Wilder

by G. K. DeRosa

  “You have to understand that when I first met your father, he kept everything a secret from me as well. As time went on, it was a secret too difficult to keep hidden. We tried to protect you from it, to let you lead a normal life, but when your father was killed…”

  A sudden realization hit Celeste like a speeding freight train. “Wait, Mom—Dad wasn’t killed in a car accident was he? Oh my God, he was killed fighting, wasn’t he?”

  “I’m so sorry, Celeste.” Her mom’s chest heaved as she sobbed.

  Celeste’s chest tightened, and a terrible anger built up. “Who killed him Mom?” She was gripping her mom by the shoulders now and she was shaking her roughly.

  Her mother didn’t answer, purposely averting her grief-filled eyes from her daughter’s as angry tears continued to spill.

  “Mom, who killed Dad? Tell me, I deserve to know.”

  She choked back a sob, looking at her daughter’s determined face. “I don’t know exactly. All I know is that there had been a series of supposed ‘animal attacks’ in the area and your father had been hunting a vampire.”

  Celeste took off out of the house with her mother chasing after her, but it was no use she was much too quick for her. The streets whizzed by in a blur. Celeste ran and ran until the pain in her chest had subsided, only to be replaced by the burning fatigue in her legs. She stopped where she was and flung herself on the grass, staring blankly into the sky as dark clouds rolled in overhead.

  Everything went black.

  “Cel, are you okay?”

  The familiar voice tugged her back to the present. “Brian? What are you doing here?” She opened her eyes in a daze. A tidal wave of emotions hit her at the sight of her best friend. Impulsively, she jumped into the comfort of his arms.

  “Whoa, nice to see you too. Your mom called me in a panic about a half hour ago saying you had a fight. I’ve been driving around looking for you.” He held onto her for a minute longer before finally letting go.

  “Thanks for coming. I’m sorry she freaked out.”

  “What happened?”

  Celeste wanted more than anything to tell Brian what had happened over the past few weeks. She always told him everything, and yet now it was like an invisible wall had been built between them.

  Celeste took a deep cleansing breath, expelling all the pent up hurt and anger. “Nothing, I just overreacted and ran out of the house. I’ve been feeling really emotional lately with graduation coming and everything.” Lie.

  Brian raised an eyebrow at her skeptically. “Well it didn’t seem like nothing to me. Your mom was hysterical and seemed really scared for you. And I can see you’ve been crying.” He reached to tenderly wipe smudged mascara under her eye. He held up her chin examining her face worriedly.

  “I want to tell you, Brian, but I just can’t right now. There have been some things that I’ve recently found out about my family and my dad. I’m just trying to work through them.”

  He dropped his hand from her face. “But why do you have to do it by yourself? I’m here for you, and maybe I can help you get through whatever it is.”

  She shook her head.

  “Why are you shutting me out? We’ve been through so much together. What makes you think that you can’t let me in on this?” He paused, his eyes set on hers. “I love you, Celeste.”

  Something happened to Celeste when he said those three little words—the ones every girl dreams of hearing. A huge weight lifted, and she stopped fighting the emotional battle that had been surging inside of her for days. So when Brian leaned in to kiss her, she let him. There was something so comfortable and safe about being in Brian’s arms, and the kissing wasn’t bad either. After a couple seconds of allowing herself to get lost in the moment, she pulled away, back to reality.

  “I should probably get back home. I’m sure my mom must be worried,” she stammered.

  “Sure, whatever you want Cel.” He helped her to her feet and led her back to his car.

  As they drove back in silence, Celeste tried not to think about the repercussions of the stolen kiss. On one hand, she wished it would be enough that Brian loved her, and she could be a normal teenager with a normal boyfriend. On the other hand, she knew it would never be.

  Why did I let Brian kiss me again?

  She certainly couldn’t deal with this right now, not with everything else going on. She had to focus on becoming a Guardian, training, becoming a skilled hunter and avenging her father’s death. She would find the vampire who killed him, and she would make him pay for taking him away from her.

  Celeste felt strange as she opened the door to her house: everything seemed to be tainted by lies. Everyone in her family had kept secrets from her. She looked at her mother’s tear-stained face and a slight pang of guilt lanced through her chest.

  Her mother wrapped her arms around her tightly. “We need to talk about this.”

  “Not now. Everything’s going to be fine, Mom. I just need some time,” she said numbly and went up to her room.

  Celeste had left the house in such a frenzy that she hadn’t even bothered to take her phone with her. As she glanced down at it now, three missed calls from Roman and one from Nico flashed across the screen. She felt torn between the desire to talk to Roman and tell him about her father’s death, and the terrible anger growing inside of her that a vampire had killed him—a vampire just like Roman.

  Celeste pulled the small sword from its hiding place under the bed and clutched it in her hands. She knew it wasn’t rational, but she was angry with Roman for being a vampire. Most of all she was angry with herself for letting Brian kiss her. She had an overwhelming urge to stab something with her sword. Instead, she attempted to channel her energy and swung the sword in a few arcs around her bedroom. Her phone rang again—Roman. She sent it to voicemail, continuing her swordplay against an imaginary foe.

  “How could you have let her escape again?” asked Fabian furiously, his towering figure looming over Magnus.

  Magnus didn’t flinch. “I’ve already explained it to you. Roman and Nico appeared, and as you had forbidden me to kill them or her, it was unlikely I would have been able to get her out of a crowded party without drawing unnecessary attention.”

  “He’s incompetent just like the rest of them,” said Alek contemptuously.

  Magnus leapt at Alek with his fangs bared and rage in his wild eyes. “I could snap your neck like a twig, boy. Don’t tempt me.”

  Though Magnus was a full head taller than Alek, Alek casually stepped away from him completely unflustered. Then with a voice dripping in sarcasm asked, “What are you going to do to remedy this situation?”

  “I will go back for her and bring her to you as promised.”

  “That may be easier said than done,” growled Fabian, “especially now that they will be more cautious after your last failed attempt.”

  “I have a much less subtle tactic in mind this time.” Magnus’s black eyes blazed.

  Celeste, sweaty after her impromptu workout, sat at the bay window. She breathed in the warm summer breeze as dusk began to set in. As she gazed out into the darkening sky, that newly familiar, ominous sensation came over her as a winged creature landed on the oak tree outside. Another question that she had been meaning to clarify with Roman was becoming clearer now.

  The falcon peered at her, blue eyes questioning. Celeste stood up and feeling rather silly, signaled for the creature to come in. It flew in, and in the blink of an eye transformed back into his human form. Celeste plopped down on her bed taking a moment. Imagining a bird turning into a man and seeing it were two entirely different things.

  “I’m sorry to stop by unannounced, but you didn’t answer any of my calls,” Roman said.

  “Sorry, but I was busy,” she snapped. “So it’s been you in the tree for weeks?”

  “Yes.”

  “But that was before we had even met.”

  “Celeste, there’s a bit more to the story than what I have told you so far.” He rubbed
at the back of his neck. “The truth is that one of the reasons that Nico and I moved back to Oak Bluffs was you, well the Guardian, I mean. One of our oldest family friends, Stellan, used to be on the Council, and he knew that the new Guardian was to be chosen. As I told you, my mother, before being turned into a vampire, had also been part of the Council. She always kept an eye on the hunter families. When you first met Nico, and he told you that he had met some Wilders years ago, he wasn’t kidding. As your father said, you come from a very long line of hunters.”

  Celeste nodded and let him continue.

  “Stellan had always been in the habit of letting us know when a new Guardian was to be chosen, and we would generally stay away. But this time it was different. When he told me about you and your father, something clicked in my memory. I had to come here to see you.”

  “So…”

  “Please, Celeste, let me finish,” he said pacing anxiously in front of her. “About fifteen years ago, Nico and I were living in New York City. It was a rather dark period of my life. As I’ve told you before, it’s not easy being what we are. I have to fight the dark urges constantly. I had fought with Nico and taken off on the road only to find myself here in Oak Bluffs. I was hunting, and I came across a stunning woman walking in the streets alone at night. I descended upon her. As I was about to feed on her, I saw the most beautiful little girl with blonde ringlets come ambling out on the front porch calling out for her ‘Mama.’

  Moments later, a Guardian came running from the house, sword in hand. When he saw that I had spared his wife and child, a look of astonishment crossed his face, and he put his weapon down. A part of me wanted to die. I wanted him to end my life once and for all, but he didn’t kill me. He gathered his child into his arms and helped his wife into the house. He let me live.”

  Celeste couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “I was that little girl? And they were my mom and dad?”

  “Yes. Your father saved me. He may not have known it, but he did. I’ll never forget the look he gave me that night. He made me feel like I was worth saving. He gave me a second chance, when many others would not have done the same. He made me realize that I could be redeemed, and that I could start again and be better.” His normally bright blue eyes were clouded with remorse as he finished.

  “So you came back to Oak Bluffs to see if I would become the next Guardian?”

  He nodded, his lips pressed together. “When Stellan told me that the new Guardian was to be chosen, I did a little calculating and some research. I found out that your father had been killed. As soon as I got back into town, I came to your house to see if it really was you.”

  “And you stalked me through the window.”

  “I was just trying to protect you,” he countered.

  “Just when I feel like my life couldn’t possibly get any more insane, you tell me this. I can’t believe you nearly attacked my mom, my dad almost killed you, and you met me as a toddler!”

  Roman slid down to the floor and kneeled in front of her, taking her delicate hands in his. “Celeste, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but there has been so much for you to bear lately. I didn’t want to add another piece of the puzzle until the time was right.”

  “It’s kind of an important bit of history, Roman. Did you ever see my dad again? Did you know that he was killed by a vampire?”

  “No, I never saw him again.” His stormy blue eyes gazed into hers pleading with her to trust him. “I never came back to Oak Bluffs until a few months ago. I only found out recently that your father had been killed, and I have no idea who did it. You must believe that I would tell you if I did.”

  “I don’t know what to believe anymore,” complained Celeste. “Every time I blink I find out something new and terrible. I feel like my life is spinning out of control.”

  “I’m so sorry, Celeste.”

  “You know, my mom knew all along. She knew what my dad was and that I could be the next one. She wanted to keep me from it all. She doesn’t want me to be the Guardian.”

  “She’s your mom, of course she doesn’t want that life for you. She, above all people, wants to protect you.”

  “What if I don’t want this? What if I can’t be a Guardian?”

  “I’m afraid that is a decision that only you can make, Celeste. But remember, guardians are designated after much consideration; it is not a selection that is taken lightly. They chose you for a reason, because they saw something in you, the same thing that I see,” he said, a serious expression crossing his handsome face.

  “And what’s that?”

  Roman sat beside her and reached out to cradle her face in his hands. “A beautiful, courageous young woman with an extraordinary heart and the capacity for immeasurable greatness.”

  She smiled, and looked into the blue depths of his eyes. “I don’t feel like any of those things.”

  “You will, Celeste, I know it. I want you to come somewhere with me tomorrow. I want you to meet Stellan.”

  Chapter 16

  Celeste reached under the bed, retrieving her sword from its hiding spot to place it carefully into her oversized backpack. Oddly, Celeste now found its presence comforting, and she wondered if it had some sort of magical, calming powers. She swung the backpack onto her shoulder and looked anxiously out the window, hoping to see the black Porsche. If Roman was correct, Stellan would be able to answer many of Celeste’s questions about the guardians, the Council and the entire supernatural world. A jumble of nerves and anxiety swirled through her.

  Celeste was strangely relieved to see the bright red BMW and Nico’s smiling face pulling into her driveway. The tension between her and Roman had gotten a bit intense lately, and Nico’s presence was a welcome distraction.

  Celeste stepped out into the warm sunny day and was greeted by a kiss on the cheek from Nico as she climbed into the car. “Hello beautiful,” he said with a grin.

  She and Roman exchanged brief pleasantries, and the threesome set out on the road as the sun crept higher in the sky.

  “And you must be the famous Celeste Wilder.” Stellan stood at the doorway, welcoming them into his home.

  “I don’t know about that,” she said blushing, “but I have heard many things about you. I really appreciate you meeting with me.”

  Celeste surveyed the entryway as she walked in. Rows of shelves lined the walls filled with old books in unrecognizable languages. She stared up in awe at the high vaulted ceiling with mahogany rafters stretching from end to end. As expansive as the home was, there was a certain cozy feeling about it, like it had been thoroughly lived in. Celeste took a breath and noticed a peculiar smell too, a mixture between mothballs and incense. It was strangely reassuring.

  “Well of course, it’s my extreme pleasure. It’s not every day that I have a Guardian in my humble home,” responded Stellan.

  “Stop kissing up to her, Stellan, it’s not like she’s going to try to kill you,” Nico teased.

  “You on the other hand, Nico, are not so safe.” Celeste shot him a playful wink.

  In truth, after the two-hour car ride with two vampires, Celeste was a bit antsy. It took all of her strength to fight her budding murderous urges.

  As if Stellan had sensed her discomfort, he ticked his head at the boys. “Roman, Nico, why don’t you make yourselves useful and get started on lunch. I’d like to speak to Celeste alone for a bit.”

  Roman looked at Celeste for approval, and when she nodded, the brothers headed toward the kitchen.

  “Why don’t we go sit outside? It’s much more pleasant,” Stellan said.

  And out of vampire earshot.

  Stellan led Celeste out to the rustic back porch overlooking the woods and sat beside her on the wooden bench. Celeste filled her lungs with the pure air of the countryside, reveling in the refreshing sensation.

  “Let’s get right down to it then,” he said with a pleasant smile. Celeste let go of the breath she had been holding. “I’m sure it’s of no surp
rise to you that Roman and Nico have kept me apprised of your situation.”

  “No, they told me that you were the one who told them about me in the first place.”

  “Very true, my dear. You see, after all this time, I still keep in touch with Guardian affairs. I’ve been in the habit of informing the boys over the years. I care deeply about both of them, as I did their parents. I try to keep them safe and up to date with supernatural matters that may concern them.”

  Celeste nodded, her inquisitive eyes urging him to continue.

  “When I found out about you, I informed them as well, simply because of their proximity to you. I had no idea that Roman would want to come back to Oak Bluffs, and it wasn’t until yesterday that he finally admitted why, as he did to you.”

  “Right, because he knew my dad.”

  “Yes, and to be perfectly honest, Roman is not the only one that has been keeping secrets. I haven’t told the boys this, but I also knew your father. I knew him very well. In fact, I was on the Council when he was made a Guardian so many years ago.”

  It took every ounce of Celeste’s self-control not to burst into tears or hysterical laughter—she wasn’t sure which was in order. Everything was a lie: her father had lied to her, her mother lied to her and now she was meeting one of her father’s oldest friends whom she had never even heard of. “So you knew my grandfather and my great-grandfather too? I just found out I come from a whole line of guardians apparently.”

  “Yes, I have met many generations of Wilders during my time on the Council. You come from a special family, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to train you and help you to become what you were born to be.”

  “You are going to train me? You’re the one my dad was talking about in the video…” Celeste eyed his slim wiry frame skeptically. She didn’t think he was capable of teaching anyone to fight.

  “Yes, Celeste. Many years ago, I made a promise to your father that if anything ever happened to him, I would step in and help you in whatever way I could. As a matter of fact, I received an email from your mother just a few days ago. She of course had no knowledge who the recipient was, but it was your father who had instructed her to contact me.”