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.

side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of

in my

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

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

large adult wolf and an entire lifetime of anger

lungs as I hit the ground, the

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Fighting Back

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

pressing down on my shoulders with crushing force. His hot

stench, his muzzle inches

are like miniature daggers digging into my skin, immovable and

unyielding.

free one arm and lash

hit my mark,

back with a snort, giving me a moment

roll to the side, scrambling for the knife as he

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I’m bleeding. The scent of my blood mingles with the earthy aroma of the forest floor, a sickly metallic tang that pushes

Ava: Fighting Back

Faster, damn it.

onto my back just as Todd crashes down where I’d been lying just moments before. His

out wildly, the blade slicing a shallow gash across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps at my arm, ripping skin as I dash

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

I can’t worry about

have to deal with Todd.

stumble, gasping for air

Agony.

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Fighting Back

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

with a wide movement of his head and upper body somehow and I backpedal, my heel catching on a gnarled root.

sprawl back with a startled scream, and

position to dodge. I have no

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

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

gasp for air, no longer suffocated by his rancid breath.