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WD - Chapter 260: Luke's suspicion
🕑 Added 2025-06-25 16:53:25 +0000 UTCLuke had just finished closing an open wound on Reina’s side. With one final motion of his palm, the green glow of his aura sealed the flesh and dissolved the clotted blood.
“Thanks,” Reina whispered, sitting up with difficulty.
Luke gave a slight nod, already on his feet, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
‘Damn it, being a healer sucks,’ he thought. Healing wounds wasn’t exactly easy, it required a lot of energy, and after the battle he had just gone through, his reserves were far from optimal.
That’s when he felt them. Or rather, when he saw them.
Enid and Wednesday. Side by side.
A combination that, months ago, would’ve seemed absurd to him. His ex-girlfriend, the girl who had been his first love, still with damp hair, blood from the battle on her skin, and a ragged blanket draped over her body. And beside her… his current girlfriend, his partner, his soulmate in this world.
Wednesday Addams.
It was Wednesday who approached first. Direct as always.
“She’s hurt,” she said, without drama. “Heal her.”
Her black eyes didn’t plead, but neither did they command. There was something different in her tone. A subtle note of concern, barely perceptible.
Luke raised an eyebrow, more surprised by the pair than by the request itself.
The last time he knew for certain that Wednesday and Enid had fought together was in Sunnyvale, when they faced Gabriel Spellman.
Enid had shown up there because Wednesday had told her the location. Why had she done that? Because she had seen a vision of Enid dying and wanted it to happen. But in the end, she saved her.
Luke never got the full explanation for that change of heart, Wednesday never told him. He could only assume that she wasn’t a cold-blooded killer and realized that jealousy, or the fact that Enid was still in love with him, wasn’t a good enough reason to let her die.
If Enid was still in love with him… at least up until Sunnyvale, she was. She wanted to help him. Luke had no idea how the hell she could still have feelings for him after their last serious conversation, when he told her he wouldn’t keep his promise and that he had chosen to be with Wednesday.
That day, Enid had slapped him and called him a bastard who didn’t keep his word.
And yet… she followed him to Sunnyvale, risking her life to help him?
After that, Luke hadn’t seen or spoken to Enid again. It was as if she had suddenly given up on chasing him.
He’d started his training, and Wednesday resumed the school year at Nevermore.
During some video calls with Wednesday from Nevermore, he had heard pop music playing in the background. Too bright, too cheerful, nothing Wednesday would tolerate for more than five seconds.
Which led him to guess that she was sharing a room with Enid again, even if she didn’t say so, and he didn’t ask.
He knew Wednesday went on nighttime missions with trusted allies: professors like Charles, Reina, and capable students like Xavier, Ajax, or Veronica, whose loyalty wasn’t in question.
Enid? It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think she was part of that group too.
She had been with them in Sunnyvale. She had risked her life. If Wednesday accepted her as a battle partner, it meant she trusted her.
And if they were roommates again...
If they were doing missions together...
It was obvious something had changed between them during those months he had spent training like a maniac, isolated from the world.
‘Did they become friends again?’ Luke wondered, now seeing them together, and Wednesday asking him to heal her with a hint of concern in her voice.
He knew Wednesday. Better than anyone. He knew she had never had a real friend. Not a female one, at least.
The only person who might fit the “friend” category was Eugene, the blue-aura kid who controlled bees. But that was more of a sibling bond. She protected him like a younger brother.
Enid was different. And if he hadn’t gotten in the way, if Wednesday hadn’t fallen in love with him, they probably would have ended up as friends. Maybe they were, at first. After all, when Wednesday first arrived at Nevermore, he and she didn’t start their relationship right away.
Months went by before they fell in love.
And during that time, it’s possible Wednesday and Enid shared more than he ever knew.
But then his relationship with Wednesday deepened, after everything with the blood moon, the murders, the Hyde... The bond with Enid broke. For obvious reasons.
“Hi, Luke,” said Enid with a faint smile. Her voice barely trembled. The dried blood on her temples contrasted with the warm tone she still managed to keep.
Luke didn’t answer right away. He just looked at her. Then he looked at Wednesday.
She held his gaze. Steady, unflinching. As if that silent exchange of looks was saying: Yes, I’m the one asking you to do this.
“Hi, Enid... Sit down,” Luke said.
Enid obeyed, lowering herself carefully and sitting on the grass. Then she pulled out her right arm, showing deep wounds and jagged lacerations.
For a moment, Luke’s brow furrowed slightly.
“That psychic really tried everything to kill us...” Enid explained, noticing his expression.
“Yeah, I figured,” Luke murmured.
“Enid’s a close-range fighter, so she took the worst of it. Plus, she had to cover for Nyra more than once because of her reckless attacks,” Wednesday added.
Luke glanced at her, then looked toward Nyra a few meters away. 'That girl...' he thought.
He placed his palm a few centimeters above Enid’s wound and began to heal her.
He finished healing her arm. Enid let out a breath of relief as the pain faded. She flexed her fingers, testing for stiffness, there was none.
“Thanks,” Enid whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Luke replied, still looking at her. “But… I doubt that’s the only injury.”
Enid tensed, as if she’d been expecting that line.
“I have a cut on my right side…” she murmured, lowering her gaze. “But all I have covering me is this blanket. You know… when I go back to human form, my clothes…”
She didn’t need to finish the sentence. Luke already understood.
Wednesday, standing behind her, crossed her arms. She said nothing. Didn’t intervene. But Luke glanced at her briefly, almost by instinct, looking for some kind of signal on her face.
Jealousy? A warning? A silent. One: “Touch her and I’ll rip your arms off”?
But he found none of that. Only calm.
Luke looked away and let out a quiet sigh, without drama. “Alright. I’ll close my eyes. I’ll use my clairvoyance to see your wounds,” he explained in a low voice. “It’s like a kind of X-ray. If I keep my eyes shut, I won’t see any details. Just energy. Nothing that should make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Okay,” Enid nodded.
Luke closed his eyes, and Enid slightly opened the blanket. He extended his right hand toward her, aiming precisely at the location of the cut.
Enid held her breath for a moment. But the touch never came. There was no physical contact, only the sensation of energy wrapping around her. Warm. Healing.
After a few minutes, the wound was fully closed.
Luke withdrew his hand, and Enid quickly covered herself again.
“Done,” Luke said as he stood up.
“Thanks again,” Enid whispered.
“It’s nothing…” Luke replied, giving a small nod.
Wednesday was still there, unmoving. Calm. Her arms still crossed. Her face, a mask of perfect control.
Luke straightened up completely and gave Enid a small nod, indicating she could rest. Then he walked toward Wednesday with measured steps, but something in his gaze had changed. Something inquisitive.
“All good?” he asked in a low voice once he was in front of her.
Wednesday looked at him directly, without hesitation. “Yes,” she answered with absolute calm.
But Luke knew her. That answer wasn’t enough. There was something more. He had felt it since the moment he saw her appear beside Enid.
Luke gave a small nod, though he wasn’t convinced. He took one more step and said in a lighter tone, “Alright... now you’re the only one left.”
Without giving her time to protest, he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her gently toward him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Wednesday looked at him, serious, but not surprised. Her hands remained still, resting lightly against his chest.
“No,” she said, not softly, but not harshly either. “It’s not necessary.”
Luke raised an eyebrow, still holding her.
“My injuries, while not minor, aren’t serious. You’ve already spent too much energy during the fight. And now healing everyone,” Wednesday explained in her usual clinical tone.
Luke frowned slightly, as if he were about to object. But before he could say anything, Wednesday added, “Besides, the reinforcements have arrived.”
Luke turned his head slightly, and then he saw them. In truth, he had already sensed them for a while with his domain.
Larissa, the headmistress of Nevermore, was leading the group, accompanied by several teachers: Coach Vlad, Mr. Fitts, the pale Isadora Capri, and a handful of Nevermore students.
He instantly recognized Xavier and Ajax, his two best friends. Also there were Veronica, his cousin, walking alongside her inseparable friend Daphne. Bianca, Yoko, Divina, Ken, Nao, Eugene… even Pugsley Addams, which made him raise an eyebrow slightly.
The reinforcements Charles had requested via telepathy.
“Took them long enough,” said Luke, still holding Wednesday by the waist.
The battle had already ended several minutes ago. And Charles had probably sent the distress call easily thirty minutes earlier. Though maybe, after Luke arrived and turned the tide, Charles told them not to rush, that things were under control.
“Not everyone has supersonic speed,” Wednesday replied, barely turning her head toward him.
Luke gave a slight smile.
Wednesday tried to slip away discreetly. She didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone. But Luke didn’t let her go.
He pulled her a little closer, calmly, and murmured, “I healed everyone but my girlfriend? What would your father say if he found out about this?”
Wednesday glared at him for a second, though a tiny twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed the truth.
“Most likely,” Wednesday said flatly, “he’d write you a cheesy poem. Or a ten-page letter about how important it is to care for love.”
“Right. And he’d probably disown me from the respect I worked so hard to earn while we trained. That I couldn’t handle,” Luke added, mock-grave.
Wednesday exhaled softly, a mix of annoyance and resignation. “Do it quickly and without any ridiculous displays.”
“When have I ever made ridiculous displays?” Luke asked, already channeling green aura into his palm.
Wednesday didn’t answer.
While Luke was healing Wednesday, Alecto, Reina, and Charles, who had arrived after being dropped off by Luke, explained the whole situation: the trap, those involved, the arrested criminals.
Larissa, the professors, and the others were surprised to see that everything had already been stabilized and that they had actually won, against two demonic elders and Margaret Spellman, who wielded two auras.
All eyes turned to Luke in the distance, still in front of Wednesday, applying healing energy with an unusually... tender touch.
Most of the newcomers hadn’t seen Luke in months. The last time they did, he had already been powerful, yes, but now, even at a glance, he was different. Taller. More defined. His posture firmer. His movements sharper. His presence heavier.
“Then the rumors about his fourth aura… are true?”
“That sword at his side, is that the Poe weapon?”
Larissa began organizing the group, ordering that the captives be taken to a safe place so they could get information from the twins and identify the hooded figures.
Professors and students started moving according to her orders. But some didn’t take long to break formation.
Among them, two figures who disregarded protocol without even trying to hide it.
“LUKE!” Ajax shouted, walking briskly toward him, followed by Xavier.
“Finally seeing you in person, bro!” Xavier added with a wide smile. “How many demons did you have to slice in half before they let you finish training?”
Luke stood up, still holding Wednesday’s hand for a second longer before letting go.
He gave a faint smile as he saw them.
“Ajax. Xavier,” he greeted, with a touch of genuine warmth, rare for him. “It’s been months.”
“Only online, playing LoL or Call of Duty,” Ajax replied with a smile. “And even then, you barely logged in anymore. You said you were training, but you didn’t say you were turning into a damn psychic tank!”
Xavier looked him over with a raised eyebrow. “Your aura feels heavier. And the body too. Is that from the green one?”
Luke nodded. “Strength, metabolism, recovery, muscle structure. It’s like living in permanent enhancer mode.”
“That explains the arms,” Ajax muttered, feigning jealousy. “Can I touch them?” he asked, glancing at Wednesday.
“No,” Wednesday answered before Luke could. Her tone was dry. Sharp. As if the question had been offensive.
Ajax froze in place, hands up like he’d just triggered a laser alarm.
“Whoa, okay,” he said, stepping back half a pace with a nervous smile. “Noted. And just to be clear, it was purely scientific male curiosity. You know… Who’s got the bigger bicep? Nothing weird.”
Xavier let out a short laugh, shaking his head.
Luke watched them with a half-smile, then turned his gaze back to Wednesday, raising an eyebrow. Her expression remained firm, as if she genuinely didn’t see what was so funny.
‘Protecting my biceps now? From Ajax? A friend?’ Luke thought.
It was just a casual comment. A lifelong gym bro joke.
And yet, Wednesday had reacted as if someone had tried to unbutton her shirt in public.
In contrast, earlier, when he healed Enid.
When he had to get close, when she opened the blanket, vulnerable, wounded, and he touched her, even if only with his aura, so close, in silence…
Not a word.
No sharp look.
Not even a raised brow.
‘Strange…’ Luke thought, growing increasingly suspicious.
After greeting everyone: Eugene, Pugsley, Yoko, Veronica, it was time to return to Nevermore.
The distance was about 300 kilometers. For Luke, a matter of minutes flying at supersonic speed. But he chose not to.
Instead, he decided to go with the group.
Escort the criminals. Make sure there were no surprises on the way. But also… to enjoy the moment. To be with his friends. To hear their jokes. To see them in person after so many months. And of course, to walk beside Wednesday.
An hour later, they arrived at Nevermore. The grand gate activated upon detecting the group’s auras, and the school doors opened as if they had been waiting for their return.
The criminals were taken to the dungeons, where Hydes who couldn’t control themselves had once been held, under extreme security and escort. Luke would also keep his domain active over them. He wouldn’t let them escape, or somehow slip away or attempt suicide.
“Shall we?” said Ajax, with the excitement of someone about to share a room with his friend again after a year.
“Yeah, let’s go. I want to see my old room,” Luke replied, exhaling deeply.
Xavier was already a few steps ahead, joking about which movie or video game they should play and how they’d spend all night gaming.
But just as Luke was about to follow them, a voice stopped him.
“Luke,” said Wednesday behind him, with that dry, decisive tone that allowed no room for avoidance. “We need to talk.”
He turned slowly.
He looked at her. She was perfectly calm, but there was something in her eyes. Not cold. Not distant.
Precise. Like someone who had just made an irreversible decision.
It took Luke a second to respond.
“Now?”
“Now,” Wednesday repeated, without breaking eye contact.
Ajax and Xavier paused a few steps ahead when they heard her. They looked at each other, and Ajax let out a low whistle with a nervous smile.
“You better go with her,” said Xavier, patting him on the shoulder. “We don’t want to see you get frozen alive by a stare.”
“Or worse, stabbed or something,” added Ajax, laughing.
“Good luck. I’ll pray at your grave if you don’t come back,” joked Xavier, giving him a double thumbs-up.
Luke let out a breath, not quite a laugh, not quite a sigh.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he muttered, before nodding and turning toward Wednesday.
She had already turned around, walking down the stone hallway without checking to see if he was following.
Comments
Leo Santos
Tftc. Can't wait for the next one
