Celeste couldn't believe her ears. Raymond's words hit her like a bolt of lightning.
"Why on earth do you hunt us down?" Celeste asked, her brows furrowing. Thoughts of her captive parents surged up, causing her heart to tighten in her throat. Sure, they might have survived the hunt when the hunters took them, but how much agony and torment were they enduring right now?
"As you said, in the eyes of the hunters, werewolves are nothing more than samples," Raymond replied, a hint of frustration dancing across his face. "To those hunters, werewolves are nothing but a bunch of test subjects, like lab rats. I used to think they'd just lock up the wolves, draw some blood… You know, try to figure out what genes turn you all into howling beasts," Raymond explained, casting a look at Celeste's hand, which moments ago had transformed into a fearsome wolf's claw. "And let's not forget how they are obsessed with unraveling the secret behind your lightning-fast shapeshifting. It's like they want a werewolf encyclopedia or something."
Following Raymond's gaze, Celeste's eyes shifted downward, fixating on her own fingers. Her claw had seamlessly morphed back into her human hand.
"So, what changed your mind?" Celeste asked, tearing her gaze away from her own hand and refocusing on Raymond, who now appeared lost in thought, his head slightly bowed.
Raymond let out a bitter chuckle, raising his head to meet Celeste's eyes. "Well, it turns out I was a foolish optimist. Those hunters aren't just after some blood and genes. No… They're conducting full-on experiments on werewolves, and even on unsuspecting humans," he revealed, his voice dripping with frustration and disbelief.
Celeste's eyes widened, her jaw dropping. Were these hunters completely off their rockers? But at least now it made sense why they had made their sinister home in their small, unsuspecting town for such an extended period. It seemed they were hell-bent on capturing werewolves, one after another, like they were building some sort of twisted experimentation gallery, hungry for more and more unfortunate souls to play their sick games.
Celeste gazed at Raymond's crestfallen countenance, somehow feeling a mix of compassion and reluctance. It was hard for her to witness his dejected state, especially considering the fact that Raymond had aided these hunters in capturing werewolves. And, to top it off, he had taken away her parents.
"So, where does that leave you now?" Celeste's face scrunched up with furrowed brows that refused to ease. "I couldn't help but notice while you were talking about it, you seemed to have this urge to distance yourself from the hunters. But hey, aren't you one of them? The one who spirited away my folks? So, what's the deal with you now?"
Raymond's fingers clutched at his own hair, as though nursing some grudge against his own scalp. He lowered his voice and said, "I... I'm sorry, Celeste. As I said, I was just too darn naïve. All I wanted was to prove my worth to my mother, to show her I was a capable hunter. But little did I know that there were dark secrets lurking behind their backs. No wonder my parents didn't want me to continue down this hunter path..."
Every word that spilled from Raymond's lips reached Celeste's ears with crystal clarity. Her eyes locked onto his face, scrutinizing every sentence he uttered. Suddenly, it all started to click. Raymond's previous behavior finally made sense—the relentless enthusiasm to track down hunters, the unsettling silence when his family was mentioned.
Still, Celeste wasn't about to wholeheartedly embrace his words. Hunters were known for their cunning ways, and she was well aware of that.
She watched Raymond's every move, the way his fingers clung tightly to his scalp, an outward display of his mounting frustration.
"But you still joined the ranks of the hunters and attacked the rogues, didn't you?" Celeste commented in a low voice, a glint in her eyes.
Raymond's body tensed up for a moment, then he looked up at Celeste, his voice laced with self-defense. "I had no choice, really. Going with them was my only shot at survival. I mean, if I didn't tag along with them, who knows? I could've ended up as one of their twisted lab experiments."
Letting out a heavy sigh, Raymond shook his head and let out a bitter chuckle. "And you know what? It's crystal clear that they're aware of my disdain for their methods. They treat me like some punk, yet they're constantly on guard around me. And now, here I am, caught by those wild werewolves. They're probably celebrating, thinking they've taken care of a potential threat. Not a single hunter bothered to come to my rescue when I was left stranded."
As Celeste listened to Raymond's words, she couldn't help but detect a mix of disappointment, frustration, and a touch of anger in his tone. It didn't feel like an act.
"But despite them abandoning you, you didn't spill all their secrets to the werewolves. Instead, you endured their torment in silence," she remarked.
Raymond's lips curled into a disdainful smile as he responded, "Well, you see, I couldn't exactly trust those werewolves either. Who knows what chaos would be unleashed if I spilled the beans? For all I know, those hairy beasts could be even more vicious than the hunters."
Curiosity piqued, Celeste pressed on, "But in the end, you still chose to confide in me. Why?"
Raising his gaze to meet Celeste's eyes, Raymond's expression radiated sincerity. "Because I believe in you. I know you're a decent person."
Caught off guard by Raymond's sudden declaration, Celeste found herself momentarily lost for words. Eventually, she mumbled, "But we haven't known each other for that long, have we? We're just colleagues."
Raymond forced a small smile. "Yeah, in your eyes, we're just colleagues..."
He then lowered his head again, the momentary vulnerability fading away.