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.

his throat and I dash to the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush

my ears.

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

slicing through fur and flesh. A

with all the force of a large adult wolf

from my lungs as I hit the ground,

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Ava: Fighting Back

Stars explode across my vision before it fades, just for

back in a rush. I’m pinned beneath Todd’s paws, pressing down on my

his muzzle inches from my face.

are like miniature daggers digging into my skin, immovable

unyielding.

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

hit my mark,

with a snort, giving me a moment of opportunity.

roll to the side, scrambling for the knife as he lunges

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

and dirt get in my way as my 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 Back

Faster, damn it.

just moments before. His jaws snap shut with a resounding clack. Flecks of

ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips

No other weapons. The other wolves are still involved in their own struggles several feet away. How many have set upon us?

worry about them.

deal with Todd.

gasping for air as his claws rake across my abdomen, tearing through fabric and

Agony.

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Fighting Back

wild jabs of my hand. I hit

his head and upper body somehow and I backpedal,

with a startled scream,

dodge. I have no time to

protect 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 again and again, even as he snaps and bites

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

his rancid breath. There’s no breath at