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.

I dash to the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of

in my

snap shut inches from my face. Nausea churns in my belly,

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

all the force of a large adult wolf

whooshes from my lungs as I hit

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Ava: Fighting Back

across my vision before

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

muzzle inches

and writhe, but his claws are like miniature daggers digging

unyielding.

lash out blindly,

don’t hit my mark,

with a snort, giving me a moment of opportunity.

the side, scrambling for the knife as he lunges

again. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early

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 that pushes me

Fighting Back

Faster, damn it.

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

neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat

struggles several feet away. How many have set upon us? Too many to count. Did

I can’t worry about them.

deal

gasping for

Agony.

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Fighting

wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because blood coats

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

sprawl back with a startled scream, and he’s

no position to dodge. I have no time to

the ground beneath him. My fingers scrabble against the knife as I yank it out and stab again and again,

body shudders violently, his blood coating my hands in slick streaks of crimson. A strangled whine escapes his muzzle before he finally goes limp, his full weight

air, no longer suffocated by his rancid breath. There’s no breath at all. Only blood and