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

reach my ears, painting a

never going to submit-

howl pierces the air, deep and powerful. Clayton. Relief mingles with dread in my gut. He's on his

is a lifeline, anchoring me

have 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,

100 Avi Rest

from my nightmares. Todd Mason's mother, her eyes wild with grief and rage as she lunges

shricks, as guilt and terror freeze

my throat, squeezing,

hands moving to flip her

the parking stop with a

God. What

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

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

Mason's mother. Just like I killed

Ava! Get it together!

mental voice helps me avoid another wolf before one of my bodyguards yanks him to

of shock threatening to

17.08.

377

process the danger, muscle memory from 1 sidestep the attack, grasping the wolf's foreleg

limp form, 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 chest,

ПЕР

bus. Just uncons

what I've done. It's easier this time, knowing he's not dead by my hand.

wolf form bounding into the fray, flanked by several other wolves. Their arrival shifts the tide of the

me, something 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

see that?

laced with a mix of curiosity and wariness. I don't know what it is, but we need to check

4/7

108 Ava Ta

she

from the battle, darting toward

My heart pounds in my cars as we draw closer, adrenaline surging through my veins. What if it's a trap? What if it's another enemy, lying

something compels me forward, a gut instinct that I can't. ignore. Selene runs at my side, her presence a reassuring

midst of

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