"We're here, Cel. No doubt about it!" answered Celeste's father, Jeff, as he glanced at Celeste with a worried look on his face.
"Hey, sweetheart, what have they done to you?" Her mother reached out and gently caressed Celeste's cheek. Tears welled up in her eyes, visible to Celeste.
Celeste shook her head, determined to push aside the lingering dizziness. Though a bit disoriented, she refused to let it bother her. The blasted silver chains held her captive, severing her connection to her wolfish powers. Normally, as a werewolf, she would have bounced back from the electric shock in no time. But now, without her wolf mojo, she struggled to fully recover from the hunters' torment.
With watery eyes, she looked at her parents and couldn't help but let a sob creep into her voice. "Oh, gosh, I missed you guys so darn much! Jeremy and I have been on the hunt for you for ages!"
All she wanted was to give her parents a big, warm hug, but their hands were tied to the wall, literally. No matter how hard they strained, they couldn't bridge the gap between them.
Her gaze lingered on her parents, reminiscing about the last time they were together, safe and untouched by the hunters' troubles and kidnappings. Now, though, they were all locked up, weariness etched on their faces. The days of peace seemed like a far-off dream.
"We missed you too, honey. And how's Jeremy holding up?" Nora asked, her voice filled with concern.
Celeste nodded almost automatically, then quickly caught herself. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure if Jeremy had managed to slip away from the hunters' clutches, evading their grasp. But since he wasn't trapped in this hellhole with them, she hoped and believed he must be safe and sound.
"How the hell did they manage to nab you?" Jeff blurted out, his tone incredulous.
Celeste spilled the beans to her folks, laying out every juicy detail.
"Those goddamn hunters," Jeff muttered under his breath, his voice dripping with venom. Nora reached out and gently squeezed Jeff's shoulder, a gesture of solace.
"And what about you guys? Are you alright? Did those scumbags get their grubby hands on you too?" Celeste asked, memories of being strapped down and zapped in that damn lab flooding back, causing her face to drain of color.
She had barely been tossed into this joint before enduring such sadistic treatment. And her parents? They had been snatched by the hunters days ago, leaving her in the dark about the kind of torment they might be facing within these walls.
Celeste's eyes darted to the silver handcuffs imprisoning Jeff and Nora. The cuffs had left angry red marks, the skin around them swollen and even slightly torn–clear signs of their parents' desperate struggle. But despite it all, those hunters had managed to keep them securely fastened to the wall, an escape from their clutches nothing more than a distant dream.
Nora's head drooped, her complexion turning ashen. Jeff clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he remained silent, simmering with anger.
"Water under the bridge," Nora finally looked up, mustering a weak smile for Celeste, not wanting to burden her further. "Besides, dwelling on it won't do us any good now."
Water under the bridge? How could they simply brush it off? As long as those bastards had their parents captive, they could unleash hell upon them, subjecting them to unspeakable tortures.
The sight of their parents' torment sparked a blazing inferno of rage within Celeste, fueling her determination even more.
But then it struck Celeste like a lightning bolt–those actions weren't solely the work of hunters. There was someone else involved, someone who didn't fit the hunter or scientist mold. Who on earth was that man named Lucien? And what about the werewolf, her very own twin brother? The image of his familiar blue eyes, identical to hers, flashed through Celeste's mind, but now they represented nothing but betrayal.
It was downright shameful how Kevin, as a werewolf, conducted himself just like those hunters.
"Have you guys met Kevin?" Celeste blurted out, unable to contain her curiosity. "Did you recognize him?"
Nora took in a deep breath, clearly caught off guard by Celeste's sudden query.
"Don't even mention that fucker," Jeff muttered under his breath, his voice filled with a mix of dissatisfaction and anger.
Nora looked up at her husband, her eyes filled with a blend of sadness and hesitation. "But..."
"No 'buts.' To me, that little shit is nothing but a turncoat, and I refuse to accept him as my son," Jeff cut in, his voice barely audible, ending any further words Nora was about to utter.
Son... So they had also pieced together the connection between Kevin and their family, hadn't they?
"Is he truly my twin brother?" Celeste couldn't hold back her question. Her eyes darted between Nora and Jeff, searching for answers.
Nora avoided Celeste's gaze, and Jeff let out a heavy sigh, eventually giving a small nod. "Seems like you've figured it out too. Maybe that's the tie that binds us. Even when separated, we can still recognize each other in an instant."
"His eyes are my eyes. How could I not see that?" Nora whispered softly. "And that scent... on him..."
"Do you know Jeremy isn't my real twin brother?" Celeste suddenly blurted out, the words dancing on her lips, eager to escape into the open.
Suddenly, the cage door swung open. A group of hunters walked in.