CHAPTER 80: CHAPTER 79: ARGENTIS CRYSTALLINE CASTLE

Her eyes flicked up to his, surprise flickering there. But she shook her head quickly, her voice almost a whisper. "He wouldn’t like that."

She knew Oliver so we’ll...he might have been joking about Alaric the other time but she was sure he meant every single word that left his mouth. And now calling him with another guy’s number...although he might not know...but what if he asked. What if he asked where she was?

She wasn’t ready to tell him, she was in the same house with four good looking, hot guys. Heaven knows how disappointed he would be or maybe she was just thinking too much about it. Or maybe she was just scared he might notice her attraction towards the guys, if shouws up.

Azrael’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, unreadable as ever. Then he straightened, hands slipping into his pockets. "Then I guess he’ll just have to wait," he said quietly. "You’ll be safe here."

Athena looked away, her chest tightening with a mix of frustration. She didn’t know what to say. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. Her mind felt tangled too many things had happened, too many emotions crashing at once.

Azrael seemed to sense that. He cleared his throat softly.

"I should leave you to sleep," he said, already half turning away.

"Wait..." The word slipped out before she could stop it. She coughed lightly, trying not to sound desperate. "I mean... I’m not feeling sleepy." Her gaze shifted toward the hallway. "Can’t I be outside for a bit?"

Azrael paused. Really paused. For a moment he didn’t answer, his blue eyes watching her like he was trying to decode her intentions. It almost made her shift uncomfortably.

Then finally, he spoke.

"Sure," he said quietly. "I can accompany you if you want."

"No," she said quickly. "It’s okay."

His brows lifted a fraction, a tiny flicker of hesitation she caught this time. And that was when she realized it.

He thought she might try to sneak out.

Athena let out a soft snort, crossing her arms. "Don’t look at me like that," she muttered. "I’m not going anywhere. I don’t have a death wish, do I?"

Azrael’s lips tilted in a small chuckle softly.

"No," he said. "You don’t."

He pointed down the hallway. "Take the last left, that would lead you downstair. Then turn right and walk down until you reach the back doors. They lead to the garden. It’s quiet there."

She nodded. "Thanks."

He didn’t reply, just watched her for a moment. She couldn’t read him couldn’t tell if he was worried, curious, or something else entirely. She walked out before she started overthinking it.

Outside...

The cold night breeze kissed her skin the moment she stepped out. Her thick white hair packed into a messy bun, the strands blew softly over her face. She inhaled slowly relief washing through her like a gentle tide.

The house was huge. Shadows stretched across the yard, softened by dim garden lights. Flowers lined the pathways mostly lilies. White ones. Pure and ghostly under the moonlight.

Athena crouched beside them, her fingers brushing a soft petal.

"Pretty," she whispered.

After a moment, she stood and kept walking, following the faint lights until something blue shimmered ahead.

A pool. Large, quiet, glowing softly under the night sky.

But it wasn’t the pool that made her stop.

It was him.

Theo sat at the edge, legs in the water, shoulders tense. His silver-white hair glowed under the moon, almost ethereal. He didn’t turn to look at her. Didn’t move. He just sat there cold, distant, wrapped in his own storm.

Or maybe he knew she was there and was just ignoring her.

She wasn’t blabbing when she said they’ve got Anger issues.

Athena walked closer, hesitating only for a second before sitting beside him. Her bare legs slipped into the cold water. Her borrowed oversized shirt, Oliver’s, brushed her mid-thighs.

Theo still didn’t look her way.

She sighed. "I know you probably want to snap my head off for sitting with you."

For a heartbeat, there was nothing.

Then Theo huffed out a short laugh...almost surprised.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "What’s funny?"

He shook his head, his face still maddeningly unreadable as he kicked his feet through the water.

"Nothing."

Athena dipped her toes deeper, letting the cool water ripple around her skin. "This is the first time I’ve seen you laugh."

This time, Theo actually looked at her.

Their eyes met his icy, sharp, unreadable. Hers stubborn, gentle, a little curious.

He broke the contact first.

"That’s because you don’t know me," he said.

Athena rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course I do. You’re this cold, white-haired, arrogant bastard who thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it."

Theo’s lips parted, then he actually laughed. A real one this time. Deep and genuine.

Athena’s chest warmed at the sound, and she found herself smiling without meaning to.

Theo’s laugh faded, replaced by a soft smirk as he looked out over the water.

"That’s supposed to be your nickname for me? Or yours?" he muttered. "Whitehead? Mine is a little more silver than white."

Athena hummed thoughtfully, swinging her feet gently through the cool water.

"Yeah... I guess," she said absently.

Her gaze drifted away, lost in the ripples below.

"That was what people called me," she added quietly. "The moment before disaster."

Theo’s head turned sharply toward her, brows furrowing.

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head quickly.

"It’s nothing."

But he wasn’t stupid. Not even close.

Theo studied her with that sharp, cold perception of his like he could read the words she wasn’t saying.

"You shouldn’t bring up matters you can’t end," he said softly, not meant as a threat but as a warning. Or maybe disappointment.

Athena huffed a short breath of laughter.

"I didn’t know you were a curious dude."

Theo didn’t reply. He just dipped his foot deeper into the water, swirling slow circles, letting the silence settle.

Athena broke it first.

"So..." she drew out. "How about you tell me what being a werewolf is like."

Theo snorted under his breath.

"I bet you don’t want to hear that."

"Why?"

"Because," he said simply, "there’s nothing good about it."

Athena tilted her head.

"There has to be something. Just like being human...yeah, it sucks sometimes, but I got to have Dad even though he’s dead. And Oliver. There was good in it too."

Theodore studied her a little when she said that dad part but said nothing. His shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Yeah... you’re right." He exhaled, eyes fixed on the water. "The only good thing about being a werewolf is having my friends. Eryx, that asshole. Azrael, the pretty idiot with a permanent savior complex. And Rhydric... that stormy bastard."

A small smile tugged at Athena’s lips.

She couldn’t help it.

"Why them?" she asked.

Theo’s voice dropped, low and honest.

"Because with them... everything feels alive." His fingers skimmed the water. "Less suffocating."

Athena nodded slowly.

"And your parents?"

Theo rolled his eyes so hard she actually saw the annoyance ripple through him.

"Them? They go on honeymoon every damn month." His tone was dry, unimpressed. "Nothing to say about them."

It wasn’t supposed to be funny, but Athena huffed a laugh anyway.

"And siblings?" she asked.

"I have a sister," he replied. "Leah."

Athena nodded again.

"So they’re the only ones you have? Azrael, Rhydric, Eryx?"

"Mm-hmm." Theo leaned back on his palms. "And of course my powers."

Athena raised her brows.

"Powers?"

He looked at her from the side, amused.

"Yeah."

"What kind of powers?"

Theo’s lips curled in a faint, smug smirk.

"I’m an ice wolf. That’s why I have white hair."

Athena blinked, staring at him like he’d just told her he was the king of Antarctica.

"Am I supposed to believe you?"

"You should," he said, voice dropping into a husky tease. "Because there’s no reason to lie... not when I can show you proof."

The moment he said I can show you proof, the air between them shifted, a little thicker, a little colder, a little more charged.

Athena swallowed, her voice barely above a breath.

"...Show me."

Theo didn’t look at her at first.

He just kept staring at the rippling pool, as if thinking.

As if deciding.

Then he let out a soft breath, a cloud of cold mist ghosting past his lips.

"You sure?" he asked quietly.

Athena nodded. "Yes."

Theo’s eyes fluttered shut for half a second.

When they opened again, his green eyes glowed a faint and slowly turned white... it wasn’t to scare her off... Just enough to steal her breath. And her breath did caught, because she stared at his eyes in shock. But still she didn’t feel any fear.

He lifted his right hand, open is palm.

Athena leaned in unconsciously.

The air temperature dropped more instantly, enough for her skin to prickle, enough for her breath to fog.

Theo didn’t warn her again, he already did

He simply moved his fingers through the air in a smooth, swirling gesture.

And the world around his hand changed.

The water closest to them rippled... then stilled...

then a single thread of frost bloomed across its surface, delicate, spiraling outward like a white flower.

Athena’s lips parted.

Theo’s fingers continued their slow, deliberate dance.

The frost spread fast racing outward and stopped half way, just enough for their legs to still be in Water, but just a cold one. Half of the pool surface shimmered under the moonlight, turning from liquid to glass-like ice in seconds, but not in a violent way. It was art. Controlled and beautiful.

And then...

From the center of the frozen pool

a shape rose.

Ice curled upward like growing vines.

Thin strands braided themselves mid-air.

A structure took form into transparent walls, archways, delicate towers forming in layered detail.

Within moments, a crystalline castle stood above the water, glowing under the moon like a fragile dream.

it screamed perfection. Beautiful. It’s stunning, majestic, magnificent, ethereal.

Like something pulled straight from a winter fairytale.

Athena forgot how to breathe.