Chapter 78

Abigail

I should have known Theo was up to something the second I saw him grinning like that.

That particular smirk—the one that screamed, Hey, let’s do something incredibly reckless that may or may not get us in trouble.

Owen knew it too. He sighed so hard I thought he might actually deflate.

We’ve been playing for hours, having started in the house, but eventually lead to the forest around the house. A few of the guards did see Theo and seem to question his presence, but none of them stopped our laughter.

And I’ll be honest… Theo was funny! And reckless! He was a blast, the near opposite of Owen but not in a better more—in a more… friend, not brother way! It was fun!

Owen sighed again behind us, clearly over our play time but Theo and I were booming with energy. “Theo, whatever you’re thinking, stop,” he muttered.

Theo gasped, clutching his chest like Owen had deeply offended him. “Wow. No faith in me at all?”

“Zero,” I said, deadpan.

He brightened, like I had just given him a compliment. “Perfect. That’s the kind of energy we need for this.”

“Need for what?” I asked, nearly jumping up and down.

Theo’s grin turned wolfish. “A game.”

Owen groaned, rubbing his temples. “I swear, if this is like last time—”

“Last time was an accident,” Theo interrupted. “How was I supposed to know the old bridge would collapse?”

Owen shot him a look. “It was an hour ago? And it was literally rotting, Theo.”

“Semantics.”

I snorted. “What’s the game?”

Theo turned to me, eyes glinting. “It’s called The Wild Hunt.”

I crossed my arms. “That sounds like a great way to get arrested.”

“Or caught,” Owen scoffed. “Mom’s gonna lose it when she—”

Theo waved that off. “Pfft. We’ll just embrace our inner wolves a little. No shifting, not that you can, just instincts. Tracking, chasing—tapping into that primal urge you’re always suppressing.” He wiggled his fingers like some kind of mystical wizard. “I run, you chase, if you catch me, I chase you.”

Owen made a strangled noise. “We are not doing this. Plus, that’s just Tag.”

“We are absolutely doing this,” Theo countered, undeterred.

I hesitated.

On one hand, it was getting late. On the other hand…

I wanted to.

Badly. I mean, whats more fun then tag at dusk?

Theo must’ve seen the conflict on my face, because he stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You feel it, don’t you? That itch under your skin? The way your body wants to run?” He tilted his head, watching me like a predator eyeing prey. “Come on, princess. I dare you.”

Princess?

“You’re going to eat dirt when I catch you,” I said, already shifting my stance.

Theo’s smirk widened. “That’s the spirit.”

Owen groaned behind me. “I hate both of you.”

I flashed him a grin. “Then run faster.”

And with that, I took off after Theo’s racing barefoot steps.

I knew he was fast, but god, he was the wind.

The second my feet hit the ground, my instincts took over. My vision sharpened. My claws lengthened just slightly. The wind roared past my ears as I sprinted into the trees, Theo’s laughter ringing infront me like a mocking bell.

“Not bad, princess,” he called.

“You talk too much,” I shot back.

Owen was running too, though probably out of obligation rather than enjoyment. Although, I knew he could go faster, but his eyes were on me. Ever my doting brother. “We need to stop before this gets out of hand!”

I ignored him, leaping over a fallen log. Theo dodged left at the last second, my claws skimming his sleeve as I barely missed him.

“Oh-ho,” he crowed. “Feisty.”

“Hold still and find out,” I growled.

But then—I smelled something.

I skidded to a stop, heart pounding. My body tensed as I honed in on a noise.

Theo stilled. “Do you hear that?”

We did.

A low rustling in the trees. The kind that wasn’t normal. Were those… eyes?

Owen tensed. “Is… something’s hunting us.”

And that’s when Theo grinned.

“Well,” he murmured. “We are kids. Not exactly top of the food chain.”

I shot him a look over my shoulder, “We’re wolves, Theo. Do you know who our Dad is? No one would even dare—”

The rustling cut me short and I felt Owen yank my arm, his gaze hardened. “We’re going home.” He snapped, his voice serious for once. “Now.”

“Run where, Theo?” I snapped. “Straight into whatever’s stalking us?!”

“I mean, that’s one option—”

I shoved him, both of us nearly tripping as we sprinted back torwrds the mansion. We weren’t sure if we were being being watched, but we weren’t about to find out. Whatever was in the woods was still behind us, staying just out of sight.

Then Theo nudged me, near out of breath. “Hey, if things go south, you’re our distraction.”

I turned slowly. “Excuse me?”

He shrugged. “You’d make the best bait. You’re the slowest!”

“I am not!” I hissed.

Owen rolled his eyes, shoving us both forward. “Focus on you’re feet you two!”

“You’re so right!” Theo defended to me. “With those little legs, you’re the fastest. The most agile. The most—”

I kicked him in the shin.

He yelped. “Okay, okay, fair—”

Then the thing in the woods lunged—the rustling like a train behind us.

We bolted. Our laughter leaving a bit, replaced with slight panic. Though none of us seemed to want to admit it.

The problem?

We were running blind.

Which is how I ended up barreling straight off the riverbank.

There was a moment of weightlessness. A single heartbeat of realization. The moment my feet left the ground, I knew I was in trouble.

The world tilted, trees blurring past as I plunged downward. Air rushed past my ears, my stomach flipping in that horrible way it does right before impact. Then—

Splash.

The cold was a brutal shock.

It hit me like a thousand needles piercing my skin all at once, the freezing river swallowing me whole. My lungs seized. Darkness wrapped around me, the current yanking me down before I could even gasp.

What!? We were at the river?! I thought we were running back to the mansion!?

I kicked hard, but the water was a relentless force, dragging me deeper, spinning me like a ragdoll. My limbs felt sluggish, my clothes heavy, my lungs already burning for air. “Owen!” My head popped out the water for a flashing second.

I twisted, disoriented, searching for the surface, for anything—

Then—

A hand.

Strong fingers wrapped around my wrist, yanking me upward with a force that nearly wrenched my shoulder from its socket. I barely had time to react before I was breaking the surface, my chest heaving as I gulped in air.

“Got you,” Theo panted, his grip like iron. He had one arm hooked under mine, his other hand clutching a thick, low-hanging branch, keeping us both from being swept further downstream.

Water rushed past us, fast and unforgiving, battering my legs and making it impossible to find solid footing. My fingers scrabbled against slick bark, my breath coming in gasping, ragged bursts.

On the riverbank, Owen was already on his stomach, reaching down. “Abigail!” His eyes were wide, frantic. “Grab my hand!”

I tried. I really did. But the current had other ideas, yanking me sideways just as my fingers grazed his.

Theo swore under his breath, his grip on me tightening. “Owen, if we don’t get out of this water in like, five seconds, you’re gonna have to fish our frozen corpses out later.”

I would’ve yelled at him for that comment if I wasn’t too busy choking on river water.

“Oh, for—just hold still!” Owen snapped.

Then he lunged.

His hand locked around my other wrist in a bruising grip, and suddenly, there was traction. Theo shoved me upward with all his strength, Owen pulling with everything he had as he yanked us both to him. My body scraped against the muddy riverbank, my nails clawing into the dirt as they dragged me to solid ground.

I collapsed onto my back, coughing, my whole body trembling from the cold. Water dripped from my hair, soaking into the earth beneath me. My chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven breaths, every muscle screaming in exhaustion.

Next to me, Theo flopped onto the ground, arms spread wide like he’d just finished the world’s worst workout. He exhaled, then turned his head toward me with a grin.

“Shoo,” he said, completely unbothered. “That was so much fun.”

I barely had the strength to turn my head and glare at him. “I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“I loathe you.”

Theo smirked. “Same thing.”

Owen groaned, collapsing dramatically on the other side of me, arms flung out. “Never again. Ever. Both of you.”

I could still feel the river’s pull in my bones, my heart hammering from the sheer insanity of what had just happened.

And yet—

Theo caught my eye, still grinning.

Oh, this definitely wasn’t the last time.

“We… need to get back to the house,” I managed through my coughs.

“Yeah,” A new voice sent us all turning around, seeing a massive white werewolf standing over us. “You kids need to head home. Now.”