Tangled

139 Ava: A Shocking Finale (III) —

END SEASON TWO

“You’re making this so much harder than it should be. I was hoping to savor this moment, but now I have to rush my meal, instead.” He sounds disappointed, not angry, and the difference makes me shudder.

It’s worse than him being infuriated. It shows that my struggles are no more than an inconvenience to him.

When his fangs break skin, the pain is unbearable.

It’s worse than fire in my veins. It’s an ache so deep that my entire body throbs and burns, I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out; I can’t

breathe.

Skimming over the pain is an ecstasy that taunts me with bliss, tantalizing with its lack of pain. I yearn for it, wanting to sink in, wanting to escape this torture-

Eyes, Ava! Selene shouts. Go for the eyes!

With a desperate cry, I jab my fingers toward his face, aiming for those cold, mocking eyes. He jerks his head back and I can feel my neck rip and tear, blood

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139 Ava A Shocking Finale (il)-END SEASON TWO

pouring.

But not before I fe

my nails sink into something soft

and yielding. He howis, his grip loosens, and I wrench myself free, staggering away.

The vampire clutches at his face, blood seeping between his fingers. One eye is a ruined mess, but the other glares at me with unadulterated hatred.

“You’ll pay for that, bitch,” he spits, his voice a guttural

rasp.

I hold my hands against my neck, against the blood pouring out, gasping for air to fill my lungs. It’s like they can’t inflate fully, can’t fill with oxygen.

This time rage fuels his movements as he lunges for me, messy and uncoordinated. My brain’s already off, moving on instinct, through repetitive motions in

training.

A quick sidestep. A knee to the groin, a practiced weak point. He’s wide open and doubles over with a grunt as I follow up with an elbow to the back of his neck,

sacrificing blood loss for success.

He hits the ground hard. Good to know pressure

points also work on vampires

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139 Ava: A Shocking Finale ()-END SEASON TWO

He won’t be down long–may

seconds.

I dart to Lisa, grabbing her under the arms and dragging her back, scrabbling for purchase.with my

slick from blood.

neck screams in pain and my vision blurs from

his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture. He stalks toward us, his movements jerky,

from the elegant monster

have a chance.

snarls, spittle flying from his lips.

brace myself, shielding Lisa with my body. I know I can’t outrun him, not while

If it

inside of me, a crackling current that dances along my nerves. I

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1)

beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

loud snarl and I trust the power within me, meeting him head

itself changes. A punch that before would have been impossible to track is now something I can

my training comes to

How to block.

How to move.

press my hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum to throw his

please.

to step as I

little training in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to exhaustion every

tries to grab me, he’s shoved

to regain his

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Ava A Shocking Finale

this can’t go on

the

the way

top

be unconscious already?

a little longer, Selene says, an encouraging presence in my mind.

then that I notice the sounds

little area.

in

of sirens.

of wolves here, fighting. Perhaps they’re on the

A lot of slurs.

with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and

with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you want to know the truth of your story?”

My story?

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you hate these stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach you your powers. Tell you the truth about that wolf inside

Any agreement will bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions, but I’m swaying on my feet, even with this energy flowing through

body.

know how bad the damage to my

be small.

again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood coating every part of me.

wonder I’m

there, throbbing, but the damage has

outline of my coar remaine

A Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON

you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the

me, the one desperate for the

her back, despite the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d felt taunting me from beyond the pain when he bit

say again, trying to make sense of it all. “I’m

fall to my knees with a groan. I can’t hold on to the power, feeling it pour out of me. For a second, I can almost imagine golden strands connecting me to the earth, but they disappear

blink.

still

vampire kneels before me, cupping my cheek with a soft croon. A

Ava!

whisper, not sure if he asked me any