For several days, Celeste stayed at home to wait for her wolf to surface.
After days of observation, she was convinced that Jeremy was avoiding her. No matter how early she got up and ran to the door, she was always one step behind him. And she always fell asleep before he came back and locked himself up in his room.
Celeste had no idea what she had done wrong to deserve that. But she would find out tonight because it was the full moon, and Jeremy would have to stay at home after sunset.
***
Celeste was thrilled when she saw the round moon in the sky, but that apparently was not enough to wake up the wolf inside of her. She sighed and shook her head.
She sneaked to Jeremy's door and looked down at the crack between the door and the floor.
It was dark.
The smartass must have drawn the curtain. In fact, Celeste was impressed by how her twin brother was holding onto it. Their parents had shifted freely when the moon made her appearance on the dark stage of the sky. But Jeremy made it this far in his first full moon.
Celeste snorted. The urge was not easy to resist, though. Even if he hid himself from the moon, the magic would still work. Besides, Jeremy had only shifted one time. His wolf would crave freedom and surface at any moment.
Celeste stood at the door and listened carefully to the footsteps in his room. She couldn't help but snicker, "You can't resist the urge, you know. It's impossible. We're born to shift, to free our wolves."
The footsteps didn't stop. Instead, it sounds even faster. Celeste smiled. "Instead of walking around, I think tying yourself up will give you better odds. I would be glad to help you, FYI."
"Go away! My ears have already suffered from Mom's lecture. Now please leave them in peace."
"But I just want to help my dear brother after he has been missing for days! That's what families do!" she cried in a dramatic tone, determined to get under his skin. "Think about it! This is your first full moon, puppy. The moon outside your window is round and golden, inviting you to run and hunt freely under her light!"
"Shut up, Cel! Stay away from me. I wouldn't be able to hold it…"
"Let go then. I've never heard of a wolf not wanting to shift and running under the moon. How about I–" Before she could finish, she heard a loud howl from not far away. Her instinct told her to shut up.
As the first howl faded, several followed like waves. She sensed the change in the air and held her breath. That was when she heard heavy pants from the room. One after another, the pants got rougher and heavier.
"Jeremy?" she whispered in the softest voice as if for fear of waking up a beast.
But the beast woke up after all.
She heard a huge bang of something drop to the floor. Then the curtain snapped. The window was pushed open with a quick, loud whine, and almost without a second of pause, an angry howl burst free from the room.
Celeste knew what happened immediately. She already pictured how fast the grey wolf took over the human's body. Her heart pumped in her chest at the imagination.
She knocked on the door and almost laughed at herself for forgetting the wolf was unable to unlock the door for her. Then she heard a thump on the roof. Jeremy must have jumped out.
Celeste huffed in disappointment. But instantly, she realized she could still get to the roof from her window and catch the beast.
Her feet reacted faster than her mind, bringing her to her room before she could think better.
She really should have thought better…
Because when she stepped into the room, she saw Jeremy's wolf jumping in from the window. She witnessed as the wolf's strong legs ate the short distance between them and landed on her limbs, knocking the air out of her lung as she was pressed against the floor.
Lying on her back with the wolf's heavy weight on her, Celeste was lost. She looked up at the beast's eyes and felt like a prey exposed. She froze at the hungry stare of the wolf.
"J-Jeremy?" At that moment, she wondered if the wolf was still her twin brother. She saw the wolf, but he was completely alien to her now. Her twin brother would never press her against the floor like that. At the thought of who he was, a sudden pang of disappointment stung her and brought her to reality.
"Stop, Jeremy! Let go of me! Don't be an ass! I apologize, okay? Now let go of me!" She believed the wolf was doing this only because she had been annoying Jeremy earlier. She struggled to free herself, but she couldn't shake the wolf off of her.
She looked up again. From this angle, she could see the sky out of her window. The moon must have been very bright because even the dark sky was tinged with a soft, pale shade.
The wolf's eyes glowed in the darkness. He seemed ready to swallow her alive. She shivered and called his name again.
But the wolf didn't react. Instead, he growled in a low voice and lowered his head to her. She felt trapped and helpless. She knew how much strength was hidden in the solid muscle of the wolf. She struggled, but she couldn't even move an inch. "Let go of me! Jeremy! It's me!" she cried.
The beast went still, but he didn't move. Celeste was still unable to move. The beast pinned her arms on her sides and pressed her back tightly against the cold floor. It hurt a little, but she knew the beast was already gentle on her. He could tear her skin and flesh easily if he wanted.
Celeste was frightened. But there seemed to be a secret part of her that was fascinated by the beast. Somehow, as she was pinned on the floor, a secret part of her was smiling in glee and waiting for what he was going to do to her. Her heart went wild.
Another howl came from the distance, burning away the little reason Celeste had just sparkled in the wolf.
He roared and showed his white, sharp teeth. He pressed his head against her neck and spread his hot breath on her bare skin. He went down and tore her top with those teeth.
"What are you doing? What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Celeste panicked.
She struggled as if her life depended on it, water in her eyes. But the wolf pressed harder against her. She screamed, "Let go! Jeremy! No! No! Stop! Wake up! It's me! It's Celeste! It's your twin sister!"