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

from blood.

my vision blurs from

rage. Blood drips from his

from the elegant monster from before. He’s lost

have a

to rip you apart,” he snarls, spittle flying from

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

it arrives.

life inside of me, a crackling current that dances

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Finale

beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

snarl and I trust the power within

would have been impossible to track is now something I can not only see, but think about.

comes to me

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

as I dodge.

offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to exhaustion

time he tries to

forgod to regain his

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Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

this can’t go on forever.

can feel the wooziness

the way my knees

how my crop top is soaked in

be unconscious

an encouraging presence in

I notice the

little area.

howls in

of sirens.

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

an occasional crash. A lot of

how it’s so relatively peaceful back here, with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and the vampire

“Come with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long.

My story?

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hate these stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

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 inside

contract. Any agreement will bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking

body.

speak. I don’t know how bad the damage to my neck

be small.

I bring my hand to my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood coating every

I’m not unconscious.

there, throbbing, but the damage

of my coar

Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON TWO

you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the Witches. You seek a home, and I

little girl inside of me, the one desperate for the love of my family,

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

to make sense of it all.

groan. I can’t hold on to the power, feeling it pour out of

blink.

still

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

Ava!

sure if he asked me any questions.