For a split second, I froze, unsure if I had heard him correctly, because everything I had been trying to outrun had just caught up to me all at once. My mind went blank, panic crashing in before I could think of anything else to do. So I did the one thing I had promised myself I wouldn’t do again.
I ran.
I turned and bolted through the house, racing for the back door. My heels slipped slightly against the floor as I rushed through the kitchen, my thoughts scattering in every direction as panic flooded every part of me.
Behind me, I heard him laugh. “Oh, come on, Kara,” Hugo mocked. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
I knew that even if I made it out of the house, he would chase me. So instead, I grabbed the first thing within reach that I could use as a weapon, my hand wrapping around the handle of a pan. It was still hot, oil sizzling across its surface, and I didn’t think, I just turned and threw it.
It hit him square in the face, the contents splattering across his skin as he let out a sharp curse, stumbling back as the heat caught him off guard.
“What the fuck!” he yelled, wiping at his face. I could already see the redness forming where the oil had struck him.
It wasn’t enough, but it bought me a few seconds. I lunged for the counter, searching for whatever I could use as my next weapon, and reliefflickered through me when I spotted one of the hammers Octavius had been using during the repairs. Gripping it tightly, I swung it toward him with everything I had.
“Stay back!” I screamed.
He caught my wrist mid-swing, his grip tightening instantly as he twisted my arm just enough to send a sharp pain shooting through it. The hammer slipped from my fingers, clattering loudly against the floor.
“Really Kara?” he scoffed, yanking me forward before shoving me back.
I hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. I scrambled, trying to push myself up, but he was already on me. His weight slammed down, pinning me in place. One hand locked my wrists above my head as I thrashed beneath him, panic surging, adrenaline spiking, my body fighting even as I knew I was completely outmatched.
“Get off me!” I snapped, twisting beneath him, trying to knee him, shove him, anything. But he was stronger. I could see it in the way his form flickered, shifting in and out of something more... something closer to his shark form. It was a sight I had only seen a few times back in the den, and it was no less terrifying now than it had been then.
“Relax,” he muttered, like this was nothing, like I wasn’t fighting him with everything I had. “You’re coming back either way, so don’t fight it. You’ll only hurt yourself. And since I’m your temporary owner...” His voice dipped, something darker threading through it. “I have plans for you. Plans I’d rather have you conscious for, though I can’t say that’s a deal breaker.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I shot back, my voice shaking with anger, fear, everything crashing together. “And you’re sure as fuck not touching me!”
He laughed, his sharp teeth grinding together. “Not touching you?” he echoed, tightening his grip on my wrists until a whimper of pain slipped from my lips. “Oh, sweetheart, I already—”
He never finished his sentence as it all happened so fast I didn’t even have time to process it. One second, Hugo was on top of me; the next, he was gone—ripped away and flung across the room like he weighed nothing at all.
I gasped, scrambling backward across the floor, my chest heaving as I tried to make sense of what had just happened. And then I saw them.
Tentacles.
Thick and powerful, moving with a speed and precision I had never seen before, wrapping tightly around Hugo and slamming him against the wall, holding him there like he was no more than an inconvenience.
Octavius.
He was here, and his presence alone sent a wave of relief crashing through me so hard it almost made me dizzy.
He stood between us, his entire presence changed. Gone was the calm, controlled man I knew, replaced by something furious,something dangerous. His tentacles had Hugo pinned, coiled tight around his arms, his torso, even his throat, restraining him with terrifying ease. Two of his tentacles peeled away almost immediately, gentler now as they reached for me, helping me to my feet.
“Kara—” his voice softened, despite how deadly he looked in that moment, as his gaze swept over me, searching for injuries. “Are you alright?”
“I—I’m okay,” I managed, though my body was still trembling.
His eyes lingered on me for a beat longer, like he didn’t fully believe me, before his attention snapped back to Hugo, and the softness vanished completely.
“Who is this?” he asked, his tone dropping back to something predatory. “Is this that piece of shit Zavier?”
“No,” I said, my voice steadier now, anger replacing the fear. “Thatpiece of shit is Hugo.” I spat his name out. “He’s the one I stole the pearl from. He works for Zavier.”
Something in Octavius shifted. I saw it in the way his tentacles tightened around Hugo, squeezing harder until a strained gasp of pain tore from him.
“You should’ve stayed hidden, Kara,” Hugo sneered, though his voice wavered under the pressure. “Would’ve saved you the trouble.”
