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

conversation reach my ears, painting a grim

never going to submit-

and powerful. Clayton. Relief mingles with dread in my gut. He's on his way,

Selene's voice is a lifeline, anchoring me

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

myself, I dive into the fray, determined to help subdue the riot. Shouts of "traitor" and "bitch" assail me from all

100 Avi Rest

Mason's mother, her eyes wild with

and terror freeze me for a

hands close around my throat, squeezing, choking

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

head slams against the parking stop with a sickening crack.

What have

my heart

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

her. I killed Todd Mason's mother. Just like

Ava! Get it together!

wolf before one of my bodyguards yanks him to the

of shock threatening to

17.08.

377

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

heart pounding against my ribs. Is he dead? Did I just kill another one? But then I see the faint rise and

ПЕР

Just uncons

to harden my heart, 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 mother's lifeless body still presses

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

the distance, flickering at the edge of my vision. I squint, trying to make out what it is,

see that?

mix of curiosity and wariness. I don't know what it is, but

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108 Ava Ta

nod, even though she can't see me.

we break away from the battle,

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

can't. ignore. Selene runs at

midst of

approach the shadow, it begins to take shape, solidifying into a figure. A person, hunched over and stumbling, as