Chapter Two
Theo
His entire body ached as Theo opened his eyes and took a deep breath. At least he could breathe now. The weight holding him down, Garrett’s weight, was gone.
“Hello, friend Theo.” Garrett leaned down into Theo’s face with a fanged grin. “You are awake.”
Pushing himself up to his elbow was about the best he could do at the moment. “What happened?”
Garrett sat back, crossing his legs in front of him. “The pixie venom made you sick. And sleep.”
Pixie. Yeah, Theo remembered those mean little things. “Will they come back?”
Garrett shrugged. “Maybe. They get bored easily. But they do like to chase things. We would be fun to chase.”
Looking around, Theo spotted Steve sitting against a tree. Theo scowled. “You left us.”
Steve’s head snapped up. “Sorry! I couldn’t help! I couldn’t!”
Really? Theo opened his mouth to send Steve on his way. They didn’t need his help. But Garrett patted his back hard.
“It is true, friend Theo. Pixies kill dryads. Steve could not help,” Garrett told him.
Theo huffed. Fine. But he would keep his eye on Steve. The kid had lost his trust. “What are we going to do now?”
“We need help,” Garrett said. “It is late. More things will come out of the forest. I can already feel eyes watching us.”
“My mates will come.” He still had no doubt about that. Except it was concerning that his mates hadn’t found Theo yet. Peering out across the field where they had landed, Theo could tell too much time had passed.
How long had he been asleep?
How long had he even been there?
“They will come,” Garrett replied.
At least the gargoyle sounded sure. “Do we stay here?”
Garrett looked over to Steve.
Theo followed the gargoyle’s gaze. He had a really bad feeling that he was not going to like what the kid had to say. “Steve?”
“We’ve been here a long time already,” Steve said.
“Okay? And?” Theo pressed.
“The pixies aren’t the worst creatures in this area.” Steve wrapped his arms around himself. “Not even close. Your mates haven’t shown up yet. They might be in the realm already, but who knows? If I can get home, we can get the help that we need.”
More danger? Yeah, that would pretty much be Theo’s luck.
And he still didn’t know who had summoned him to this realm or why.
If someone had gone to all the trouble to get Theo into the fae realm, then what did they want?
Theo was pretty sure he didn’t want to know the answer to that.
And at least Steve was giving him a better option than just sitting there like prey.
Fae.
Theo wished he’d paid more attention to the pages of the journal that described the other realm and the danger inside them. If he had an idea what he was up against, Theo would feel a little better.
Slowly, Theo pushed himself up until he could stand.
Resting a hand on a thick trunk of a tree, Theo peered closer to the wood. Was it wood? It didn’t feel like his tree back home. His tree. It was gone.
Theo’s heart ached with the rest of his body.
The tree was important to him. Had been. It was the first place that he had felt comfortable with his mates. They’d eaten breakfast together under his tree after the weekend that the truth had come out. After Theo had run away. But his mates hadn’t given up on him. They would never give up on him.
Their tree might be gone but they were a team. And Theo wanted to get to his mates. Theo rubbed his palm over the strange bark as he came up with his plan.
Fae.
What did he remember exactly? Tate had written an entire list of rules. Theo had skimmed over it. What were they?
Okay, he could do this.
Theo closed his eyes, putting himself back to where he’d read that passage.
He’d been in Dario’s living room, sitting on the floor as Wylder had run his fingers through Theo’s hair. Dario had been on the phone in his office. Alek had been reading a book while Mitch had been in the gym. They’d been together and that was what Theo remembered the most.
Focus.
Theo had skimmed the list. He could remember. He could!
Never Give Your Name: Never tell the Fae your full or true name, as they can use it to control you.
Do Not Consume Fae Food/Drink: Eating or drinking in the Fae realm often makes you their permanent subject or property.
Never Say “Thank You”: Saying “thank you” implies a debt is paid, whereas Fae view relationships as a constant, ongoing exchange. Instead, say “You are most kind” or “I appreciate your generosity”.
Avoid Making Promises: Never make a promise you cannot keep, as the Fae take oaths seriously and will punish broken ones.
Trade, Don’t Take: Do not accept free gifts; always offer something in return to avoid owing a debt.
Okay. Okay, that was good. That should keep him safe. He needed to remember those. There had been more. What else?
There was a royal line but Theo didn’t think that they would be found on the dark side, as Steve called it.
He’d skipped over the parts about fae creatures and regretted it now.
He had planned to go back when he had more time.
Well too late now. Theo would just be sure not to trust anyone they met blindly.
Which meant they needed to decide on a course of action.
He turned toward Steve. “We need to get into range for me to call my mates.”
Steve sighed pushing up off the ground. “It’s going to be a long walk.”
Theo nodded. That was too be expected. “You know the way?”
“That way.” Steve pointed farther into the forest.
Theo caught Garrett’s eye. “Can you walk?”
Garrett gave Theo another wide fangy grin. “I practiced while you were asleep.”
That was adorable. Mentally Theo vowed that when he was reunited with his mates, they would find a way to treat Garrett. Theo had no idea if Garrett would return to his stone form or if he was changed together. No matter what, Theo would take care of his gargoyle friend.
“Let’s walk,” he decided.
“Just be careful where you step,” Steve advised. “Avoid any circles made of stones or mushrooms. Those are traps.”
“Good to know,” Theo commented carefully.
“If you hear music or whistling, ignore it,” Steve told them as he started to walk.
“Okay,” Theo agreed.
“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 were attacked. 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 the Lenkov 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.