Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
Theo woke up naked in a cave, the taste of blood on his lips. His entire body trembled from cold and exhaustion. When he lifted a shaky hand to his face, he flinched at the sight of dried blood streaking his arm and chest. Memories of the previous night flickered in broken fragments. He remembered running into the forest, and the savage clarity of a predator’s hunger.
He tried to piece together how he had ended up here, curled against the rock with no clothes and no sense of time. A dull ache weighed on his chest as he recalled the fury that had consumed him. He had lost himself to the bear, and now the shame settled in like a slow, heavy current.
Pushing himself upright, he pressed his back against the damp cave wall. A shiver coursed through him. He was alone. No comforting voice, no warm blanket, only the echo of his own ragged breathing in the dim light.
He shut his eyes, and in that moment, he saw Serena’s tear-filled gaze. He remembered how she had looked at him with terror when he grabbed her. The realization made his stomach twist. He had lost control, and she had responded to his rage with fear.
A fleeting image of his father’s reassuring presence drifted through his head, along with his mother’s smiling face. But the thought of explaining how he had become a monster in the forest, how everyone at the academy believed he was sabotaging them, sent a burst of shame racing through his veins. He couldn’t bring himself to face them. He felt he had let them down in every possible way.
He remembered the triumphant look in Kai’s eyes when the missing kits were discovered. He relived Poppy’s disappointment, the way she seemed convinced of his guilt. The more he thought about it, the more betrayal weighed on him. None of them believed him. They had all turned away, leaving him adrift with nowhere to turn. Part of him wanted to prove his innocence, but a deeper part whispered that no one would listen. He felt unmoored, stuck between fury and despair.
He drew in a shaky breath and considered the logical choice: get his car. He’d use the spare key he had under the frame. Put on his clothes, beg his parents for help, maybe hide out in the guest room until he figured out who was framing him.
Yet he knew that meant answering for the missing gear and for the savage part of him that had destroyed any chance of trust. He squeezed his eyes shut, pushing the thought away. Guilt knotted in his chest, and anger simmered beneath it. He could not bear to see his family’s disappointment.
Before he could reach any decision, a deep shudder wracked his frame. Something black and sorrowful tensed inside him, awakening the beast that lurked under his skin. His chest felt tight as his breathing went ragged. Every instinct urged him to flee, to destroy, to silence the pounding in his mind. His bear, traumatized and raging, clawed at his consciousness. He had only seconds to sense the coming shift, to feel a flicker of panic for what was about to happen.
He let out a strangled cry as his arms convulsed. Fur sprouted in a dense wave, and his bones contorted with a sickening crack. His vision hazed with red. One instant he was human, crouched in shame against the cave wall, and the next, he was a snarling beast. The cool clarity of his human mind slipped away, leaving only raw impulse.
He rose on all fours, shaking his massive head. A guttural growl echoed against the cave walls. He might have willed himself to reach out for help, now he felt only the dizzying pull of the forest. He launched out of the cave, claws scraping the rock with each powerful stride. The daylight seemed too bright, stabbing his eyes, fueling his confusion.
Branches whipped at his thick fur as he plunged deeper into the woods. His growls became a single chorus of pain and anger. He no longer spared a thought for his parents, for Serena, or for his own innocence. All that remained was the pounding of his heart and the need to escape every shred of memory.