by deep, guttural growls that reverberate through my bones. The scent of earth and rage hangs thick in the air, mingling with

blood.

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

Ag

Ava An Old

battle rages

something far

golden eyes locked on me with an intensity that chills me to the

predator sizing up its prey.

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 The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by a visceral terror that seizes my lungs, making each breath a struggle.

someone who can’t shift. I’ve seen him -hundreds of

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

violence, a promise of brutality

present.

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<

An Old Enemy

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

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