Celeste was a bit lost by the sudden change of topic.
"I mean… You and Sarah have been curious about my secret, right? And now I'm offering it to you. So, let me ask again. Do you want to know my secret or not?"
Weird as it sounded, she was intrigued. She shouldn't have cared about him since she no longer worked with him. But her instinct told her to say yes. She sensed something fishy, though.
"Why? Why do you decide to tell your secret now?" she asked suspiciously.
"Because I… I like you. I hope we can still be friends. I want to share a secret and earn a friend," Raymond answered, gaze fixed on her.
That was a very strange reasoning. "Why on earth do you think I will be your friend after I find out your secret?"
"Because you're not seeing me as who I truly am. If you know my real identity, you will change your opinions of me. I think you'll even consider me a hero."
Celeste snorted. "You cocky ass must hype it up, huh?"
That being said, she was curious.
She pondered for a short while and decided to give it a try. If that smirking jerk claimed he could fly, she would probably not be very shocked.
"Fine! What's your secret then?" She folded her arms over her chest, waiting for the answer.
"I don't think we should talk here. I need to do my work. Would you wait till I get all my shit done? It won't take long. We can go to the café down the street."
Celeste shrugged. "Okay, then. So mysterious."
***
Celeste was even more intrigued by how seriously Raymond took it. She followed the man to the café.
Raymond was silent all the way with that smirk on his face. Celeste could see his left hand holding something tight. She couldn't see what was in his palm, though.
"What's in your left hand?" she couldn't help but ask.
The man waved his fist and smiled in confidence. "You will know when I tell you."
Celeste snorted. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell your secret?"
Raymond turned to her and met her eyes. "No, I'm not afraid. Because I know you won't tell."
The assurance in his eyes surprised her. Uneasy, she looked away. "Okay."
The two walked in silence, which spared Celeste the opportunity to think. She started to wonder if this was a good choice. Why did she have to follow him to the café? Why did she need to know? Given how seriously Raymond took it, this should be very important.
Did he kidnap some alien? Celeste stole a glance at his left hand. Maybe he was holding a remote controller. Or maybe he had kidnapped Jeremy? The thought brought a giggle from her.
Raymond looked back from his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow in question. Celeste shrugged, the smirk still on her face.
They picked a quiet corner and ordered. After the waitress left, Raymond put his arms on the table and opened his mouth in earnest, "Hey, listen… I don't think you'll believe me. But I swear what I'm going to tell you is 100% truth…"
His eyes met her in earnest.
Suddenly, the regret grew. She followed him here by instinct, and now she wasn't sure if she had made a mistake.
Obviously, what he was going to tell her was very important, to him at least. And it occurred to her that this was rather personal. The more important it was, the more personal it seemed to Celeste. Their dynamic could change dramatically after she found out about his secret.
She was not ready for that. She and Raymond were fine just being coworkers.
"Er… You know… On second thought, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to… I don't think I–"
"No! I want you to know, Cel!" he cut her off. His gaze almost turned into flame on her skin.
Cel? Since when did she allow him to call her like that? When their gaze met, she realized she had underestimated how significant this was to the man. Before she could say anything, the waitress was back with their drinks.
Celeste waited till the waitress left. But when she was about to talk again, all the words she gathered turned into acid and burnt her throat. She saw what was lying in Raymond's palm – a silver bullet. A silver bullet that could end her life.
Short as it may be, the bullet glistened in glee with the evil, lethal light that took Celeste's breath away. It was only two knuckles' length, but Celeste could already picture the long shadow it drew when it flew in the air and smashed the target's flesh and bone.
But it was clearly not used as a weapon because of the lifelike carving of a wolf's head on the upper part. The wolf had its jaws wide open, but he didn't look like he was roaring to intimidate enemies. To Celeste, she heard the long cry of her folks getting shot and wounded.
It was a token, a symbol of the owner's identity.
"I know I don't look like one, but I am actually a hunter." Raymond sensed her gaze on the silver bullet.
He looked down at it before returning his attention to Celeste and cracking a smile. "Not the hunter you see on the news who hunts wild animals or something, of course. I mean, I'm a werewolf hunter..."
Her stomach churned with regret.