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't even have any feelings for it." Jeff shook his head and turned his gaze to his wife. Nora was also clueless. "Maybe Byron knows. He knows more than any of us do. He can even ask the Goddess. Oh! Right! He asked me to inform him the moment Jeremy transformed. I should go give him a ring." "Did Byron mention me, too?" Celeste asked in anticipation. Byron Bloomfield was the beloved Alpha of their Shadowed Pack. Although his wolf was obviously not as big as Jeremy's, he was a great leader and an unstoppable fighter. In his prime, he led the Shadowed Pack and dominated the west. If not for the cunning hunters, he would have achieved more. The hunters had tricked him and severely wounded him in a battle fought two decades ago. But that was not the saddest part of that battle. The forever loss of the pack's dearest Luna broke all of the wolves' hearts. Byron never begged the Goddess for another mate. He loved his Luna deeply and settled the pack in this small town as his Luna had wanted him to. The town was peaceful and quiet, free from the harm of any hunters. The pack had thrived in the past two decades, and the wolves all praised the Alpha and the Luna who lived in their hearts forever. Byron was a caring, charming leader. Even if he was not as strong as he used to be, he was still the Alpha they respected and admired. He took care of every member of the pack. And his smile was always warm, which drew Celeste and Jeremy to him naturally. "Sadly, no, darling," the mother answered. Celeste huffed, "He always pays more attention to Jeremy. That's unfair." Nora chuckled. "I'll make sure he learns his lesson and apologizes, attention seeker. And don't go out today. You might shift at any moment. You and Jeremy are twins, after all. Even if you two don't transform at the same time, it wouldn't be too long for your turn to come." Celeste was happy to hear that. She returned to the cookies and was pleased to find the cookies cooled. She took some out for the family and put the rest away for her friends. Now there was nothing she could do except for enjoying her sweet, sweet cookies. But the longing for the sweetness she felt earlier was now gone along with Jeremy's wolf. She looked out of the window. The morning glories were still listless. Now she felt for them. She went out of the house to water the flowers, already forming a bunch of questions for Jeremy in her mind. How did it feel when the wolf surfaced? Where was the human when the wolf dominated? Was the human hidden? How did it feel to run on four for the first time? Did he want to howl? Had he howled? Had he hunted? Had he sensed his mate? What did she feel like? And where was she? She sighed. Jeremy was not coming back to answer her in a short while, was he? All she got were scattered footprints on the ground that reminded her she wasn't hallucinating about Jeremy's first-time transformation. The rustle from the bush startled her when she was lost in thought. "Jeremy?" She squeaked in excitement and rushed over. When she bent over, an orange cat almost jumped into her face. She yelped at the cat's ambush and instantly felt the itch to chase after him. But the little thing disappeared into the end of the woods in a blink of an eye. She didn't even manage to get a good look at him. "Well… I can't even outrun a kitty in my human form." Celeste grumbled to herself. Jeremy's wolf would have caught that cat in no time. She looked into the distance, but there was nothing but greenish plants of the country. Disappointed, Celeste went back to her room. She waited for a while, pacing back and forth. When she couldn't stand the boredom, she sat down and wrote down all the questions she had. At dusk, when the room was dim and the sky outside was golden, she heard the click of the door from the room across the corridor. Celeste paused for a second before she jumped up in excitement and slammed her door open.A trail of wolf footprints led all the way to Jeremy's tightly closed door. There were even two leaves resting on the floor. "Finally!" Celeste whooped, a thrill burning in her eyes. She already formed an interrogation plan while Jeremy was gone. Now, the only thing she needed was to get her hands on the man and squeeze the answers out of him. She made a beeline to Jeremy's door and held her breath, a smile on her face. She knocked. One second… Two seconds… Three seconds… Ten seconds… "Have you shifted back?" she tried the doorknob. It was locked. He must have shifted back. Silence was the only answer she received. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by a frown. She leaned closer to the door and listened carefully. It was suspiciously quiet. "Stop pretending you're not there!" She banged on the door. This time, she detected a small hiss from the room. "Ah ha! I heard you!" She waited for a few seconds, and the door remained closed. "Open the door, puppy! Or I'll
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
After a trip to the supermarket, Celeste drove to the place she worked. Her friend Sarah was chatting with Raymond. When the young lady laid eyes on Celeste and the jar of cookies in her hands, she cried in surprise and jumped at Celeste. Raymond rolled his eyes, "Yep… Like a monkey jumping at the sight of bananas." His voice was low, but Sarah didn't miss it. She shot him a dagger and returned her attention to Celeste. "Hey, Cel! I miss you!" Celeste chuckled, "I guess you miss my cookies even more. Here you go." Without a moment of delay, Sarah took the jar and picked up a cookie. She tossed it into her mouth and moaned in satisfaction, "You never let me down." Celeste smiled. She was always happy when her friends liked the food she made. She didn't make friends with too many humans, though. Not that she was racist or distrustful of humans. No. Or she wouldn't have taken this part-time job at the very beginning. It was just that humans grew old and died while werewolve
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
Celeste paled. Of course, she knew what werewolf hunter meant. But she never expected Raymond to be one. She couldn't even imagine him holding a gun and aiming at his target. Raymond was just a clueless, nerdy man to her. Hunters and werewolves were worst enemies for hundreds of years. Not that they had never made peace, but the peace had always been short-lived along with human life and perished as new generations grew. As time went by, suspicion and misunderstandings swelled into hatred and bloodshed. For example, Alpha Byron's Luna was killed by the hunters. Werewolves seemed stronger with their sharp teeth and power, but they were vulnerable under the moon. Hunters stood no chance if they were barehanded, but their weapons were getting more lethal to give them the edge. In the end, werewolves could only hide, as they did in this town. The moment Raymond admitted his identity as a werewolf hunter, Celeste felt the urge to run. To run for her life. To warn her pack. Notici
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
The beast on Celeste froze as if he had been struck by the lightning. The hungry fire died in his eyes when she twitched and screamed under him. The weight on her left. Celeste met his bluish eyes again and was greeted by something even stranger in the depth. Before she could look closer, the wolf jumped away from her and leaped out of the window. The wolf's pad landed on the roof, and then the grass, making soft noises. The noises grew farther and farther until it was no longer audible. It happened so fast and abruptly that she wondered if she was dreaming all about this. She stayed on the floor, studying her ceiling. Now her heartbeats were the only sounds knocking her eardrums. Her heart was coming down from its peak. But she could still feel the sensation of the beast's paws on her skin. His body heat lingered on her skin and trapped her on the floor. Celeste heaved a long breath. She didn't know what to make of it. She was certainly angry. And she was very much conf
What did Raymond want? Frowning, Celeste read the text. "Hey… Just want to say sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. You have every right to be angry. I'm sorry. And I still hope we can be friends. So… Would you come out and meet me again? I know you're interested in werewolves. And didn't you want to know how I discovered the werewolves in the town? I'll tell you everything this time I promise." Celeste had no clue why Raymond was so obsessed about the part of them being friends. That sounded like a crappy excuse to her. Was this just some front of his true motive? Was this a trap for her? "What happened? You look concerned." Nora asked, knitting her brows. "Raymond… I mean the hunter in town texts me again. He … asks me out, promising to tell me how he found out about us." Celeste answered in hesitation. She didn't know if it was a good idea to let her parents know. "You're not going, are you? Smells like the hunter's trap to me." Nora commented. Jeff nodded in