Chapter 114

Olivia

The chilled night air sent a shiver down my spine as we stood at the edge of the forest, gazing at the distant outline of the cabin.

The moonlight painted the scene before us in soft silver hues, stirring a mix of fear and nostalgia within me. Angela, Nathan, and I had decided to return to the cabin—the place where so many of my childhood memories with Nathan and Alvin took root.

“I can’t believe how long it’s been,” I whispered, more to myself than to the others.

The cabin had an aura of old, carefree days when life was simpler, back when our biggest concerns were winning hide and seek or roasting the perfect marshmallow.

Nathan broke the long, heavy silence that hung over our heads. “It feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Days of innocence.”

Angela took a deep breath, sensing the weight of the moment. She had never been there to experience any of our childhood memories.

“Alright,” she murmured, taking a step forward and giving us one last glance over her shoulder. “I’ll shift now and do my part. Remember, quick and quiet.”

Nathan and I nodded. “Be careful,” I whispered. I grabbed Angela’s hand and gave it one last squeeze. “And remember…”

“I know, I know,” Angela replied. “Wait for you down at the junction a few miles down the road. You’ll pick me up, and if you don’t come within an hour, then I’ll go home.”

That was our plan. It had weighed heavily on my mind—all of our minds, most likely—since yesterday. Angela was tough and commendable for being willing to sacrifice herself for Alvin’s sake; a man who she barely knew.

If Colin caught her, there was no telling what he would do. We hoped that, if he did catch her, he would believe that she was just drunk and pulling a nasty prank. That was what we hoped, at least. But Colin was known to surprise people.

Angela transformed then, her body contorting and changing. She shifted into her wolf form: a pretty little white wolf with a black spot on her forehead.

And then, with a determined nod, she ran off. Her light footsteps were barely audible on the soft forest floor, and she disappeared into the shadows.

Nathan turned to me once we were alone, his gaze intense in the dim light. “Ready, Liv?” he murmured.

I hesitated for a split second, the weight of our mission heavy in my heart. Nathan’s face gave away no emotion; it had been like that ever since our last argument.

“Read as I’ll ever be,” I replied quietly.

We made our way towards the cabin, sticking to the shadows and avoiding the faint glow that spilled from the windows.

With every step, memories flooded back. It was both comforting and disconcerting, being back in a place so familiar yet now layered with an air of urgency and danger.

“There’s the swing,” Nathan pointed, and I could just make out the silhouette of the old wooden seat, suspended from a sturdy branch. “Remember how we’d fight over who gets the first turn?”

I laughed softly. “And how Alvin would always let me go first, even if he won.”

Nathan said nothing. I wondered for a moment if he was still offended over the mention of my fond memories of Alvin, but we had bigger things to be dealing with right now.

The memories seemed to be guiding us, but the whereabouts of the buried box still eluded us. We wandered, drawing on old memories for guidance.

“We used to play treasure hunt here,” I murmured. “Maybe he hid it somewhere we used as a ‘treasure spot’ back then?”

Nathan nodded thoughtfully. “But where? There were so many places...”

I tried to put myself in Alvin’s shoes. If I were to bury something of great importance, it would be somewhere deeply personal.

A moment, a memory, something cherished. I racked my brain, recalling our shared experiences, the games, the secrets, the stolen moments.

Suddenly, an almost forgotten memory flashed in my mind—a warm summer day, the gentle rustling of leaves, the soft press of lips against mine. My cheeks burned at the recollection.

It was a moment I hadn’t thought of in years, a brief stolen kiss behind an old oak tree when we were just kids. The rush of emotions, the surprise, the innocence of it all. We were only eight years old.

I had nearly forgotten about it over the years, but now it seemed crystal clear.

“Nathan,” I whispered urgently, grabbing his arm. “I think I know where it is.”

Nathan looked at me, startled. “Where?”

“The old oak tree. The one near the brook.”

Nathan frowned, trying to recall the spot. “Why there?”

I hesitated, my cheeks still flushed from the memory. “Just a hunch,” I replied evasively.

We ran, our steps in sync, and reached the old oak tree. The brook babbled softly nearby, its sounds like a lullaby from days gone by.

I knelt, feeling the moist earth under my fingers, and started digging with the little garden trowel that I had brought with me. Nathan joined in, and soon, my fingers brushed against something hard.

The box. My heart raced. We had found it.

“We did it!” Nathan exclaimed, his relief evident.

I nodded, clutching the box to my chest, the gravity of our discovery still sinking in. Suddenly, a distant shout and the sound of crashing through the woods reached our ears.

We heard a distant, keening howl; Angela’s signal that Colin was on her trail and she needed to leave the property. And that we should probably leave, too.

“We need to go. Now,” Nathan said, urgency clear in his voice.

I nodded. Instinctively, Nathan’s fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

We sprinted back towards the car, the cold wind stinging our faces. Every shadow seemed menacing, every sound amplified in the stillness of the night.

It was all I could do to keep the box clutched against my chest and follow Nathan’s footsteps. He was fast, faster than me. It was moments like this that I cursed my wolf for being dormant. I could have used the extra speed.

But we made it.

Once we reached the safety of the car, I took a moment to catch my breath, the box still clutched tightly in my grasp.

Nathan turned to me, his eyes shining in the dim light of the car’s interior. “Liv, you were brilliant. How did you know?”

I hesitated, the memory of that stolen kiss still fresh. “Just a forgotten memory,” I whispered, unable to bring myself to tell Nathan about that childhood kiss with Alvin.

It would only anger him, make him even more needlessly jealous than he already was. I didn’t need to throw a wrench into things when we were so close to ending all of this.

Nathan looked like he wanted to press further but decided against it and nodded solemnly before he put the car in drive. We had achieved what we came for, but there was still so much to do.

We sped off into the night, hoping that our discovery would bring a semblance of peace to the chaos that had consumed our lives.

All the while, I clutched the box that contained Alvin’s hand tightly to my chest, and tried to push that innocent childhood memory out of my mind.

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To be continued...