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 grim picture. "-fuck all of

never going to submit-

mingles with dread in my

a

no idea where she is. I can sense her in this mess

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

100 Avi Rest

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 too

my throat, squeezing, choking off

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

head slams against the parking stop with a sickening crack. She goes still. Too

God. What have

fading to a dull roar in my ears. I stumble back, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stare at the motionless body before me. Ava.

The air won't come, my lungs seizing in my chest as the reality of what just

Todd Mason's mother. Just like I killed

Ava! Get it together!

me avoid another wolf before one of my bodyguards yanks him

Selene's voice slices through the haze of shock threatening to consume me.

17.08.

377

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 a sharp twist, I use his own momentum against him, sending him crashing to the ground. He lands with a heavy thud, lying

he dead? Did I just kill another one? But then I see the faint rise and fall of

ПЕР

bus. Just

to push aside the guilt and horror of what I've done. It's easier this time, knowing

cuts through the chaos, and I whip around to see Clayton's massive wolf form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other wolves. Their arrival shifts the tide of the battle, the Blackwood wolves faltering in

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

see that?

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

4/7

108 Ava Ta

nod, even though she can't see

from the battle,

surging through my

me forward, a gut instinct that I can't. ignore. Selene runs at my

midst

shape, solidifying into a figure. A person, hunched over and stumbling, as if injured. My breath