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.

the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of blood overcomes all sound in the area, a

in my ears.

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

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

with all the force of a large

as I hit the

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Fighting

my grasp. Stars explode across my vision before it

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

stench, his muzzle inches

writhe, but his claws are like miniature daggers digging into my skin, immovable

unyielding.

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

my mark, but

snort, giving me a moment of opportunity.

the side, scrambling for the knife as he lunges

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The

Ava: Fighting Back

Faster, damn it.

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

across his ear, his neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps at my arm, ripping

involved in their own struggles several feet away. How many have set upon us? Too

worry

deal with

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

Agony.

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Fighting Back

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

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

with a startled scream, and

I

scrabble against the knife as I yank it out and stab again and again, even

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

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