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

neck screams in pain and my vision blurs

face a mask of rage. Blood drips from his ruined

elegant monster from before. He’s lost

a chance.

you apart,” he snarls, spittle flying from his

can’t outrun him, not while carrying her. My only choice is to stand and

it arrives.

to life inside of me, a crackling current that dances along

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A Shocking Finale

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

snarl and I trust the

that before would have been impossible to track is now something I can not only see, but

training comes to me without thought.

How to block.

How to move.

how to utilize

please.

as I

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

so every time he tries to grab me, he’s

forgod to regain his

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

can’t go

the wooziness in

way my knees

crop top is soaked

I be unconscious already?

Selene says, an encouraging

I notice the sounds outside of our

little area.

howls in the

sound of

Perhaps they’re on the other side of the house.

crash. A lot

with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and the vampire in front

his fury fading, his face wary. “Come with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you want

My story?

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hate these stupid ke? Their

old ways?”

Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach you your powers. Tell you the truth about that

agree with him. You’re half in contract. Any agreement will bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions,

body.

even speak. I don’t know how bad

be small.

my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath

wonder I’m

pain is there, throbbing, but the damage has disappeared.

faint outline of my coar

Finale (III)-END SEASON TWO

too. I’ll give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the Witches. You seek a home, and I have one

of me, the one desperate for the love

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

to make sense of it all. “I’m not

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

blink.

vision’s still spotty.

cupping my cheek with a

Ava!

whisper, not sure if he asked me