Tangled

<79 Ava: Fighting Back

79 Ava: Fighting Back

Todd’s wolf form prowls closer, his hackles bristling with menace. His eyes burn with a feral hunger that sends tremors through me. Anticipation hums in the

air between us.

The tree trunk is rough against my back as I use it for support, forcing my body to its feet. The cool weight of the pocketknife in my hand keeps me centered.

I will not cower.

The mysterious energy from before, that primal force filling my veins, is gone. It’s a fleeting whisper of the past, eluding my grasp no matter how desperately I

search for it.

All I have is my training and the small knife I’d stolen from home.

I flip open the blade with a flick of my thumb, the soft click lost amidst the snarls and growls of the ongoing battle around us. At least, I hope it’s lost. I know wolf hearing is keen, but I don’t know its limitations.

Todd’s lips peel back in a vicious snarl, revealing

13:10

1/7

79 Ava: Fighting Back

yellowed canines. It figures that even his wolf’s teeth

would need some work. His breath had always smelled

like those tuna sandwiches he eats.

He lunges, a blur of ruddy fur and gnashing jaws.

Instinct has me diving to the side, scrabbling for purchase on the uneven ground. He whirls to face me as I roll to my knees, gripping the knife tightly as I swipe at his muzzle. The blade catches a superficial level of skin and fur, drawing a thin line of crimson that only seems to enrage him further.

his throat and I dash to the side, my heart pounding in

in my

face. Nausea churns in

and flesh. A guttural yelp tears

force of a large adult wolf and an entire lifetime of anger

from my lungs as I hit the ground,

13:10

2/7

Ava: Fighting Back

clattering from my grasp. Stars explode across my vision before

paws, pressing down on my shoulders with crushing force. His

his muzzle inches from my

thrash and writhe, but his claws are like

unyielding.

strength, I manage to free one arm and lash out blindly, my nails raking across his muzzle and smacking against

hit my mark, but

giving me a moment

roll to the side, scrambling for the knife as

S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access

and dirt get in my way as my fingers scrabble for the knife, its silver blade glinting in the moonlight. I’m bleeding. The scent of my blood mingles with the earthy aroma of the forest floor, a

Fighting

Faster, damn it.

snatch the knife and whirl onto my back just as Todd crashes down where I’d been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with

gash across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips

route. No other weapons. The other wolves are still involved in their own struggles several feet away. How many have set upon us? Too many to count. Did the entire pack make it here?

I can’t worry about them.

to deal with

mine like a fucking freight train. I stumble, gasping for air as his claws rake across my abdomen, tearing through fabric

Agony.

1417

Fighting Back

wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because blood

and upper body somehow and I backpedal, my heel catching

sprawl back with a startled scream,

in no position to dodge. I

low and blind, grunting as his weight slams me into the ground beneath him. My fingers scrabble against the knife as I yank it out and stab again and again, even as he snaps

streaks of crimson. A strangled whine

breath.