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As her back hit the leaf litter of the forest and the shouts of her compatriots sounded in her ears alongside the ringing, Wednesday recalled an epiphany she had during her last school year. Without doubt, Wednesday knew she would one day die by the hands of Agnes DeMille. She just didn't expect those hands to be metaphorical as Agnes’ plan fell to pieces leaving Wednesday to the mercy of the huge paws pressing her shoulders into the dirt. Bright blue eyes empty of all the personality Wednesday loved to loath stared down at her as warm blood soaked breath ghosted across her face.
Wednesday supposed she was getting ahead of herself though and that if she was truly to die, then it would only be proper for her life to flash before her eyes, preferably starting where it all went wrong.
It was a miserable day, the sun was hidden behind heavy storm clouds and wind howled through the halls of the house where drafts had been purposefully created to properly chill the residents of the Addams Mansion. The putrid aroma of Grandmama's cooking filled the home leaving a sour smell to permeate from the kitchen. Wednesday had just sat down to practice her new piece titled Lone Wolf Wanderer that she had written in honor of Enid's sacrifice when the doorbell rang through the house.
Somehow, Wednesday knew this sound was the precursor to ruining her day.
Placing her cello carefully back on its stand she stood and made her way to the door just as Lurch reached to open it.
“No need, Lurch,” Wednesday called, reaching for the door herself to Lurch's disapproval. “I believe this uninvited guest is here for my downfall.”
Lurch didn't move from his spot but allowed Wednesday to pull the door open to reveal the redheaded, wide-eyed spectacle that was Wednesday's stalker. “Agnes,” Wednesday said, without inflection. Before she could ask why the younger girl was lightening her doorstep, her gaze drifted to the others behind her.
Bianca Barclay was the first one she spotted but it soon became clear that a spontaneous meeting of the Nightshades was taking place on her front porch. Yoko, Eugene, Ajax, and, most surprisingly, Xavier also stood at the foot of the step.
“Are you going to let us in?” Yoko asked. Her demeanor was unimpressed but Wednesday was hardly surprised as Yoko had been colder than usual since Enid's transformation. Not that the vampire girl was ever warm with Wednesday to begin with. It was how both girls preferred it.
“You would like that, wouldn't you?” Wednesday replied, considering briefly shutting the door in their faces. Ultimately it was too childish for her character so she swung open the door in silent invitation instead and started towards the front room. The second Agnes passed through the door the lion head on the wall roared a welcome startling the usually highstrung girl. “I should warn you, Barclay, if you enter my home and my mother learns you are here she might not let you leave.”
“Would that be a bad thing?” Bianca asked, stepping through and ignoring the second roar upon her own entrance.
“The worst,” Wednesday replied as she turned to face the group. She specifically ignored the small smile curling at the edges of the siren's lips. “I assume this isn't a social visit. None of you are the type and quite frankly I'd be horribly disappointed in all of you to learn otherwise.”
Was it slightly rude to ignore Xavier's return to the group by glossing over his presence without mention? Yes, but Wednesday hardly cared, she was much more concerned with why Agnes brought any of them, let alone hunted down Xavier, for help.
“We know where Enid is!” Agnes blurted out. The rest of the group groaned as Wednesday's body tensed and her glare settled on the redhead.
“Unlikely,” Wednesday immediately denied. She refused to get her hopes up again. “Uncle Fester is a world renowned tracker and has long since lost her trail in Canada.”
Xavier didn't say a word as he held out a charcoal drawing to her. It was of a forest clearing with a familiar werewolf curled into a ball. Wednesday looked up to ask what use such a drawing had only to see a photo of the exact clearing pulled up on Xavier's phone. “It's a popular fishing spot in Montana,” he said. “She's not there yet, but she will be.”
“And what good will that do us?” Wednesday asked. She ignored the group as they all exchanged glances. Bianca seemed particularly pleased with Wednesday's statement. She would never understand this group's obsession with teamwork to the point where words like us made them so cheerfully smug but so long as it continued to benefit her she supposed they could stick around.
“Agnes found something that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it,” Ajax started. This was a worrying sign as things that made sense to Ajax were rarely actually useful and him thinking was apocalypticly out of character.
“So,” Agnes started, drawing out the word, “I was maybe lurking around Enid's home pack and came across a book about alpha werewolves which explained that they have these things called True Mates. They're-”
Eugene cut across Agens to take over the explanation. From the looks on the others' faces Wednesday should probably consider herself grateful to be spared the younger girl's description. “Normal werewolves find mates on their own and usually mate for life baring certain circumstances but alpha werewolves actually have soulmates that their inner wolf will lead them to. They can't not protect their true mate.”
“Right! Which is why we can save Enid!” Anges continued. “Because Enid couldn't not save you even knowing it would trap her in her wolf form which means you must be Enid's true mate and can pull her free of the transformation. There's a ritual and I know it by heart now.”
“We figured,” Bianca cut in quickly, “we could go to this clearing and wait for Enid then try Agnes' plan. Plan B would be for me to see if I can siren song her into turning back.”
“It's worth a try, right?” Agnes asked, smiling in a way painfully similar to Enid.
“You owe it to her,” Yoko added, her dark eyes frozen with an anger daring Wednesday to unleash.
Wednesday never turned down a dare. “Get out,” she said, turning towards the kitchen and leaving their guest to either find the door or be thrown out by Lurch.
The smell of sulfur greeted her as Wednesday sat at the small table and watched Grandmama, her father's mother, cook something likely inedible.
“You should listen to your friends,” Grandmama said, unprompted.
“I don't have friends,” Wednesday replied. “Those are just hanger-ons from Enid. They only care about Enid and they're getting desperate if they are coming to me with this soulmate nonsense.”
Grandmama hummed to herself and seemed content to continue brewing without comment. Then, without warning, she flung the ladle upwards leaving a streak of unidentifiable yellow sludge up the walls. “Hmmm, no, it just won't work,” Grandmama muttered. “No, no, something is missing.”
“Ow,” Wednesday monotoned as he Grandmama snatched a piece of her hair free. As soon as Wednesday's hair hit the mixture it bubbled up until it turned Wednesday's least favorite color of pink. Enid would have loved it.
“You are not your friends’ last option. You are always their first because they trust you to be kooky but get things done. They called your brother. Pugsley already has all your things packed and all you need now, is this. Enid needs to drink it but only you will be able to get close enough.”
“You can't be serious,” Wednesday replied. “Soulmates? With Enid Sinclair? The walking rainbow disaster wolf?”
“Why don't you find out,” Grandmama said, holding out the vial.
Wednesday stormed from the house, stabbing Pugsley in the shoulder with a knife as she passed him, and came to a stop in front of the others. “For the record, if this works, none of us are leaving the woods as I will burn them down in protest.”
“Noted,” Xavier replied. “I'm driving.”
Wednesday refused to admit it hurt. The pain of claws digging into her shoulder and a very persistent rock against her spine had nothing on the wretched burn of heartbreak. Agnes’ word and she wouldn't have fooled herself but Grandmama had never lied to her before.
Enid was her soulmate. The potion ritual didn't work. Both things could not be true.
Wednesday knew the Nightshades were in chaos just out of sight as they tried to find a way to save Wednesday without hurting Enid but as wild blue eyes tracked Wednesday's struggles, she wondered if it would be mercy to let them both end here.
The hot breath stuttered over Wednesday's face again and for a moment, she expected jaws to snap down on her neck. Instead the weight over her lessened, the claws shrunk for all they still dug in, blue eyes fogged over with confusion and fur dissolved into the worst blonde hair color ever created.
“We-wednesday?” Enid asked as her form fully shifted back to human for the first time in months. “W-what?”
Wednesday stared up at Enid in wonder and suddenly understood exactly why her father was so weird. The idea of having lost Enid had weighed far more heavily on Wednesday than she realized until she suddenly had her back.
“I love you.” Wednesday replied.
Enid blinked down at her, still horribly confused. “Oh? You do?” Her excitement at the news was clear even through her foggy mind and Wednesday didn't hesitate to kiss her.
“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”
“Great, now I've got to hear about Wednesday to the tune of Ajax and Bruno.”
“Wait, what was Enid saying about me?”
“Ew, I wouldn't have come if I knew my sister would be kissing someone.”
“I think it's sweet.”
“You didn't have weird visions of it for weeks before something became identifiable.”
“Let's give them some space.”
Wednesday would unfortunately be owing them all one.