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

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

never going to submit-

and powerful. Clayton. Relief mingles with dread in my gut.

Selene's voice is a

where she is. I can sense

help subdue the riot. Shouts of "traitor" and "bitch"

100 Avi Rest

my nightmares. Todd Mason's mother, her eyes wild with

and terror freeze

throat, squeezing, choking off my

me, my hands moving to flip her to the ground. But something goes wrong. The angle is off, the momentum too

stop with a sickening crack. She goes still.

God. What have I

back, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stare at the motionless body before me.

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

I killed Todd Mason's mother. Just like I

Ava! Get it together!

avoid another wolf before one of my

haze of shock threatening to consume me. On

17.08.

377

on pure 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 as he passes. With a sharp twist, I use his own momentum against him, sending him crashing to the

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

ПЕР

Just

done. It's easier this time, knowing he's not dead by my hand. But the weight of Todd

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

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

see that?

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

4/7

108 Ava Ta

though she can't

we break away from the battle,

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

instinct that I can't. ignore. Selene runs at

midst

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