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

conversation reach my ears, painting a grim picture. "-fuck all of

never going to submit-

dread in my gut.

voice is a lifeline,

is. I can sense

to help subdue the riot. Shouts of "traitor" and "bitch" assail me from

100 Avi Rest

from my nightmares. Todd Mason's mother, her

guilt and terror freeze me for a second too

my throat,

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

head slams against the parking stop with

God. What have

battle fading to a dull roar in my ears. I stumble back, my heart hammering against my ribs as I stare

in my chest as the reality of what just

Mason's

Ava! Get it together!

avoid another wolf before

of shock threatening to consume me. On

17.08.

377

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

stare at his limp form, my heart pounding against my ribs. Is he dead? Did I just kill another one? But then I see the

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Just uncons

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

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

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

see that?

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

4/7

108 Ava Ta

she

break away from the battle,

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 in

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

midst of the

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