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

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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.

pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of blood overcomes all sound

in my

shut inches from my face. Nausea churns in my belly, courtesy of

the blade slicing through fur and flesh. A guttural

the force of a large adult wolf and

whooshes from my lungs as I hit the

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Ava: Fighting

from my grasp. Stars explode across my vision before it fades, just for

all comes back in a rush. I’m pinned beneath Todd’s paws, pressing down on my shoulders with crushing force. His

inches

writhe, but his claws are like

unyielding.

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

mark, but it

rears back with a snort, giving me a moment of opportunity.

roll to the side, scrambling for the knife

to access

glinting in the moonlight. I’m bleeding. The scent of my blood mingles with the earthy aroma of the forest floor, a

Fighting Back

Faster, damn it.

and whirl onto my back just as Todd crashes down where I’d been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with a resounding clack. Flecks of spittle and foam coat

across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps at my arm, ripping skin as I dash backward, scrambling to

other weapons. The other wolves are still involved in their own struggles several feet away. How many have set

I can’t worry

to deal with

I stumble, gasping for air as his

Agony.

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Fighting Back

the pain, I stab into anything I can, wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because blood coats my hilt and my grip slips time and time

and upper body

with a startled scream, and

to dodge. I have no

fingers scrabble

slick streaks of crimson. A strangled whine escapes his muzzle before he finally goes limp, his full weight

by his rancid breath. There’s no breath at all. Only blood and earth.