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.

deafening snarl rips from his throat and I dash to the side, my heart pounding

my

Nausea churns in my belly, courtesy of his rancid

out with the knife again, the blade slicing through fur and flesh. A guttural yelp tears from his throat,

of a large adult wolf and an entire lifetime of anger

as I hit

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Ava: Fighting Back

explode across my vision before it

Todd’s paws, pressing down on my shoulders with crushing force. His hot

his muzzle inches

and writhe, but his claws are like miniature daggers digging into my

unyielding.

manage to free one arm and lash out blindly, my

my mark, but it startles him.

back with a snort, giving me

for

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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 Back

Faster, damn it.

Todd crashes down where I’d been lying just

with a white–knuckled grip, I lash out wildly, the blade slicing a shallow gash across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp

No other weapons. The other wolves are still involved in their own struggles several feet away.

I can’t worry about

to deal with

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

Agony.

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Ava: Fighting Back

teeth against the pain, I stab into anything I can, wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because blood coats my hilt

and

sprawl back with a startled scream, and he’s on me again.

I have no

low and blind, grunting as his weight slams me into the ground beneath him. My fingers scrabble against

crimson. A strangled whine escapes

his rancid breath. There’s no breath