Missing what? What were the hunters up to?
Celeste and Jeremy locked eyes. The hunter's words had made them both tense, like a bowstring stretched to its limit.
Jeremy squinted his eyes and clenched his jaw. Celeste could see the anger burning in those blue eyes like hot coals.
The two of them retreated towards the woods, moving as quietly as possible to avoid being detected by the hunters. They knew that they had to be careful. One wrong move could mean the end for both of them.
"Did you see Mom and Dad?" Jeremy asked when they were sure the hunters couldn't see them, his voice low and urgent.
Celeste shook her head. "No. I couldn't see much from my angle. I only saw two hunters inside. But since there are hunters inside and outside guarding, they should still be in there. I wonder what these hunters are waiting for."
"Are you sure there are only two hunters inside?" Jeremy narrowed his eyes.
"At least two. I was trying to look at other places, but one of them was too alert and looked at the window." Celeste gritted her teeth as she continued, "I can see they are very comfortable, though. The two inside are chatting as if they own the house."
Jeremy nodded, "Do they have weapons on them?"
"I didn't see any on them. I saw hunting rifles on the table. These hunters seem very arrogant, they're confident that we won't be able to harm them," Celeste answered, her eyes glinting with annoyance.
"Then they'll pay the price for underestimating us," Jeremy said viciously, his hands balling into fists.
The two of them fell into heavy silence. Celeste's mind was racing with thoughts of how they were going to save her parents from the hunters, and she knew they needed to act fast.
"I have a plan," she said, breaking the silence. "One of us will distract the two guards up front while the other runs into the house to take on the other two."
Jeremy's eyes narrowed as he considered her plan. "Can you shift, Cel?" he asked, his voice laced with skepticism.
Celeste nodded without thinking, but then her confidence began to waver.
She realized that she had never actually transformed yet, despite feeling her wolf almost every day since her injuries had healed. Her wolf's presence was very evident, especially when she was close to Jeremy. Her Wolf had influenced her rational choices countless times, but now she realized that it was always trapped inside her and never actually came out.
"I... I think I can?" Celeste said hesitantly, her lack of confidence evident in her voice.
Jeremy's skepticism only grew as he squinted at her.
"Then wolf out in front of me now," he demanded.
Celeste huffed. She closed her eyes and focused on trying to summon her wolf.
She could feel the wolf running and jumping inside her body, but when she tried to call it forth, her wolf just stared back at her with confusion. She tried to urge it out, but it refused to budge.
"Come on! Come on!" Celeste mumbled urgently, feeling the weight of their mission pressing down on her. But no matter how hard she tried, the wolf didn't seem to understand her. In the end, the wolf just sat down and stared at her with those big eyes.
She opened her eyes in frustration and looked at Jeremy. She knew disappointment was written all over her face. She could feel his skepticism like a physical weight on her shoulders, and it only made her feel worse. "Damn it," she whispered softly.
Jeremy didn't say anything.
Celeste knew that their mission would just get a lot harder without her wolf helping them.
Her teeth sank into her lip and she looked up at Jeremy. "I'll go and lead those two away–"
"No!" Before she could finish, Jeremy cut her off. "That's too dangerous. If you can't shift, you might not be able to outrun them."
Celeste wanted to argue, but she knew that Jeremy was right. She was not a fast runner.
"So what do we do? Just wait here?" she sighed. At that moment, Celeste felt like she was back with the pack of wolves that were attacked by the rogues. She was reminded of how powerless she had been. She had watched in horror as the rogues hurt her pack while she was unable to fight back.
"I'll go and lead them away. Then we'll go inside the house. No, let me finish," Jeremy held up a finger to stop Celeste from interrupting. "It's the safest option. I don't want you to get hurt. So you wait for me to come back, then we'll get inside the house together."
Celeste lowered her head, deep in thought. Jeremy had a point. She didn't want to slow him down, and if he couldn't transform into a wolf, rushing into the house might cause more trouble.
"Okay." Finally, she nodded at him.
"Good."
Jeremy turned around to go lead away the two hunters at the door, but Celeste grabbed his arm before he could leave. "Be safe, Jeremy."
"You, too. Stay here and wait for me."
She nodded.
Jeremy turned around. He walked past the bushes and into the field of vision of the two men.
Chubby and Skinny exchanged a look with each other before they ran towards Jeremy. Jeremy took off, leading them into the forest.
Celeste waited in the bushes, holding her breath as they ran away.
She hated waiting.
She checked the time frequently. And when five minutes had passed, Jeremy still hadn't returned. She frowned and started to worry. But she could do nothing.
After a few more minutes, Celeste became anxious and looked towards the forest. She couldn't hear anything or see anything, so she closed her eyes and focused on their mate bond.
She felt Jeremy's presence in the woods and knew he was safe, but she didn't know where he was.
She looked towards the house and saw that it was calm and peaceful. The door was open, inviting them in.
Celeste waited a few more minutes, but her patience was running thin.
The hunters inside would get suspicious if Skinny and Chubby were absent for too long, too.
She knew Jeremy wanted her to wait, but she couldn't stand it any longer. Her feet took her towards the open door.
She hoped Jeremy would be back soon.