Celeste felt a strange wave of safety when she listened to Jeremy's words. He said no one was gonna hurt her, and she believed him.
Even the anxious wolf inside her seemed to calm down a little.
Jeremy stood up from his seat to go see who was lurking outside the house. Celeste put down her book, ready to follow him. But he shook his head, "No. You should just stay here. You're not fully recovered. I'll handle it."
She wanted to argue, but she saw the determination and concern in his eyes. She knew she couldn't shift yet. If there was danger outside, given her current state, she would only distract Jeremy. So she nodded in agreement.
Jeremy gave her arm a reassuring squeeze before turning around and heading towards the door quietly.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, startling both of them. Celeste knitted her brows. She thought the figure was sneaking outside, and now they had the gut to ring the doorbell and confront them head on?
Jeremy looked through the peephole on the door and turned to Celeste with a puzzled look on his face.
Celeste arched an eyebrow at him, asking him silently what he had seen.
He held up one finger and shook his head. She understood it instantly. So, Jeremy didn't know the person out there, and they didn't strike him as a werewolf.
Celeste relaxed a little. At least it was not Kent coming back to take their lives.
Just as she was wondering what they were going to do, the doorbell rang again.
Jeremy made sure to wait for a few seconds. When the echo of ringing died down completely in the air, he asked, "Who is it?"
"It's Officer Wade Lambert from the local police department." came the rough, gravelly male voice.
Instead of clearing off their concern, the answer only brought more questions. Celeste's mind began to race. Why would the local authorities be seeking them out? What did he want from them? And why was he lurking around outside before announcing himself?
Celeste looked at Jeremy and found confusion in his eyes, too.
Given that there was only one man on the other side of the door, they should be able to handle him. Jeremy looked at her and nodded as if he knew what she was thinking. Then he turned to the door and opened a small crack.
Jeremy stood at the door, blocking the stranger's gaze from seeing the inside of the house.
Celeste frowned a little because that way, she couldn't see the stranger, too. But then she realized he was shielding her from any possible threats. His protective stance made her heart race.
"Excuse me, Officer, what brings you here?" Jeremy asked, his voice calm and assertive.
The conversation between the two men was low, hushed to the point that Celeste couldn't make out any specific words. However, she noticed Jeremy reaching out to take something from the stranger. He should be checking his badge, then.
They exchanged a few words, and Jeremy shook his head and tightened his fingers on the door. Celeste wondered if the stranger was asking Jeremy's permission to enter the house. Obviously, Jeremy wasn't keen on letting him in.
They continued their discussion for a short while before Jeremy shut the door behind him. After locking up the door, he returned to the living room, his brow furrowing as he was lost in thought.
"So, what did the officer say?" Celeste couldn't help but ask.
"He asked if I knew anything about what happened in the forest that day." Jeremy sat on the couch beside her and leaned back.
She didn't expect that. "How did he know that? And how does he know you have something to do with it? Do you think he knows who we are?"
Jeremy shook his head. "I don't think so. He said he was talking to everyone around here. I don't feel him lying."
"But isn't it strange? Why did he need to sneak outside the window? What kind of police officer behaves like that? That's very suspicious."
"I did check his badge, and he seemed like a legitimate police officer. I'll verify it later. And if he is a legitimate police officer, it would be even more suspicious, considering how inactive they always are."
Celeste nodded. Indeed, the local police were notorious for their inaction. But that was good for the pack. It was their inaction that allowed the pack to settle in this town for so long.
But now, after all these years, the police suddenly cared about what was happening in the forest and started nosing around and snooping on them. That only raised their guard.
Celeste saw the hesitation in Jeremy's face, and she frowned. "What? What else are you hiding from me?"
He paused for a moment before he signed. "I just don't want you to be worried. You and your wolf should stay away from the trouble."
She knew Jeremy was trying to protect her, but she was not a little girl. As a member of the pack, she thought she deserved to know what the pack was facing. "Just tell me already."
He huffed in frustration before continuing, "The man also mentioned wolves in the forest. People have been attacked lately. We need to be more careful."
Her face turned paler at his words. Wolves attacking people? She wondered if those were the actual wolves or werewolves. Were the rogues attacking people?
After all, the pack had been extremely cautious and discreet in this area, never harming anyone so far. But now, this sudden change in circumstances should certainly increase the risks of their existence and whereabouts being found.
This was not good news.
"We should report it to Byron," Celeste said. Byron was the leader of their pack, and reaching out to him immediately in times of trouble was always Celeste's first instinct.
But at the mention of Byron's name, Jeremy let out a scoff.
"What's wrong?" Celeste asked, confused by Jeremy's attitude.
Ever since she had woken up from her injuries, she hadn't been able to talk to Byron yet. She had a lot of questions for him, but Jeremy had mentioned that Byron wasn't ready to talk to them.
Despite suspicions of the recent attack by the rogues, everyone in the pack trusted their alpha. So they never pressed him for answers.
Instead, they were all concerned about Byron's well-being. They knew he would give an explanation in due time.
"I…" replied Jeremy with a hint of anger in his voice, "I'm just still angry that he brought that rogue into our pack and got you injured."