by Eden French
Celeste felt no remorse for the reprehensible man as he hung in front of her, his eyes bulging, a look of panic now spreading across his face. A tiny voice inside told Celeste she should stop. She swallowed hard and pushed the voice away. She didn’t want to stop. Despite what Kylie wanted—to forget and move on—this man, this pathetic excuse for a human, should pay.
How many women has he assaulted before tonight? How many more will he assault tomorrow?
No. She couldn’t let him go. It was too late. Celeste felt her hand squeeze tight around the vein that pulsed in his neck and grew excited. Just one more quick press, and it’d be over. Suddenly, someone was behind her.
“Celeste, let go,” Zev whispered in her ear. He brought his fingers to the back of her neck and grazed the skin. “I’ll deal with him. You don’t have to do this. Let me take care of him.”
Celeste’s grip tightened. “He hurts women, Zev,” she hissed. “He deserves to pay.”
“You’re right, my darling. I agree with you,” he said as he brought his hand around her arm and rubbed the length of it until his hand was over hers.
Gooseflesh broke out over Celeste’s body, as she and Zev stood there, their hands around the neck of someone who deserved to suffer. Her stomach tightened and she became aware of her desire.
Zev nuzzled in the crook of her neck. “With everything I am, every cell in my body, I believe he should pay. He deserves to suffer, but not by your hand. That is my job—as protector.”
Celeste felt the warmth of Zev’s hand as it enveloped hers. She heard his words like soothing music and slowly loosened her grip under his touch. She let her hand fall to her side as Zev took the man by the throat and stepped in front of her raising him higher into the air. Celeste’s eyes widened as she watched Zev lift him like a toy.
“So, you think it’s fun to assault women? You think you’re a big man?” Zev’s voice was dark, it echoed in the quiet forest. Chris choked and sputtered under Zev’s viselike grip. “Let me assure you the fun is only beginning.”
Zev threw the man into the trees with a force no human could possess. Celeste watched with bright eyes as Zev handled him like a rag doll.
He pounced on the man and grabbed him by the head. With one quick turn, he snapped his neck, leaving his body to crumple to the ground.
Celeste’s breathing grew heavy. She should feel horrified by what she saw, but all she felt was the electric tingle of life, strong and raw. She knew that this man in front of her, this protector, was more than he claimed to be. But what? Zev’s chest rose and fell with earnest. He turned and looked at Celeste. She approached him with caution, her body flushed with excitement.
* * * *
Zev stood there and waited for her. It would be just as his father had said, his true mate would come to him. He held fast in his place, though he wanted to run to her and claim her for his own. Zev shook the thought out. That wasn’t the way. She had to come to him. If she were truly his mate, she would come.
She stalked toward him as he stood there, chest heaving in his black tux, his jacket open, and the first two buttons of his white shirt undone. His bow tie hung loose around his neck. Celeste’s eyes consumed him. He knew she wanted him. He felt it in every fiber in his body. His wolf felt it.
Celeste made it across the brush and stood just inches from him. Zev heard her heart thrashing.
“I want to taste you,” she said as she looked into his eyes. Even as her thought escaped as words, Zev’s mouth began to water. “I’ve wanted to taste you for a long time.”
Zev bowed his head but held her gaze.
“I am yours.”
Celeste grabbed the back of Zev’s hair and pulled him to her, her mouth crushing his lips, opening up for his tongue to ravage. Zev responded immediately. His wolf could be contained no longer. It clawed to break free.
He thrust his tongue into Celeste’s mouth, devouring her flavor. He released a loud moan. Celeste met it with one of her own. Her chest swelled in her dress, her creamy skin became hot to the touch.
Zev’s body was fuel to Celeste’s inner fire. She brought her hands down and held his biceps. She could feel the sinewy muscle beneath his evening coat. For as every bit as rough Celeste was, Zev gently held her face between his two hands and kissed her deeply, over and over and over again, his soul being fed by hers.
* * * *
The new moon left the sky dark, the clouds completely blacking out the stars. Celeste felt a shift inside her body, and an explosion burst forth within her core. In her mind’s eye, she saw a large, dark animal poke its muzzle out from inside a cave, its wet nose sniffing the air. Celeste was distracted by its arrival and released Zev’s mouth. She gasped for air. The animal took a step further out of its cave, revealing two large paws.
Celeste froze. It was a wolf, a massive, thick-coated animal. Celeste was drawn to the creature, she felt a kinship to it. And, it confused the hell out of her. Still, she couldn’t stop. She turned her head and let Zev bite at her neck.
Apprehension peeked out, but her mind told her this animal, this beast, had been inside her all along, waiting for the right moment to step out and introduce itself to her.
Celeste saw, in her mind’s eye, the wolf exit the cave and stood on a log. It stretched out its legs and haunches, curving its back in a long-extended movement. Celeste watched as it stuck up its nose to the air and scented out the atmosphere. She knew when it caught Zev’s scent. It cocked its head to the side, and its ears perk up in interest. Celeste’s belly clenched in arousal.
Celeste was both in her body, and not. She was confused by what was happening. The wolf was just a picture in her imagination, yet, she also knew it was a real part of her existence.
What the hell is going on?
Celeste took a full step back out of Zev’s arms. She didn’t speak, she couldn’t. She was trapped inside herself, trapped inside the animal that now seemed to demonstrate its power, its control, over her. She stared at Zev for answers. Did he feel it, too? She brought her hands to her head and wrapped her fingers in her hair.
* * * *
Zev noticed the shift in Celeste’s demeanor. He smelled her conflict. He looked down at her face. Celeste looked back up at him, her eyes glowing in the dark night, searching for answers. Zev gasped. She was beautiful.
She was more than Zev could have ever imagined in a mate. His mother had told him only the strongest females would have a yellow ring around their eyes in human form and the thicker the edge, the more powerful and more suitable that woman would be for an alpha male’s mate. The ring around Celeste’s eyes nearly covered her iris. Celeste should be his. And, he could scent out her wolf’s desire. He knew it was interested in him, as well.
But, he saw the questions running over Celeste’s expression. He knew she was scared and confused by what was happening. He realized she had no idea she was part of the pack.
He reached out to her. “Celeste, everything will be okay,” he began. “Tell me what you already know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Know about what? Zev, we killed a man. And if you hadn’t been here I…I was going to do it.” Celeste’s voice shook. “What’s going on Zev? What’s happening to me?”
Her breathing picked up. Zev knew he had just moments before panic set in. He could smell the fear as it leeched through her skin.
Celeste looked over at the frat guy that lay crumpled on the ground near their feet. Her eyes widened.
“What…what did we do? Zev, what…what…” Her voice rose, and Zev could scent the shock. He had to move quickly before she was completely pulled away.
“Celeste, breathe. Breathe,” he said in a calm tone. He took a breath himself and understood it was his job to help her through understanding what she truly was. After all, he was the true alpha. It is what he was born to do.
Celeste took a few breaths, her eyes flitting to the dead body every now and again. Zev felt her panic rise.
“Celeste, look
at me. Don’t look at him. Look at me and listen to what I am about to tell you,” Zev kept his voice neutral, even. He knew he would have to explain all this to her, but perhaps tonight, right now, was not the best moment. He snuck a peek at the dead body. No, the only thing that mattered was for Celeste to calm down and rejoin the party before anyone noticed her absence. He was certain Calen was looking for her already.
As much as he didn’t want to do it, he’d send her to Calen. She’d be safe with him. He trusted him. He’d deal with the body and they could meet later.
Celeste’s eyes rose to meet Zev’s gaze. Her eyelashes fluttered, her lower lip trembled.
“Celeste,” Zev whispered, bringing her hands to his mouth. He planted a kiss in the center of each palm, his eyes never leaving hers. “Listen to me. I want you to go back to the party, okay? Act like nothing has happened”—he swallowed hard—“find Calen, go to him. Ask him to take you home and spend the night with him. Be with him. Pretend everything is normal. Nothing has changed. Do you hear me? Nothing has changed. Nothing happened.”
It took a great deal of effort to make that last sentence sound convincing, but it was a matter of Celeste’s safety and sanity. He continued.
“It is imperative, for both our lives, that you go home with Calen in the same way you would as if nothing had ever happened. Do you understand?”
Celeste nodded in understanding, her eyes never leaving Zev’s gaze. She felt the wolf inside her sit in attention. Celeste felt compelled to listen to Zev’s words and trusted they would lead her to a better place.
“I will take care of…this.” He gestured to the body in disgust though his eyes never left hers. “Do not, I repeat, do not be afraid. You have done nothing wrong. Please trust me when I tell you all will be well. In a few days, I‘ll be in contact with you and explain everything. But, here’s the thing, do not reach out to me, understand? Whatever you do, do not contact me. I will come to you.”
Celeste nodded, her eyes wide.
“Now go back to the party. Do as I ask, please.”
Celeste took another step further back. Zev’s stomach lurched. He had been so close to having her, so close to uniting with his mate. But she had not known what she was. She had no idea. He instinctively reached out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her back until her body was pressed into his. He grasped her face in between his two hands and held it steady.
“Make no mistake, Celeste. You are mine,” he whispered before crushing her lips with his. Celeste responded immediately, she drank in every inch of him. She felt her wolf’s gravitational pull to have him inside her, and her stomach twisted in knots. She felt an ache emerge from between her thighs, and she pressed her body into his, her breasts crushing against his hard chest.
Zev pulled away in agony, though all he wanted to do was take her right there in the woods, shred the dress from her body, and have her on the forest floor, where they should be—home. Zev made a mental note, perhaps it wouldn’t happen tonight, but it would happen soon.
He forced himself to pull further away from her.
“Go, now!” he gruffly said through clenched teeth. He throbbed between his legs as she left, but he knew it was the right thing to do. She needed time. It couldn’t happen tonight.
Celeste stumbled back a bit from the kiss and Zev smelled the wetness collecting in her panties. He wondered if her fluid would be slick or sticky on his fingers. He shifted his erection uncomfortably. He’d know soon enough, just a little while longer. He’d finally gotten a taste of his mate and he’d die before he’d never have her again.
Celeste turned and walked back down the trail toward Greek Row. Zev watched as her outline became a silhouette in the night with each step further away, eventually fading as she emerged out of the forest cover and into the realm of the Greek.
Chapter Twelve
It had been four days since the Greek Ball, and the encounter with Zev in the woods. Celeste had done exactly as he’d told her. She had made her way back to the event, slipped in through the side door, freshened herself up, and returned to the main room to a waiting, and highly anxious Calen.
It was a good thing she had stopped by the bathroom to check her reflection. There were bits of pine stuck in her hair and on her dress, not to mention the smeared lipstick from Zev’s kiss. She had tidied herself quickly and joined Calen back in the main room.
“I was beginning to worry,” he whispered in her ear. “Is everything okay?”
Celeste nodded, remembering Zev’s instructions. “I’m sorry, Calen, I’m actually feeling overwhelmed here. I was hiding out in the bathroom. Do you think we could head back to my place for some downtime before bed?”
Calen wrapped his arm around her curvy waist and pulled her close.
“Of course, my dear,” he replied. “I wish you would’ve said something sooner, I’ve actually been waiting to hear those words all night.” He flashed her a grin.
They left the party and spent the night together making love into the early hours of the morning. Despite what had happened with Zev in the woods, Celeste was able to fall under Calen’s spell and release her fears and anxieties from earlier that evening. It was close to ten o’clock the next day before she opened her eyes. She stole out of bed and throwing on Calen’s button-up shirt, headed to the bathroom.
The night before had returned with a vengeance and she sat on the edge of the tub and stared at the floor, tears forming in her eyes. She didn’t know what to make of the night. Her shoulders clenched as she remembered the events in all their horrifying glory. The entirety of it simply terrified her. Who was she? Celeste felt betrayed by her own consciousness. She scrunched her eyebrows together as she tried to make sense of it all, the encounter with the frat boy and subsequent murder, Zev’s passionate embrace…the wolf.
My God, the wolf.
It all melted together into one giant mind-fuck that now tormented her.
She had covered her face with her hands. She didn’t want to look in the mirror. She was sure she looked forty times worse than she felt. Celeste touched the soft skin beneath her eyes. She could literally feel the puffiness under her prodding tips. Her mind tried to separate the events, tried to figure out which was the most disturbing, the killing or the arousal or the fact that she couldn’t put them in any sort of moral order.
Was it Zev who murdered that man last night? Or was it she? She could no longer deny the truth. It was both of them. They had killed him together. If Zev hadn’t stepped in, the result would have been the same, except maybe more gruesome. Celeste shuddered at the flashes of what could have happened last night. In all reality, Zev had done the man a service killing him so quickly. Celeste mulled it over and over in her head, but couldn’t reconcile it any way she looked at it.
What kind of person am I?
Now, it was four days later, and she was still no closer to understanding what had happened. To make matters worse, there was no word from Zev. Celeste stood in the shower and let the hot water hit the top of her head, thoroughly soaking her hair.
Why hadn’t he called? What the fuck was taking him so long?
“Celeste!” Heather called as she pounded on the door snapping her out of her thoughts. “Celeste! Come check this out! Another animal attack near Greek Row!”
Celeste froze. Her breath caught in her throat. Chris. It had to be. The body had finally been found.
“Celeste, quick!”
Celeste swallowed the thick lump in her throat. In all honesty, it had been there since she woke up on Sunday morning and looked over at Calen, sound asleep, his light brown hair tousled in a soft mess. The growing mass had been there since the morning after and just hadn’t left.
Celeste turned off the water and climbed out of the shower. Hair dripping, she grabbed the first towel she could get her hands on and scrubbed her hair with it in haste before wrapping it around herself and joining Heather in the living room.
Heather was sitting on the edge of the couch.
&nbs
p; “Wasn’t that near where you were last Saturday?”
Celeste glanced at the television and pretended to pay attention, though she knew the answer. She spoke in a neutral tone.
“Um, yeah, I guess it was.”
The news switched gears to the weather and Heather clicked the mute button.
“That makes the third death this school year,” Heather said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Three? I thought this was only the second.”
“No, there was an attack in the woods at the edge of campus just before the year began. Don’t you remember? It wasn’t necessarily a school attack, but close enough, I’d say. They found that guy out past the river at the edge of Mill Trail.”
Celeste’s voice dropped into her stomach. She grew silent. Heather continued.
“It all looks like an animal attack, but I don’t know…”
“What do you mean by that? They were animal attacks, Heather. The coroner confirmed it.”
“Well, that’s true,” Heather conceded. “But don’t you find it strange that all of the victims happen to be the same type of guy?”
Celeste’s heart raced as the pieces began to fall into place.
“And, what kind of guy would that be?” she asked carefully. She didn’t want her friend to pursue her crazy ideas, but she also didn’t want to suspiciously avoid the conversation.
“Think about it,” Heather began. “The first guy was Bobby Stark. Sure, school hadn’t begun yet, and the attack was a bit further away, but still, he was a Beta Knu, and a notorious womanizer. The second, Kyle Reese, also a frat guy with a rough reputation. Greek like the others and had a known temper and mean streak…just ask the girl he was with last. And now, there’s this guy…they’re still trying to identify the body, but the parts they did find were clothed in a tux with a Greek Pin on it, it’s only a matter of time before his name is released.”