Unwanted Mate

　　Summer weekend. The afternoon sun outside the window seemed less blinding now, but it was still strong enough to make the morning glories droop and nod in the occasional wind.　　Celeste Sherwood looked up from her book and eyed the sluggish flowers outside. Her cookies were almost done. She could smell it. Five more minutes at most.　　She decided to enjoy the view from her window and relax her sore eyes while waiting, though the sweet, sweet fragrance already drew her attention to the oven. She took a deep breath. Yeah… Sweet. Her favorite. Now that she was home, she could make cookies as sweet as she liked … as long as the said cookies hadn't turned into piles of heated and cooled sugar.　　Celeste was notorious for her brutal and offending sweet tooth. That explained why she had to make two kinds of cookies. One with the normal-people amount of sugar, and the other with the lethal dose. Apart from the abuse of sugar, her cookies were surprisingly good and popular, which was why she

　　When Celeste made it to the door, Jeremy was long gone. She was both frustrated and confused. "What's wrong with him?"　　The father shrugged. "Maybe he's just unhappy that you both treat him like a puppy. If it was my wolf, he would rather go out for a run! It's such a good day out there, after all!"　　The mother snorted, "Thankfully we live in the country. Can you imagine this happening in the city? The passers-by are going to scream in terror."　　"That's a mild way to put it. I believe a wolf the size of a bull is going to scare the heart out of them," Celeste corrected her mother.　　She was proud, but she was also very envious of Jeremy. Weren't she and Jeremy twins? Why had she not shifted yet? Jeremy was only ten minutes older than her! She should have transformed by now if there was any rule of nature! Or at least she should be lying on the floor and waiting for her wolf to surface. But nothing happened. She didn't even feel anything.　　"Mom, Dad, why haven't I changed? I don'

　　Celeste had no idea why she was suddenly so twitchy and grumpy. Maybe it was because she couldn't even feel her wolf. Or maybe Jeremy should be blamed for shutting her out. She didn't know.　　They argued a lot as all the siblings did. And it was not the first time Jeremy kept her out of his room. Hell, she had done the same to him, too. But this time, the fact that she couldn't see him annoyed and frustrated her like nothing else. She had no clue why it felt so different now. She should have been glad she didn't need to deal with her idiot brother.　　Finally, she gave in. Fuck! She didn't need him! She would probably shift tonight and had all the questions answered instantly.　　She puffed and lay on the bed. She heard the little noises the summer wind made when it ran between the leaves. A small part of it entered from her window and brought in the light scent of leaves and dirt, stirring the air of the room with the fragrance of the cookies.　　Celeste turned to her side, facing the

　　Celeste was a bit lost by the sudden change of topic.　　"I mean… You and Sarah have been curious about my secret, right? And now I'm offering it to you. So, let me ask again. Do you want to know my secret or not?"　　Weird as it sounded, she was intrigued. She shouldn't have cared about him since she no longer worked with him. But her instinct told her to say yes. She sensed something fishy, though.　　"Why? Why do you decide to tell your secret now?" she asked suspiciously.　　"Because I… I like you. I hope we can still be friends. I want to share a secret and earn a friend," Raymond answered, gaze fixed on her.　　That was a very strange reasoning. "Why on earth do you think I will be your friend after I find out your secret?"　　"Because you're not seeing me as who I truly am. If you know my real identity, you will change your opinions of me. I think you'll even consider me a hero."　　Celeste snorted. "You cocky ass must hype it up, huh?"　　That being said, she was curious.　　She pond

　　For several days, Celeste stayed at home to wait for her wolf to surface.　　After days of observation, she was convinced that Jeremy was avoiding her. No matter how early she got up and ran to the door, she was always one step behind him. And she always fell asleep before he came back and locked himself up in his room.　　Celeste had no idea what she had done wrong to deserve that. But she would find out tonight because it was the full moon, and Jeremy would have to stay at home after sunset.　　***　　Celeste was thrilled when she saw the round moon in the sky, but that apparently was not enough to wake up the wolf inside of her. She sighed and shook her head.　　She sneaked to Jeremy's door and looked down at the crack between the door and the floor.　　It was dark.　　The smartass must have drawn the curtain. In fact, Celeste was impressed by how her twin brother was holding onto it. Their parents had shifted freely when the moon made her appearance on the dark stage of the sky. But Je