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

me and the battling wolves. Snippets of conversation reach my ears, painting a grim picture. "-fuck all

never going to submit-

dread in my gut. He's on

voice is a lifeline,

idea where she is. I can sense

determined to help subdue the riot. 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

and terror freeze me for a

my throat, squeezing, choking off my

me, but my body reacts on instinct. A twist, a shove, and she's off me, my hands moving to flip her to

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

What have I

world spins around me, the sounds of battle fading to a dull roar in my ears. I stumble back, my heart hammering against my

my lungs seizing in my chest as the reality of what

killed her. I killed Todd Mason's

Ava! Get it together!

wolf before one of my

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

17.08.

377

instinct, pivoting to face the 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

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

ПЕР

bus. Just uncons

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 mother's lifeless body still presses

to see Clayton's massive wolf form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other wolves. Their arrival shifts

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

see that?

of curiosity and wariness. I don't know what it

4/7

108 Ava Ta

even though she

from the battle, darting toward

my cars as we draw closer, adrenaline surging through my veins. What

a gut instinct that I can't. ignore. Selene runs at my side, her presence a

midst of

to take shape, solidifying into a figure. A person, hunched over and stumbling, as if injured. My breath catches in my throat