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.

My throat tightens with a sudden surge of emotion–hope, relief, gratitude. I’m going to make it. After everything,

closer than before. My heart stutters, but

13:00 –

418

Ava: An Old Enemy

risk their lives by entering enemy

revealing the city of White Peak. An hour’s drive has

foot.

pour on even more speed,

So damn

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

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

forward with impossible velocity. The city is closer with

air from my lungs and sends me tumbling across the uneven ground. I scramble

against the dirt

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An

I fight to stop

growls, of vicious, inhuman noises torn from

and leaves cling to my hair, my palms stinging from the impact. I blink tears from my eyes, struggling

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

flying in glistening arcs. The ground trembles with the force of their collisions, each impact punctuated by deep,

blood.

catch fleeting glimpses of familiar wolf faces.

Ag

An Old Enemy

rages

something far worse to worry about.

clawing at the earth as a familiar wolf 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 is unmistakable

up its prey.

weak and sluggish in its wake. The euphoria of my newfound freedom has been replaced by a

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

with a menacing silence that’s somehow more terrifying than any snarl or growl. The

promise of brutality in

present.

13.00

<

An Old

shred of my humanity, reducing me to nothing more

were human, I could envision the arrogant smirk that would be curving