I clear my throat and remove the sad memory of Danny, replacing it with memories of the aging couple I see as my mom and dad.
“That was Sylvia and Warren, the closest thing to parents that I actually have,” I answer, a ghost of a smile playing on my lips.
“Then who was John?”
I raise a brow at him.
“What? I figured maybe he was someone important if you were dreaming about him.” He looks at me innocently as he waits for my answer.
“John was my Uncle, and that dream is nothing but a memory.”
I dismiss the question, but he keeps pushing.
“What happened in your dream?” he says as he rests his elbows on his knees.
“It was a dark time when my wolf had all the control.” I begin.
Finally, he is found. My dearest uncle: the man who holds the key to finding my parents is found. My wolf laughs as she runs through the woods. He had been less than two states away this whole time, and we didn’t know.
Our adrenaline rises as we get closer and closer to the pack border that holds the answers we seek; the pack that holds the man who helped ruin my life. I pass quickly through the pack lines and stop in the middle of the forest to wait.
“Who goes there?”
Well, that didn’t take long.
“The names Celeste Middleton, and I’d like to be placed in the cells.”
The man looks at me like I’m crazy, but he complies, and soon, I’m in the dirty, rotten smelling hole that they call a cell. I begin to sing my tunes as the guards rotate shifts. The prisoners grumble angrily since I won’t quiet down.
“Shut it, girl, before I break out and gut you like a fish.” The oh-so familiar voice that I used to hear every weekend shouts from the cell across from me.
“Oh, darling, you’d be dead before you even step a foot in my cell.” I step into the light, giving him a view of my famous red eyes and menacing smile. He scoots back, a gasp bouncing around the cold cement walls as he begins to shake in fear.
“C-Celeste.”
“The one and only, Uncle.” My smile falls as I place my hand on the silver bars. My eyes never leave his as I watch him flinch at the sound of my burning flesh. My grip on the bars tighten, and I begin to bend them outward since the guards aren’t on our floor. Soon, they’re open wide enough for me to slip through and walk to my dearest Uncle.
“Celeste, dear, what are you doing here?” He takes small steps backwards until his back hits the cement wall.
“You know what I want.”
“So, what did you want?” asked Austin.
“I wanted him to tell me where my parents were. He was the only one who knew.”
He nods thoughtfully as he rubs circles on my hand.
Wait…
When did he grab my hand? I snap out of my trance and pull my hands onto my lap.
“What happened next?” he asks as he tries to cover the hurt that passes through his face.
“I wanted to hurt him until he confessed where they were, but he didn’t, so I killed him,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders while he just stares.
“But he was your family,” he whispers.
I look at him confused. “By blood, yes, but as a person, he was nothing but a stranger.”
He stands up and runs his hand through his hair.
“He was still family, Celeste. How could you kill your own flesh and blood?” he yells and it gets me mad.
“That flesh and blood was one of the things that ruined my life,” I scream back, kicking his chair down as I stand. “Him and my parents made my life hell, and he even helped my parents dump me in the woods.”
He looks at me in shock. “They dumped you in the woods?”
“Yes, Austin. My own parents didn’t even want me.”
And with that, I storm out of the room and lock myself in my bedroom.
CHAPTER 8
|austin|
Celeste storms out while I stand there feeling like a jerk.
“Dumbass.” Ezekiel growls before blocking me from him. He hasn’t been too happy with my decisions lately.
“Care to explain why I saw my luna is stomping angrily down the hall?” Vance busts in the room a few minutes later with his arms crossed and a furious look across his face.
As my gamma, Vance is basically wired to be the protector of his luna. He guards her and keeps her safe when I can’t. He also helps her with the pack and is basically her confidant.
“We got into an argument,” I say as I pick up the chair Celeste knocked over.
“Oh, you mean the argument about how she killed her uncle, so you blew up at her? That argument?”
I give him a nasty glare as he looks at me with a smirk. “You talked to her, didn’t you?”
“Yup.” He pops the ‘p’ before shaking his head in disapproval. “Why’d you yell at her for that? You know she’s killed people. You’ve done the same.”
“Dude, she killed her uncle. He was her family, and I didn’t know there was an actual reason for it.”
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose while counting to ten. “That’s why you ask her why before you yell at her.”
I look at him with a warning glare. “I overreacted. I’m sorry. I was scared that she just did it because she could. I mean, how could I have her as luna if she’s killed a family member for no reason?”
“But that’s not what happened. How many times do I have to tell you being a rogue is hard? It’s not like being in a pack where you have people to rely on. When you’re a rogue, you have no one, not even your own family most of the time. You don’t know what her uncle did. He could’ve touched her, beat her, or millions of other things.” He finishes his rant by falling on the couch, a haunted look in his eyes as he stares forward.
I always forget he was a rogue until he was sixteen; the horrible things he had to do to survive and the things he saw. Just the thought of what he told me has me whining out in sympathy for my mate.
At least Vance had his grandma until he was fourteen. Celeste was left all alone at seven.
“You need to apologize to her. I know she seems strong, but I can see that small spark of fear and sadness. It’s the same thing I see when I look at myself. She’s seen some shit, more than I have.”
I give him an apologetic look while I pat his shoulder. “I will, Vance, and I’m glad I have you as my gamma. You and Celeste will be good friends.”
We do our own pound hug before I make my way out of the office and up to the luna’s bedroom, the bedroom I carried her to last night.
“It was nice having our mate in our arms.” Ezekiel sighs happily as we think of Celeste. Soon, we’re standing in front of the white oak door that has me separated from my beautiful mate. I knock quickly before cracking it open.
“Celeste? Are you too mad to talk?” I call into the dark room before switching on the light. To my surprise, the room is empty. My anxiety starts to rise. “Celeste, now’s not the time for hide and seek,” I call out, worry clear in my voice as I search the closet, bathroom, and even under the bed. She’s not in here. “Crap.”
|CELESTE|
I slam the office door, mumbling hurtful wishes against Austin as I make my way back to my room. As I’m planning the accidental death of my mate, I bump into a brick wall, also known as every werewolf guy’s chest.
“Luna Celeste, are you okay?” The man I recognize as Vance, the gamma, asks.
“Ask your stupid hot-headed alpha.” I try to make my way around him, but he pulls me back in front of him.
“Celeste, do you know what a gamma does?” he asks, catching me off guard.
“They, um, are the third in command. He keeps the order and protects the pack if neither the Alpha nor Beta are available.” I rub my forehead, trying to clear it of the idiot I am mated to.
“Correct, but they also are the luna’s second-in-command and confidante. They help her, protect her, and do anything to keep her happy. The luna and the gamma are basica
lly brother and sister when she and the alpha are joined together as one. So, please talk to me about what my alpha has done now. I will help you as best as I can.”
“They’re basically very good friends?”
He nods, a small smile playing at his lips.
“I’ve never had a very good friend just like this. What is it like?” The only friend I had when I was younger was Hoshi, my little stuffed panda. Of course, I also have Cal, but he’s more of a child that I have to babysit than a best friend.
“I’ll show you if you tell me what happened. I just want to help, Luna.”
Deciding to give in, I follow Vance to a nearby sitting room to talk to him about Austin. I mean, what’s the harm in just talking?
|CELESTE|
“He looked at me like I was a monster; like I had just killed my own flesh and blood for the fun of it.”
I remember the look of horror that struck across my mate’s face.
“Well, why did you kill him?”
“John was never kind to me. He hated me. He was the one to punish me when I did something wrong. He loved it too…the sadistic bastard. Had a whole tool kit filled with stuff that could damage a little pup. That’s why my wolf hunted him down when she gained control. Then she learned that he also had the location to my parents, and she decided to make his death a little slower than intended.”
He gives me a quick hug before pulling me away at arm’s length to look me in the eye. “That man deserved everything you did to him, and Austin will get that. You just go rest up, and I’ll knock some sense into my idiot friend.” He chuckles before sending me off to my room.
Vance is fun to talk to. I’ll definitely hangout with him for the time that I am stuck here.
When I reach my room, the gold curtains are drawn, making sunlight pour in. I grumble. I am annoyed as I make my way over to shut them. As I’m about to pull them close, something catches my eye. It is a man with white hair sitting in a tree, staring right at me. As soon as I see those striking violet eyes that I’ve always loved, a sigh of relief escapes my mouth.
Cal.
I look to the windows, and I notice this isn’t the room I woke up in yesterday. I also find that they aren’t locked. I push the largest window open and stick my head out.
“Cal!” I shout, but not loud enough to draw attention.
“Scoot over, Celeste. Mama’s coming in.” He stands up and prepares to launch himself at the window.
I back up, ready to see him fail. He jumps and barely grabs on to the edge.
“Help me in or I swear I will leave you here with that alpha.”
That’s all it takes for me to stop laughing at his flailing legs and lift him into my room.
CHAPTER 9
|celeste|
“What are you doing here, Cal?” I cross my arms as I stare at the 5′3 witch in front of me.
“Gee, I come to your rescue and I don’t even get a thanks?” He walks around my room, completely ignoring me as he looks at the elegantly decorated space.
“You can’t be here. There are thousands of wolves who could sniff you out at any minute.” I grab on to his arm and start dragging him back to the window.
“C?”
I ignore him as he tries to plant his feet on the ground. “C, stop.”
“Celeste!” He calls my full name finally, tugging my arm so I’ll look at him. “What’s wrong, C? You look absolutely frightened, and you are never frightened.” He chuckles lightly at the end but stops when I don’t laugh along. “Celeste? Did something happen?” He asks quietly, holding on to my arms as he directs me to the bed.
“He took my wolf, Cal. I can’t leave.”
“Well, I can fix that. I’m one of the most powerful witches from England.” He gives me a reassuring smile while I shake my head.
“That’s not all that’s got me scared, Cal. We talked, and I think he might reject me.”
He scrunches the bridge of his nose, studying me. “You don’t even want a mate, so shouldn’t that be good news?”
“No! What if he rejects me and doesn’t give her back? I won’t survive the rejection without her.”
He looks at me with sympathy which has me glaring at him.
I don’t like sympathy.
“Okay, sorry. Look, if I can’t get this fixed myself, I’ll call upon the witch council to help. My father is the head of the council and owes me a favor.”
Without even thinking, I launch myself at him and hug him tight. “Thank you, Cal. You’re the best.”
He hugs me while holding back a laugh as I express my thanks over and over again. “You’re welcome, C. Now, let’s get you away from that hot-headed alpha of yours.”
“How do we get out?” I pull away from him, watching as the gears inside his head turn.
“I was thinking I’d just zap us out of here, but if I do that, the spell I made to cover my scent will stop working and wolves would be up in here in just seconds to track us.”
He rubs his chin as he thinks, but I go on high alert when I hear oncoming footsteps and smell my mate. “Well, do something quick because Austin is coming.”
His eyes widen before he shoots up like a rocket and drags me to the window. “Okay, plan B, we go out the window and run like hell.”
He pushes open the glass and shoves half my body out. “Grab on to the tree. We can hop from one tree to another until we hit the middle of the forest. Then I’ll use a spell and send us to my cousin’s house.”
Before I can protest to his horrible idea, he shoves me one last time, causing me to grip on my limbs before I fall two stories down to tree branch.
“I hate you!” I whisper-yell, making him roll his eyes.
“Move over,” he says.
I hop onto another branch as he jumps.
“Cal, he’s almost to my room. I can hear him coming. What do we do?”
When he doesn’t answer, I slap him on the side of the head, silently cursing at him.
“Just shush and slow down your heartbeat. I’ve got a cloaking spell.”
I nod quickly. I close my eyes and even out my breathing, slowing my heart just like I did when I was younger. When I open my eyes, I see Austin in my room, calling my name while moving around looking for me.
I can see the worry in his eyes as he checks my closet, bathroom, and even under my bed. When he doesn’t find me, he runs out of my room and out of the pack house.
“Aston! Gather all the available pack warriors. Celeste is gone, and we need to find her.” He grips Aston’s shoulder while they speak, glancing around every so often.
“C, we have to go before my spell wears off,” he whispers as he moves me forward.
“Cal, what if Crowley is right? What if he doesn’t let go and his pack falls apart because he won’t be the alpha he needs to be?”
“Celeste, I’m sorry, but the spell is wearing off. We have to go now!”
I hold in a yelp as he grips my wrist and pulls me forward.
“I know the mate bond has gotten stronger, so this is a little harder, but there’s something you need to know.” He gives me a quick look before ducking under a branch that comes up in front of him. “I need your help. The family is in danger.”
I stop, pulling on the shirt of his collar so he’ll stop too. “What happened? I told you to keep an eye on them.” I pin him to the tree, feeling a little bit of my wolf for the first time in over forty-eight hours. It doesn’t sound that long, but to a rogue, it’s forever.
“C-calm down. I’m your family too, so don’t take your anger out on me. We need to get to a safe place to talk. Now, calm down and walk.”
I take a deep breath and unclench the bunched-up fabric in my hand. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
“Look, Austin’s pack will be catching up soon and my cloaking spell is going to wear off so we’re going to have to leave now. They’ve probably already picked up your scent since it was still faintly there.”
As if on cue, the loud and thunder
ing howl that I know belongs to Austin sounds through the woods.
The signal of a catch.
He knows where we are.
“Okay, let’s get out of here.”
|celeste|
It’s been about an hour since we got out of the Roman pack territory. Ever since we left, I’ve been having this tinge of guilt hanging over my shoulders. It’s nothing new, honestly, but for some reason, it’s worse than all the other guilt I’ve ever felt.
Stupid mate bond.
If I had my wolf, she would’ve helped block out the emotions these last two days.
The weird thing though is we’re not that far from his territory.
I know what most people would be thinking: “How dumb are you? Get away before he catches you.”
I thought the same thing until Cal told me his cousin’s cabin is protected from wolves and will block our scents.
So here I am, sitting on a white leather couch with wet hair from a shower while Cal and his cousin, Eve, fight in the kitchen.
“You guys know I’m a wolf, right? I can hear you,” I call when I hear my name come up.
“Sorry, C. I just found out why Eve lives so close to the Roman territory.”
He walks in, plopping down next to me as a heavy sigh leaves his mouth. “She’s the pack witch. She works for him.”
Eve comes in and sits across from us while giving her cousin a mean glare.
“I don’t work for him, darling,” she says sweetly, her soothing British accent coming out as she speaks. “I just perform a few spells for him every once and a while in exchange for cash and protection.”
“So, you’re not in his pack?” I say.
She responds an adorable giggle at my question. “Oh god, no. He’s not my alpha or anything like that. I listen to no man.”
She soon stops her giggling, and a question pops into my head. “Are you the one who placed this spell on me?”
She gives me a mournful look and my question is answered. “Yes, and I’m sorry about that. Mr. Roman had given false information about you. He told me you were an important prisoner, but Cal here has filled me in with the true story. I’m sorry, Celeste. I can’t help you. Only Austin himself can unleash your wolf with a blood bond spell.”
The Devil's Daughter: A Paranormal Romance Page 4