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

vision blurs

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

cry from the elegant monster from before. He’s lost reason.

have a chance.

apart,” he snarls, spittle

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

If it arrives.

of me, a crackling current that

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1)

thrumming beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

trust the power within me, meeting

punch that before would have been impossible to track is now something I

comes to me without thought.

How to block.

How to move.

against his arm, how to utilize his momentum to

please.

to step as I dodge.

in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to

tries to grab me,

to regain his

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Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

can’t go

feel the wooziness

the way

crop top is soaked in blood…

be

says, an encouraging presence in my mind. They’re almost there.

then that I notice the sounds outside

little area.

in the

of

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

occasional crash. A lot of

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

us, kitten. I’ve been searching

My story?

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stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

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 your

you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions, but I’m swaying on my feet, even with

body.

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

be small.

when I bring my hand to my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood coating every part of me.

I’m not

pain is there, throbbing, but

outline of my

Ava: A Shocking Finale

I’ll give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the

little girl inside of me, the one desperate for

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

make sense of it all. “I’m not

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

blink.

vision’s still

before me, cupping my cheek with a

Ava!

I whisper, not sure if he asked