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.

the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of blood overcomes all sound in the area, a

in my

face. Nausea churns in my belly, courtesy of his

blade slicing through fur and flesh. A guttural yelp

into me with all the force of a large adult wolf and an entire lifetime of anger

lungs as

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Ava: Fighting Back

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

down on my shoulders

stench, his muzzle inches from my face.

but his claws are like miniature daggers digging into my skin,

unyielding.

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

don’t hit my mark, but it startles him.

rears back with a snort, giving me a

side, scrambling for the knife as he lunges

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

Fighting

Faster, damn it.

down where I’d been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with a resounding clack. Flecks of spittle

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

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

I can’t worry about them.

to deal with Todd.

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

Agony.

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Fighting

wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because

to the ground with a wide movement of his head and upper body somehow and I backpedal, my heel catching

a startled scream, and he’s on

in no position to dodge. I have no

my face as I stab 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

crimson. A strangled whine escapes his muzzle before he finally goes limp, his full

suffocated by his rancid breath. There’s no breath