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.

screams in pain and my vision blurs from darkness to light, spotted

rises to his feet, his face a mask of rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture.

monster from

have a

you apart,” he snarls, spittle flying from his lips. “Piece by fucking piece.”

him, not while carrying

it

crackling current that dances along my nerves. I feel it

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

with a loud snarl and I trust the power within me,

of time itself changes. A punch that before would have been impossible to track is now something I can not

training comes to me without

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

to step as

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

so every time he tries to grab

to regain his balance

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A Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

can’t go on

the

way my

top

be

little longer, Selene says, an encouraging presence in my mind. They’re

I notice the sounds outside

little area.

in

of sirens.

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

A lot of

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

been searching for so long. Don’t

My story?

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these stupid ke? Their

old ways?”

reaches out a clawed hand, all the deranged anger gone, his face once again settled into that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach you your powers. Tell you the truth about that wolf

bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions,

body.

know how bad the damage to

be small.

is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath

wonder I’m not

there, throbbing, but the

outline of my coar remaine

Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON

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

me, the one desperate for the love of my family, sways

the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d

again, trying to make sense of it all. “I’m not leaving

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.

vision’s still spotty.

my cheek with a

Ava!

if he asked me