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.

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

my

my face. Nausea churns in my

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

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

as I

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Fighting Back

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

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

inches from my face.

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

unyielding.

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

don’t hit my mark, but it

rears back with a snort, giving me

the side, scrambling for the

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the moonlight. I’m bleeding. The scent of my

Fighting

Faster, damn it.

knife and whirl onto my back just as Todd crashes down where I’d been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with a

grip, I lash out 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,

no escape route. No other weapons. The other wolves are still involved in their own struggles several feet away.

can’t worry about them.

deal

mine like a fucking freight train. I stumble, gasping for air as his claws rake across my abdomen, tearing through fabric

Agony.

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Ava: Fighting

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

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

startled scream, and he’s

I have

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 it out and stab again and again, even

strangled whine escapes his

gasp for air, no longer suffocated by his rancid breath. There’s