Both Celeste and Kent stared at the bush, wondering who or what was hiding in there.
The bush was short. Nothing dangerous could be lurking in there, right? Besides, the party was held in this secluded part of the forest. No one was expected to bother the wolves here.
But the rustling of leaves made them both tense up.
Just as Celeste was hesitating about whether she should toss something into the bush, a boy jumped out and dashed at Celeste. Startled, Celeste tried to step back, but her eyes recognized the boy first.
Kent quickly stepped forward to protect her, but she held his arm and shook her head with a smile on her face. She was a little surprised by the man's gesture, though. "Thanks. But don't worry. The boy means no harm."
Before Kent could raise any questions, the boy's short legs ate up the distance between them. Then he threw his arms around Celeste's waist in a tight embrace, almost knocking her over.
"Cel! I missed you so much!" The boy looked up, his big and watery eyes gazing at her. He tilted his head to steal a glance at Kent, a glint of curiosity and annoyance shone through those clear eyes.
Celeste put her hand on the boy's dark hair. "I missed you, too, Alan."
Alan was a kid from the pack. Celeste met him at Byron's at first and later found out that Alan only has a single dad. And after she helped Alan with his confession of love to his crush, the boy had somehow grown attached to her.
Noticing the question on Kent's face, she explained, "This is not my son, by the way. Don't get me wrong."
"Of course." Kent chuckled. And Alan rolled his eyes.
Celeste cleared her throat and continued, "Kent, meet Alan, the infamous troublemaker in the pack. Alan, this is Kent, the former rogue who is now a member of our big family."
"Hey! I'm not a troublemaker!" The boy pouted as he protested. "And I know perfectly well who he is."
"Do you, Alan?" Kent raised an eyebrow at him. "Nice to meet you, too."
Alan looked away with a snort.
"Alan? What do I tell you about being polite?" Celeste raised an eyebrow at him. Goddess… She sounded like a mother to the boy.
Reluctant, the boy drew a loud breath and shook Kent's hand. But he soon withdrew his hand, which started another chuckle from Kent.
"Now, Alan, would you tell me why you were hiding in the bush? You almost gave me a heart attack." Celeste folded her arms as she asked the boy.
The boy scratched his head and his face turned red.
Celeste connected the dots immediately. "You were hiding in there and eavesdropping on us all the time, right?"
Alan dropped his gaze to the ground. The red grew to his ears and the back of his neck.
That was when Kent decided to laugh. And as expected, he earned a glare from the boy.
Celeste sighed. "We're supposed to respect every member of our pack and give them their privacy. Okay, kiddo?"
"Okay…" The boy was still not looking up at her. "I was just curious."
"About what? About who he is?" Celeste asked.
"I know who he is. I told you! I know perfectly who he is. How could I not when everyone's talking about him nonstop? Even my girlfriend is talking about him!"
Now Celeste knew why the boy hated Kent already. She chuckled. The little man was just jealous.
Just as she was trying to say something to make him feel better, Alan grumbled, "Even you were flirting with him!"
Celeste was caught off guard by that accusation. Did she look like she was flirting with Kent? She shook her head in embarrassment. Goddess… She didn't need to be lectured by a kid.
"Are you … jealous of my charm, little man?" Kent crouched, so his eyes were at the same level as the boy.
Alan looked away from him with a small grunt, his arms still closely around Celeste.
"Sorry. That came out wrong. I mean, do you want to know my secret?"
The boy didn't answer, but Celeste could feel his arm tighten. Now even she was a little curious.
Kent made sure to spend a few seconds waiting for the boy's answer. "Okay, then." When he received none, he sighed loudly and made a gesture to leave the boy alone.
Celeste almost laughed at his silly trick. Kent looked up and wiggled his brows at her for help, so Celeste decided to help. She made sure her tone was plain with disagreement. "No, Kent! Don't set a bad example for the kid."
The last straw was obviously helpful because Alan shot out his arm to prevent Kent from going. "Okay. Tell me your secret. I'm listening."
Instead of telling it out loud, the man whispered into the boy's ear. And the boy nodded seriously several times.
"What are you guys talking about?" She couldn't help but ask.
"A secret between men." Alan winked at Kent with a small smile on his face. He even reached out to fist-bump Kent.
Celeste's jaw dropped. Since when did they become BFFs already? She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Fine! And don't ever eavesdrop on anyone again, kiddo. I'm sure that will only reduce your charm. And that might put you in danger. I was even considering throwing something into the bush because I thought we had a stranger hiding there!"
"Okay! Okay!" The kid threw his hands in surrender. "I did see strangers in the woods, though."
Celeste's heart skipped a beat. This gathering was for members of their pack only. Kent, standing next to her, went still, too. But she didn't have time for that.
"Strangers? What do you mean? There's more than one? How many of them did you see? And did you speak to Byron? What did the strangers look like?"
Bombarded by her questions, the boy shook his head. "Err... Actually, I'm not sure if they're strangers. I only saw their backs from far away. There were more than a dozen of them I guess."
Celeste frowned. The first one who came to her mind was Raymond the hunter. Was he here to hunt them? But Raymond should be busy verifying his werewolf theory. And he didn't have so many hunter friends with him last time. How could he form a team with so many hunters in such a short time?
Celeste looked up at the members enjoying the food and companionship with each other. Everyone was here except Jeremy.
And this was a perfect time to hunt, wasn't it?
A shiver run down Celeste's spine. She had a bad feeling. She hoped she was just being paranoid.
"I'll go talk to Byron." She dropped the words and turned to leave. But her wrist was caught by Kent's hand. She eyed him in question. His face was unreadable.
"No, you stay here to protect the kid. Run if you need to. And I'll go find Byron." Something evil and dangerous flashed in his eyes, which had Celeste frozen. And what did he mean by protecting the kid and running?
The man let go of her and headed to Byron.
He had only taken a few steps when chaos broke out among the pack.