Mate?!
How was that possible? How could Jeremy possibly be her mate? Was she still in her dream?
Celeste's eyes widened in horror. She must have heard it wrong. She must have!
Her heart raced like thunder in her chest, the sound drowning out even the howling of the wolves in her ears. The silence around her was suddenly too eerie. Mixed emotions of fear and confusion crept into her bones as she was left with silence and the thunderous cry for her mate ringing in her ears.
She couldn't believe it.
No matter how much she denied it, Celeste could feel a strong pull bringing her to him.
Deep down, she had an inkling about this. She had thought about Jeremy's strange behavior after his first shift. She forbade herself to think more about it, but she guessed she always had a theory hidden behind the back of her mind.
The deafening thump of her heart threatened to wake Jeremy from his peaceful slumber next to her, but miraculously he remained sound asleep.
She couldn't help but wonder why he was here, sleeping beside her. Yet somehow, in the back of her mind, she could feel him being by her side all along. How many days had he been there, watching over her as she lay unconscious?
She basked in the warmth of his body heat and the rhythm of his steady breathing, feeling safer and more content than she had in a long time.
Now that the wolf inside her was awakened, the whole world seemed different to her. Now she could even smell things she never noticed before, like the sweet aroma of grass from Jeremy's body.
It was her favorite scent. She couldn't remember ever noticing it from Jeremy before. Maybe she did, just unconsciously.
Try as she might, Celeste couldn't take her attention off the sleeping man. She couldn't shake the feeling of being drawn inexorably toward him.
But knowing who he was only made her paler.
They were siblings.
More precisely, they were twins. And now, was the Goddess playing with her mind by telling her they were mates? This new layer of complexity would only turn their relationship and their world upside down.
Celeste wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to think about their relationship, neither the old one nor the new one.
Her eyes, though, disobeyed her will and lingered on Jeremy. Her heart told her to cherish this moment. To forget about everything and just savor the peace before Jeremy woke up.
Once he woke up, nothing would be the same again. The tension between them would only be awkward and, worse still, suffocating.
So she followed her heart. She let herself lose briefly in the company of Jeremy, drinking in the enticing smell of fresh grass as it wafted into her nostrils.
She could hear the hungry cry of her inner wolf, a wild creature that yearned to have his attention, to be with him, and to curl up in his embrace.
She shuddered at the intensity of the animalistic desires. She had expected the pull, but she was shocked at its strength.
For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder what it felt like for Jeremy during his first shift. Did he feel the same urge to be near her, to touch her and claim her as his own, all while knowing full well that their identities kept them apart?
Celeste wondered how could she face him after he woke up. How could she put her feelings into words? What were they now? And would she ever summon the courage to talk about it with him?
She didn't know.
The nagging questions roared to life inside her head, looming over her brain like a group of monsters waiting to pounce. Celeste knew that they needed answers eventually. But just not now.
She forced herself to look away from Jeremy. Her body ached as she attempted to sit up, an involuntary shudder running down her spine as her shoulder throbbed. Gently turning her neck, she looked at her shoulder, where the injury seemed to have healed but still caused sharp pain whenever she moved.
She felt the presence of her wolf injecting her wound with healing powers. Yet the injury was too deep and too deadly for a complete recovery. Due to the pain, Celeste resigned herself to lying down.
As she lay there, she tried to get her bearings and make sense of her surroundings. She knew that this was not her room, but everything else was a blur. The only one she recognized was the man on the edge of her bed.
No, she tore her gaze from him.
She tried to find something interesting from the tree branches resting at the window. She stared at the cracks between the floor. And she struggled to locate any patterns on the ceiling. Eventually, the effort lasted less than a few seconds. And her gaze involuntarily drifted back to Jeremy. She was keenly aware of how close Jeremy was to her, and that awareness kept her from thinking about anything else.
Finally, she gave up, letting all her attention rest on Jeremy.
The man was lying on the edge of the bed with his face down, so she couldn't see his features clearly. But even so, the wolf inside her was happy enough. She didn't doubt that she could go on forever staring at Jeremy without getting bored.
However, reality had other plans.
A noise came from outside the door. Was someone trying to open the door? Or, to be precise, picking the lock?
Jeremy seemed startled by the noise. His body jolted a little, waking him up.
And, Celeste, the coward that she was, snapped her eyes closed automatically.
She felt the shift of weight on the mattress beside her. The sound of his breath in the quiet room told her he was awake. She sensed his piercing gaze on her body. It seemed to have lingered on her for too long.
Why did she have to close her eyes? Only then did Celeste realize what she was doing. Why couldn't she just let him know that she was already awake?
But what had been done had been done. Her eyes were closed, and she didn't plan to open them all of a sudden.
She could still feel Jeremy's gaze burning on her skin. Her heart began to thump. For a moment, she was unsure whether he could hear it or not. And to her further surprise, she felt Jeremy leaning toward her.
What was he going to do?
"Jeremy?" Someone whispered as the door creaked open with a faint sound.
Immediately, Jeremy's heat jumped away from her. Celeste wondered who the visitor was.
"Thank Goddess you're awake!"
Nancy Wolton! What was she doing here at such a late hour?