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.

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

my ears.

my face. Nausea churns in my belly,

flesh. A guttural yelp tears from his throat, but his momentum carries him

me with all the force of a large adult wolf and an

lungs as I hit the ground, the

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Ava: Fighting

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

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

inches

writhe, but his claws are like miniature

unyielding.

arm and lash out blindly, my

don’t hit my mark, but it startles

with a snort, giving me a moment

scrambling for the knife as he lunges

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the moonlight. I’m bleeding. The scent of my blood mingles with the earthy aroma of

Ava: Fighting

Faster, damn it.

as Todd crashes down where I’d been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with a resounding clack.

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

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

can’t worry about

deal

stumble, gasping for air as his

Agony.

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Fighting

of my hand. I hit something, because blood coats my hilt and my grip

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

back with a startled scream,

no position to dodge. I have no time to think.

weight slams me into the ground beneath him. My fingers scrabble against

coating my hands in slick streaks of crimson. A strangled whine escapes his muzzle

his rancid breath. There’s no breath at all. Only blood and earth.