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

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

of rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture.

monster from before.

have a

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

Lisa with my body. I know I can’t outrun him, not while carrying

it

me, a crackling current that

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Shocking Finale

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

snarl and I trust the power within me, meeting him

have been impossible

comes to me without

How to block.

How to move.

hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum

please.

to step as I

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

tries to grab

regain his

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1)

this can’t go

can feel the

way my

how my crop top

be unconscious

encouraging presence

that I notice the sounds outside

little area.

in

of

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

crash. A lot of slurs.

so relatively peaceful back here, with only Teddy and Bren’s

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

My story?

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hate these stupid ke? Their rules?

old ways?”

his face once again settled into that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe,

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

body.

I don’t know how bad

be small.

is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood

wonder I’m

there, throbbing, but the damage

outline of my coar remaine

Finale

and your friend, too. I’ll give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she won’t.

one desperate for the love of

of me holds her back, despite the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d

make sense of it

and I 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 in a

blink.

still spotty.

vampire kneels before me, cupping my cheek with a

Ava!

not sure if he