“We should be okay for now,” Steve said. “For a little while anyway.”
Theo and Garrett fell into step with each other as Steve led the way. Theo might not completely trust the kid after being abandoned to the pixies but Steve was currently their best bet for getting help.
“What dangers does the dark forest hold?” Theo asked.
“Be careful what you touch,” Steve replied. “There are traps all around us. Some creatures will play tricks on us if we’re spotted, so don’t trust anything you see. The bigger predators won’t be out for several hours but they lay the traps, so yeah, we need to get out fast.”
None of that sounded like fun to Theo.
The farther into the forest that they walked, the colder it grew until Theo’s unease made him jump at every small noise. And he could hear a lot.
The back of his neck tingled like they were being followed.
Watched.
Theo trusted his instincts. Instincts that he hadn’t thought about until he’d met his mates. For his entire life Theo had lived in fear. Even in this circumstance when Theo knew he was in trouble, he still had a determination inside him. He would get back to his mates.
He’d neglected his feline side in the past since meeting his mates Theo felt closer to his cat than ever before. The feline inside him was aware of their surroundings and keeping watch for trouble.
Beside him Garrett was a strong and imposing figure even if Theo wasn’t certain how helpful he would be if they wereattacked. Although Garrett had used his literal body to protect Theo.
Theo just hoped it didn’t come down to that again.
It was obvious that Steve could and would disappear into a tree. He wasn’t sure how that worked but it sure was handy when faced with a pack of pixies.
Freaking pixies.
Wylder was not going to believe this when Theo told him. Mitch would probably growl and make threats toward the pixies. Alek would no doubt have a story or two to tell Theo about his experience with pixies. And Dario would baby him. Probably give Theo all the ice cream and cuddles that Theo could handle.
Thinking about his mates helped calm Theo down so he could concentrate on his surroundings.
The trees here were different than back home. Not only did they feel unfamiliar, but they reminded Theo of an old picture he’d seen in a book once where the trees had all burned during a horrible fire.
The trunks were twisted and thick. Black instead of the normal brown that Theo was used to. Instead of green leaves from the branches, the tops of these trees were covered in vines that were almost spiderweb-like.
Strange.
Although there was beauty in the difference as well.
Under different circumstances, and with his mates, Theo might enjoy a trip to the fae realm. He knew that the dark side wasn’t where they would normally travel but reading theLenkov journals had shown him that Tate and his mates went everywhere.
Walking and thinking, Theo finally knew how he wanted to write his and his mates’ story. He liked the diary form that Tate used but Theo was leaning more toward a novel form. Like writing a book. A story of mystery, intrigue, and love.
Many years from now it would be one of his children reading his words. And that thought was both terrifying and exciting. Theo wasn’t ready for kids quite yet. Hellcats! He was barely an adult himself. But someday. He could look forward to that. To the expansion of his family. A real family like Theo had always wanted.
He would even get Wylder, Mitch, Dario, and Alek to write some passages to share their point of view.
Yeah, Theo liked this idea.
His new life was full of adventure. Good and bad. This was definitely one of the scarier times. Or would be really scary if Theo wasn’t certain that his mates would come along anytime.
Like anytime would be great.
The sooner the better.
Theo waited. No mates. That was okay. Maybe he just needed to get out of the dark forest.
A sharp whistle pierced the air and he stopped walking.
