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

my ears.

face. Nausea churns

and flesh.

the force of a large adult wolf and an entire

lungs as

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Ava: Fighting

grasp. Stars explode across my vision before it

beneath Todd’s paws, pressing down on

stench, his muzzle inches from my

writhe, but his claws are like miniature daggers digging into

unyielding.

one arm and lash out

mark, but

back with a snort, giving me a moment

side, scrambling for the knife as he

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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 sickly metallic tang

Ava: Fighting

Faster, damn it.

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 a

the blade slicing a shallow gash across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps

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 them.

to deal

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

Agony.

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Fighting Back

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

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

back with a startled scream, and he’s

in no position to dodge. I have no

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

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

for air, no longer suffocated by his rancid breath. There’s no