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.

side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The

my ears.

from my face. Nausea churns in my belly,

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

all the force of a large adult

my lungs as

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Ava: Fighting

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

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

inches from my face.

thrash and writhe, but his claws are like

unyielding.

arm and lash out blindly,

don’t hit my mark, but it startles him.

snort, giving me

side, scrambling for the knife as

to access chapters of novels early

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

Fighting

Faster, damn it.

been lying just moments before. His jaws snap shut with a resounding clack. Flecks of spittle and foam coat my

A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps at my arm, ripping skin as

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

can’t worry about them.

deal with

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

Agony.

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Ava: Fighting Back

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

and upper body

a startled scream, and he’s on me

dodge. I have no time to

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

slick streaks of crimson. A strangled whine escapes

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