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.

rips from his throat and I dash to the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of blood overcomes all sound in the

in my

jaws snap shut inches from my face. Nausea churns in

fur and flesh. A guttural yelp tears

all the force of a large adult wolf and

lungs as

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Fighting Back

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

in a rush. I’m pinned beneath Todd’s paws, pressing down on my shoulders with crushing force.

his muzzle inches from my face.

but his claws are like miniature daggers digging

unyielding.

manage to free one arm and lash out

my mark,

snort, giving me

side, scrambling for the

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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 that pushes me to move faster.

Ava: Fighting

Faster, damn it.

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

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

their own struggles several feet away. How many have set upon us? Too many to count. Did the entire pack make

worry about

deal with Todd.

like a fucking freight train. I stumble, gasping for air as his claws rake

Agony.

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Fighting Back

stab into anything I can, wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because blood

movement of his head and upper body somehow and I backpedal, my heel catching

a startled scream, and he’s on me

position to dodge. I have no time to think.

arm 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

of crimson. A strangled whine escapes his muzzle before he finally

his rancid breath. There’s