Chapter 274: The Box of Memories

They had ended up spending one more day at the cottage and Theo had no idea time could move so fast, but she was so glad she got to make these memories with them.

With more and more to come.

The wind was a bit heavy today, and from the scent in the air it was quite obvious that it was going to rain tonight.

They were all sitting in front of the cottage. Zeke and Sylas were arguing about something as they always did, while the women were together, seated on a small bench.

Charlene had Theo lay her head on her shoulder, patting her hands soothingly while she told her stories of how she lived as a little girl before she got kidnapped and sold to Cain as a teenager.

Charlene was a half human, half wolf.

A hybrid that was wolfless due to her nature. And of course, Cain took her in as a maid since the twisted man was always interested in things that were out of the ordinary.

The wind blew again, and Theo felt the older woman shiver.

"It’s about to rain. Should we head inside?" Theo asked.

"No, I like it here. It’s serene, and would be silent if those two blockheads were arguing right now,"

"Alright. How about I get you a shawl or something to wrap around yourself," Theo suggested.

"Oh, dear. That would be better,"

Theo stood up.

"It’s in the boy’s room. I think I left it there this morning,"

"Let me go get it,"

Theo walked into the house, and straight into the boy’s room. The house had three small rooms — Charlene’s, one for the boys and the last one which Theo was staying at. Last night, Zeke had tried sneaking into her room but Charlene had caught him.

They were standing next outside her room, and she’d heard Charlene whisper : Let the girl rest. You have the rest of your lives to do it!

Theo’s face was gone red, and she had buried it in her pillow.

Inside the boy’s room, Theo looked around. The bed wasn’t as big as the ones at Gravemont, which was probably why she always heard them arguing almost every time before they went to bed.

Some parts of the room were messy, and the other was sparkling clean. Zeke and Sylas. Two complete opposites. The thought made her smile again. And of course, the air in the room was thick with the mixture of their scents.

Seraphina was beginning to purr.

*You better get that shawl and get out of there before I make us jump on that bed and fuck ourselves while sniffing their clothes,*

*Seraphina!!* Theo cried, embarrassed.

She started looking around for the shawl, till she found it perched up atop the cupboard. It looked like someone had flung it up there during a tantrum this morning.

Probably Zeke.

Theo shook her head again. Those boys!

Standing on the tip of her toes, she reached out and managed to grab the edge of the shawl hanging...and then she pulled hard.

The shawl came down, along with a brown box that had been kept up there. With a gasp, she caught it just before it slammed into her face and left her with a small bruise that would make her mates flock around her till it was completely healed.

But as she held the box, it was surprisingly light. She looked at it, and it had been sealed shut with a tape. But there was something written on top.

Two handwritings.

Zeke and Sylas.

Zeke : To Hellcat.

Sylas: To Venom.

Her eyes widened. Does it mean whatever was inside the box was hers? Now she was very curious and couldn’t help herself.

She did a shake test, and she heard something that sounded like a bead inside.

Quickly, she tore the seal open and opened the box. Sitting inside the box were two...stuffed animals and a bracelet made of beads.

She picked up the items and stared at them. The first stuffed animal was a red cat, and the other one was a Pikachu. As for the bead, it was beautiful and was arranged interchangeably with white and black stones.

She smiled and looked at the items. If she were to guess which gift came from who, she would say the stuffed animals came from Zeke and the bead was from Sylas.

*Your heart is pounding* Seraphina said.

*My heart is always pounding,* Theo replied.

*No, not like this,* Seraphina whispered more urgently.

Suddenly, a drop of water fell on her cheek and unto her hands and she realized it was tears.

She was crying.

*Something is happening to you,* Seraphina added.

Theo blinked, and more tears poured.

She was still staring at the items, tracing the bead and the stuffed animals with her hands.

She could feel the blood in her veins rushing fast, her heartbeat rattling her ribcage and it was like there was something that was trying to burst forth through her head.

No, through her chest.

She groaned softly and clutched her heart, starting to pant.

*Are you okay?! Theo! Theo!!*

More tears welled in her eyes and poured, and it was suddenly as if the warmth from her wolf couldn’t protect her anymore from the sudden cold that swept her completely.

She shuddered badly, her breath catching and stopping all together.

Seraphina was still yelling in her mind, but Theo couldn’t hear her anymore. Her voice sounded very distant, and images were starting to form in her head...along with voices.

"A cat for a Hellcat,"

Was that...Zeke?!

"You’re giving it to me?"

"If you like it that much, I’ll get you another one."

Theo groaned as the pain grew even more intense and the cold got worse. But as it did, the images and the voices became even more clearer.

This time, she was in what looked like a locker room and Sylas was standing next to her. She was... pulling his ears?

"And let me warn you, you cold-blooded demon," She was saying, "The next time you act like the world is beneath your feet, or you subject me to one of those horrors, I’m gonna find my boobs and I’m gonna slap your stupid, handsome face with them so hard!"

Oh God

Oh God...

Were these...her memories?!

She gripped the animals even tighter, hugging them to her chest as her head kept banging and her chest kept twisting itself apart.

Then, she saw another memory of herself standing somewhere in the school with Sylas slipping the beads into her hands, telling her what they were and how they were special and would react based on the wearer’s desires.

And with that, every single memory came back crashing into her head. Every one of it.

Her past. Her mother. Her father. Her brothers.

How she had lived in the North.

Her father’s declaration and how she had escaped to Gravemont with Eric.

Meeting Zeke. Meeting Sylas. Every single interaction they had. Every first kiss. Every memory of them protecting her, choosing her... loving her.

Everything that had happened till...the explosion.

Till Cain had arrived and killed her mates. She remembered her wedding to Cain. She remembered how she had counted every second of being mateless, drowning in despair while Cain continued to break her.

Shattered her.

And then...the injections. The lab. Slowly losing her soul. Fading away into the darkness.

The darkness itself. Moving in that endless white void, and meeting that woman.

If she wasn’t already on her knees, she would have fallen by now. How could she not have recognised her own mother?!

And then, everything that happened after returning. Suddenly seeing herself standing in the hollow.

Slowly, Theo gathered herself and dragged her weak up body till she was standing again on wobbly legs. She was still wearing the bead.

Still holding the stuffed animals.

Still crying. Still shaking. Still feeling it all.

And then, her legs moved.

.

.

.

"Theo, dear, did you find the shawl yet?" Charlene called from outside.

No answer.

"Theo?"

Silence again.

Charlene was instantly on her feet, limping back into the cottage. Theo was a werewolf. She would answer her the moment she hears her name. Unless something was wrong.

The moment Charlene took a step forward, Zeke and Sylas appeared right next to her. They’d heard her calling Theo, and they didn’t hear Theo answer back.

"Go. Make sure she’s alri—"

"She’s not in there," Sylas said, already searching for her with his shadows while standing there.

"What? Where did she go?!" Zeke exclaimed as he ran into the house.

He searched everywhere for her, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. But he did come across the empty box sitting there on the floor of their room, and turned back worriedly at Sylas.

"What do you think happened?" Zeke asked quietly, his hands trembling softly.

"I... don’t know," Sylas replied.

"Find her. Use your shadows. Search the whole vicinity,"

"I’m trying," Sylas sighed, a muscle ticking in his jaw, "But...,"

"But what?" Zeke demanded angrily.

"I think... she’s blocking me out."