The troll joining them was still weird to Theo.
Why Bo wanted to walk with them was beyond Theo. When asked, Bo would shrug his massive shoulders and claim them friends. And maybe that was really starting to worry Theo a littleas well. What exactly did being friends with a troll entail? Other than Bo staying close to them.
A hard gust of wind nearly pushed Theo off his feet.
Reaching out, Theo snagged Garrett’s arm as they both drew to a stop.
“You’ll want to keep walking,” Steve said, glancing back at them. “The spirits will mostly leave you alone if you keep walking.”
“Spirits?” Theo asked. “Like ghosts?”
“The lost souls,” Bo informed him. “They have not found peace in the afterlife.”
So… real ghosts? A whimper escaped Theo’s mouth. He really didn’t want to meet a ghost. Hellcats! Why were things so dang complicated?
From the corner of his eye, Theo spotted something hazy running at him.
He jumped, but when Theo looked again, it was gone.
“They’ll keep doing that,” Steve said. “We should hurry.”
“Right,” Theo agreed. He pulled on Garrett’s arm.
The gargoyle stared at Theo with big eyes as his little bat ears moved side to side like he could hear something that Theo was missing. “I do not like it here, friend Theo.”
“Me either,” Theo whispered back. “Let’s just hurry.”
“I am also tired,” Garrett told him.
“Yeah. We’ll stop soon,” Theo promised. It just wouldn’t be in a nice comfortable bed or with a good meal like Theo was wishing for.
Keeping his gaze straight ahead, Theo had to really work at not flinching every time a hazy white figure ran at him. At least nothing had touched him yet. Maybe they couldn’t.
They started up what Steve had called a hill. That was a joke. Hill? No. It had been more like a dang mountain. His already aching feet felt like they were ten pounds each. Lifting one foot and then the other was taking all of Theo’s energy.
So much ice cream. And pets. Catnip. And maybe a dozen blowjobs. Blowjobs were nice. A few days spent in bed with his mates would be perfect. As long as Theo got everything else on his list. A double scoop of ice cream for sure.
The higher they walked, the colder it became as well.
He had to let go of Garrett’s arm to shove his hands inside the pocket of the hoodie. Theo’s fingers were stiff and cold.
Tripping, Theo had to thank his feline ability for remaining on his feet.
“We’re almost to the top!” Steve called. “Then you will get exactly what you deserve.”
Why did that sound ominous? “What I deserve?”
The wind picked up again, taking Theo’s words with it.
“Rest,” Steve said with a laugh.
Theo hummed. He was almost too tired to care. Almost. Theo did care. He wanted to get back to his mates. To his home. He’d never had a home before. And maybe they were already planningon moving out of Dario’s apartment and him out of the dorm but the houses that Dario and Alek had been telling him about seemed perfect for their family of five.
Family.
Family was another thing Theo had gone his entire life without.
His parents hadn’t wanted him. No foster parents had stepped up. Without knowing about his past, Theo had barely worried about his future. Until it came to college and Theo realized that he could make the life he wanted on his own.
