Tangled

168

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

17-

17

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

of conversation reach my ears, painting a

never going to submit-

the air, deep and powerful. Clayton. Relief mingles with dread in my gut. He's on his way, but how

Selene's voice is a lifeline,

no idea where she is. I

"traitor" and "bitch" assail me from all

100 Avi Rest

then, a face from my nightmares. Todd Mason's mother, her eyes wild with grief and rage as she lunges for

and terror freeze me for a second

close around my throat, squeezing,

my hands moving to flip her to the ground. But something goes

parking stop with a

What have

a dull roar in my ears. I stumble back, my heart hammering

my chest as

killed Todd Mason's mother.

Ava! Get it together!

another wolf before one

through the haze of shock threatening to consume me. On your

17.08.

377

oncoming threat. Another Blackwood wolf, eyes blazing with hatred, lunges at me. My body moves before my mind can fully process the danger, muscle memory from 1 sidestep the attack, grasping the wolf's foreleg as he passes. With

Is he dead? Did I just kill another one? But

ПЕР

bus. Just uncons

and horror of what I've done. It's easier this time, knowing he's not

form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other wolves. Their arrival shifts the tide of the battle, the Blackwood

rages on around me, something catches my eye. A shadow in the distance, flickering 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 mind, my voice tinged with urgency.

see that?

Her response is immediate, laced with a mix of curiosity and wariness. I don't know what it is,

4/7

108 Ava Ta

even though she can't

break away from the battle,

in my cars as we draw closer, adrenaline surging through my veins. What if it's a

gut instinct that I can't. ignore. Selene

midst

take shape, solidifying into a figure. A person, hunched over and stumbling,