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

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

between me and the battling wolves. Snippets of conversation reach my ears, painting a

never going to submit-

mingles with dread in

a lifeline,

no idea where she is. I can sense her in

into the fray, determined to help subdue the riot. Shouts of "traitor" and "bitch" assail me from all sides, the Blackwood wolves'

100 Avi Rest

mother, her eyes wild with grief and rage as she lunges

shricks, as guilt and terror freeze me for a

around my throat, squeezing,

on instinct. A twist, a shove, and she's off me, my hands

with a sickening

What have

I stumble back, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stare at the motionless body before me. Ava. Selene's voice, distant and muffled. Ava,

in my chest as the reality of

I killed Todd Mason's mother. Just like I

Ava! Get it together!

me avoid another wolf before one of my bodyguards

the haze of

17.08.

377

read 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

dead? Did I just kill another one? But then I see the faint rise and fall of his chest, and relief

ПЕР

Just

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

cuts through the chaos, and I whip around to see Clayton's massive wolf form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other

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

see that?

laced with a mix of curiosity and wariness. I don't know

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108 Ava Ta

though she

we break away from the battle,

surging through my veins. What if it's a trap? What if it's another enemy, lying in

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

the midst of the

hunched over and stumbling, as if injured. My breath catches in my throat as a sudden,