The still and peaceful night was broken by the rumble of her stomach. The rumble echoed in the room like thunder during one of those wild summer storms.
Great job there! Perfect timing.
Jeremy was silent and still.
Celeste was silent and still, too.
In contrast to the thunderous rumble of her stomach, now the death of silence was almost unbearable.
Celeste froze on the bed. The air around her was squeezing oxygen out of her lungs, and time seemed to have paused for eternity.
The moonlight crept through the window into the room. It felt as if the moon's light had turned solid and trapped them all in its grasp, suspending the air around them.
Suddenly, without warning, Jeremy burst out laughing. The hearty laughter echoed through the empty room and filled the space, bringing life back to Celeste's paralyzed bodies.
Caught up in the infectious laugh, Celeste's lips curled upwards despite her attempts to feign slumber.
In the end, her laughter escaped from her lips, as carefree and unrestrained as Jeremy's.
But as she laughed, a sharp pain shot through her shoulder and caused her to hiss in surprise. Even so, the urge to laugh was still strong within her, mingling with confusion as to why she found the moment so amusing.
Jeremy quickly stood up and moved to help her, his gaze fixed on her right shoulder.
"Stay still," he said to her gently. "Your injury isn't fully healed yet. I'd rather you keep pretending to be asleep."
"You freaking knew I was awake?!" she asked in surprise.
Jeremy shrugged with a big smirk on his face.
"You're such an ass! How long did you know?" She was itching to wallop him, but feared the pain of her injury and didn't have the energy.
"As soon as I woke up," he replied honestly, his smile now impish.
"And yet you let Nancy hug you and kiss you while knowing I was eavesdropping?" Celeste blurted that out without a moment of hesitation. But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted it deeply.
Had she just said that out loud?
Goddess! She sounded like a jealous, petty woman! Her face burned.
"Ah! You know about the kiss, too?" Jeremy made sure to stress the word kiss as he asked the question. For some reason, he seemed to enjoy Celeste's reaction. "I thought you were keeping your eyes closed the whole time and didn't know anything about it."
This time, Celeste didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. She was silent for a little while before she failed to resist the curiosity that was eating her alive. "So…" she dragged, "Did she really kiss you or not?"
When she saw the grin widen on Jeremy's face, she felt her face getting hotter.
"I'm surprised. Didn't you hear her stomping her feet and running away while you were eavesdropping?" Instead of answering her directly, Jeremy chose to fly back a question.
So… Nancy hadn't kissed him? But why couldn't he just tell her already? The way he acted only brought more uncertainty.
Suddenly, Celeste was a little annoyed. Jeremy was just making fun of her. She turned her head away and grumbled to herself, "Whatever. I don't care anyway."
She heard the whine of the wolf in her heart, but she ignored it.
Jeremy let out a low chuckle. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. "Nah, she didn't kiss me. Or, to be accurate, she tried to kiss me, but I dodged. That's why she was stomping her feet like that. For a moment, I thought she was going to slap me in the face."
A small laughter got away from Celeste's lips. "Well…, I must say, I'm kinda sorry she didn't slap you in the face. You're such an ass, after all."
Jeremy snorted, and Celeste looked back at him.
The moon outside was their only source of light. And in its pale glow, Jeremy's eyes were especially bright, capturing her gaze instantly.
As they locked eyes, time seemed to slow down, everything else in the room fading away until there was only the two of them. Celeste was unable to look away from the blue of his eyes. So was Jeremy.
Nothing seemed capable of breaking their eye contact and shattering the moment. Except…
Another grumble of her stomach.
This time, it was even louder and longer, as if showing its deep displeasure at being ignored.
As they both sat there, fully engrossed in each other's gaze, the sudden growl caught them off guard and turned Celeste's face into a tomato.
This was even more embarrassing than when she had her eyes closed.
Goddess… How hungry was she exactly? The sight of Jeremy only deepened the hunger. She didn't know who was hungrier. She or her wolf?
Jeremy laughed again. "Looks like you really are starving."
Celeste forced herself to remain calm. "Obviously."
"Wait a moment, I'll go get some food for you," Jeremy said as he stood up and turned to leave.
Without hesitation, Celeste grabbed his shirt sleeve, even though she knew she didn't have the energy to stop him. She expected the sleeve to slip out of her hand, but it didn't.
Jeremy stopped in his tracks and looked back at her, his eyes unreadable.
He shifted his attention to her hand on his sleeve. He pursed his lips and gave her a small smile. "I'll be right back, I promise."
Celeste nodded and let go reluctantly.
But then she was surprised again by her behavior. Since when did she become this needy and clingy?
Did her wolf make her so? Just the thought of Jeremy leaving her side made her heart skip a beat. Her body automatically wanted to hold onto him, as if she were in desperate need of his protection.
She didn't know if the reaction was a result of their stronger connection or the vulnerability of her injured wolf.
Jeremy walked to the door and turned on the lights. They had forgotten about it the whole time. But it was not like they needed the light. They had incredible night vision, after all.
Jeremy paused at the door and looked over his shoulder at her. He gave her another assuring smile and left.
Out of the blue, Celeste was hit by the urge to tell him she wasn't hungry at all and he didn't have to go. But it was only a fleeting thought in her mind.