Tangled

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168

168 Ava: Riot

It isn't impossible, but it might kill her before we get any results. Her answer isn't quite hesitant, but not firm, either.

"You're not telling me something

It is hard to explain. Selene stands and shakes herself. The only thing we can do is try. But it is a great risk. We should talk to Vanessa before trying, I think, if you wish to have her renounce her pack. As a heal That makes sense, only-

Selene and I share a startled glance as the chaotic noises from outside crescendo into a cacophony of snarls and shouts. Terror seizes my throat, memories of the party flashing through my mind, but I push pas We rush to the window, and my heart nearly stops at the sight below.

It's a full-on brawl. Wolves. Shifters in their human form. They're all locked together, dozens of Blackwood wolves overwhelming the few guards at the lodge.

Ava, we need to go. Selene's voice is sharp in my mind, urging me into action.

We race downstairs, my pulse pounding in my ears. There are no bodyguards to stop me; they're in the fray.

Fuck. I'm going to end up with twenty of them after Lucas hears

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abean chit

Marra winch rises above the din, his face a

mut of forty as he grapples with a narling wolf.

Telore I can respond, movement catches my eye. A Blackwood. Someone I vaguely recognize.

He launches at me, his body twisting and contorting as he shifts in

midair.

But Selene is faster. She meets the wolf head-on, and her snarl sends ice through my bones as she knocks him down.

I guess her body isn't very domestic dog, after all.

Chaos erupts around me. Claws and teeth flash past, barely missing me as I dodge and weave, my bodyguards struggling to form a protective

the battling wolves. Snippets of conversation reach my ears, painting a grim picture.

never going to submit-

pierces the air, deep and powerful. Clayton. Relief mingles with dread in my gut. He's

Selene's voice is a lifeline,

where she is. I can sense her in this

of "traitor" and "bitch" assail me from all sides, the Blackwood wolves' hatred

100 Avi Rest

Mason's mother, her

as guilt and terror freeze me

around my throat, squeezing, choking off

a shove, and she's off me, my hands moving to flip her to the ground. But something goes wrong. The

stop with a

God. What have I

sounds of battle fading to a dull roar in my ears. I stumble back, my heart

seizing in my chest as the reality of what just happened crashes over

I killed Todd Mason's

Ava! Get it together!

avoid another wolf before one of my bodyguards

voice slices through the haze of shock threatening to

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377

fully process the danger, muscle memory from 1 sidestep the attack, grasping the wolf's foreleg as he passes. With a

heart pounding against my ribs. Is he dead? Did I just

ПЕР

bus. Just uncons

to push aside the guilt and horror of what I've done. It's easier this time, knowing he's not dead by my hand. But the weight of Todd Mason's

wolf form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other wolves. Their arrival shifts the tide of the battle, the Blackwood wolves faltering in the face of this

at the edge of my vision. I squint, trying to make out what it is, but the darkness and the swirling mass Selene, I call out in my

see that?

wariness. I don't know what it is, but we need to check

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108 Ava Ta

nod, even though she can't

we break away from the

adrenaline surging through my veins. What if it's a trap? What if it's another

that I can't. ignore. Selene runs at

midst of

the shadow, it begins to take shape, solidifying into a figure. A person, hunched over and stumbling, as if injured. My breath catches