Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 79 Ava: Fighting Back

Todd's wolf form prowls closer, his hackles bristling with menace. His eyes burn with a feral hunger that sends

tremors through me. Anticipation hums in the air between us.

The tree trunk is rough against my back as | use it for support, forcing my body to its feet. The cool weight of the

pocketknife in my hand keepscentered.

1 will not cower.

The mysterious energy from before, that primal force filling my veins, is gone. It's a fleeting whisper of the past,

eluding my grasp no matter how desperately | search for it.

All I have is my training and the small knife I'd stolen from home.

| flip open the blade with a flick of my thumb, the soft click lost amidst the snarls and growls of the ongoing

battle around us. At least, | hope it's lost. | know wolf hearing is keen, but | don't know its limitations.

Todd's lips peel back in a vicious snarl, revealing yellowed canines. It figures that even his wolf's teeth would

need swork. His breath had always smelled like those tuna sandwiches he eats.

He lunges, a blur of ruddy fur and gnashing jaws.

Instinct hasdiving to the side, scrabbling for purchase on the uneven ground. He whirls to faceas | roll to

my knees, gripping the knife tightly as | swipe at his muzzle. The blade catches a superficial level of skin and fur,

drawing a thin line of crimson that only seems to enrage him further.

A deafening snarl rips from his throat and | dash to the side, my heart pounding in frantic rhythm. The rush of

blood overcomes all sound in the area, a static thudding in my ears.

His jaws snap shut inches from my face. Nausea churns in my belly, courtesy of his rancid breath.

I lash out with the knife again, the blade slicing through fur and flesh. A guttural yelp tears from his throat, but

his momentum carries him forward, ramming intowith all the force of a large adult wolf and an entire

lifetof anger issues.

Air whooshes from my lungs as | hit the ground, the knife clattering from my grasp. Stars explode across my

vision before it fades, just for a moment.

It all comes back in a rush. I'm pinned beneath Todd's paws, pressing down on my shoulders with crushing force.

His hot breath washes overin waves of putrid stench, his muzzle inches from my face.

| thrash and writhe, but his claws are like miniature daggers digging into my skin, immovable and unyielding.

With a burst of adrenaline-fueled strength, | manage to free one arm and lash out blindly, my nails raking across

his muzzle and smacking against one eye.

I don't hit my mark, but it startles him.

He rears back with a snort, givinga moment of opportunity.

I roll to the side, scrambling for the knife as he lunges atagain.

Leaves and dirt get in my way as my fingers scrabble for the knife, its silver blade glinting in the moonlight. I'm

bleeding. The scent of my blood mingles with the earthy aroma of the forest floor, a sickly metallic tang that

pushesto move faster.

Faster, damn it.

| snatch the knife and whirl onto my back just as Todd crashes down where I'd been lying just moments before.

His jaws snap shut with a resounding clack. Flecks of spittle and foam coat my cheeks.

Clutching the knife with a white-knuckled grip, | lash out wildly, the blade slicing a shallow gash across his ear,

his neck. A guttural yelp rips from his throat as he snaps at my arm, ripping skin as | dash backward, scrambling

to my feet.

There's no escape route. No other weapons. The other wolves are still involved in their own struggles several

feet away. How many have set upon us? Too many to count. Did the entire pack make it here?

But | can't worry about them.

I have to deal with Todd.

He lunges again, his body slamming into mine like a fucking freight train. | stumble, gasping for air as his claws

rake across my abdomen, tearing through fabric and flesh alike.

Agony.

Setting my teeth against the pain, | stab into anything I can, wild jabs of my hand. I hit something, because

blood coats my hilt and my grip slips tand tagain.

He shovesto the ground with a wide movement of his head and upper body somehow and | backpedal, my

heel catching on a gnarled root.

| sprawl back with a startled scream, and he's onagain.

I'm in no position to dodge. | have no tto think.

| raise an arm to protect my face as | stab low and blind, grunting as his weight slamsinto the ground

beneath him. My fingers scrabble against the knife as | yank it out and stab again and again, even as he snaps

and bites at my face, my shoulders, in between shrieks.

Todd's body shudders violently, his blood coating my hands in slick streaks of crimson. A strangled whine

escapes his muzzle before he finally goes limp, his full weight collapsing atop me.

| gasp for air, no longer suffocated by his rancid breath. There's no breath at all. Only blood and earth.

My arms tremble and | leave the knife stuck in him somewhere, almost hidden by his fur. There's so much blood.

| must have hit something important.

Luck.

Thank the Moon Goddess for luck.

He remains motionless, the only sound a faint gurgling as blood bubbles from one of the many wounds I've

managed to inflict. Many of them shallow, sof them deeper.

I'm bathed in the last remnants of his life. Adrenaline ebbs, leavinghollow and shaking. My chest heaves with

ragged breaths as | struggle for air beneath his weight, but the fear is gone.

I'm a blank slate, an Ava without fear or relief, staring up at the canopy of branches above, the moonlight

filtering through in soft, silvery beams.

The night sky is gorgeous, a blanket of stars, peaceful and ignorant of the terror hidden in its shadows.

It's over. I'm alive.

A tremor wracks my frame.

| killed him.

Bile rises in my throat, burning like acid, but | swallow it back with a convulsive shudder. Now isn't the tfor

hysterics. | have to focus. Have to stay alert and ready for whatever comes next.

Except | can't.

| have nothing left in me.

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