Red (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by Eden French

  “What are you saying?” Celeste asked though she knew exactly what her friend implied.

  “Don’t you find it strange that all the victims were frat members and known womanizers?”

  Celeste looked at her friend and tried to hide the sheer terror she felt on the inside. She gave Heather her best sarcastic stare.

  “So, your logical explanation is that there’s wild animal out there with an agenda? An animal who’s going all serial killer on frat guys with bad reps or something?”

  “Okay, okay,” she caved. “When you say it out loud, it sounds completely crazy. But, you have to admit it’s one wild coincidence.”

  Celeste released a slow breath, though inside she was hyperventilating. Had Zev been responsible for all three deaths? Her heart told her it was true, and she felt like she was drowning. She struggled to keep appearances.

  “A coincidence? I’ll give you that,” she said evenly. “Unless you take into account all three most likely had similar personality traits given their common backgrounds and were probably doing something incredibly stupid at the time of the attack.”

  Heather nodded. “Now that is something we can agree on. Anyway, the report said the university is urging students to not walk through that part of the woods. Said they’re working on sending out a mass email to students and parents with suggestions on staying safe until the animal is caught.”

  “Caught?” The word surprised her.

  “Well yeah, of course,” Heather replied. “How many more students have to die, douchebags or not, before animal control gets out here. But personally, I think the police will have a bigger problem trying to keep all the gun-wielding locals at bay.”

  Celeste’s throat threatened to close entirely. Only a thin wisp of air passed through. Her head grew light, and a smattering of black fuzzy dots pushed into her vision.

  Zev. He could be shot.

  “Hey, Celeste, are you okay?” Heather’s voice was far away. “You don’t look so good.”

  Celeste’s eyes closed.

  When she opened them again, she was flat on the floor. Heather was hovering over her. She tried to sit up.

  “Hey, take it easy, C, okay?” Heather began.

  “What happened?”

  “You fainted. I mean, straight-up passed out,” Heather replied. “It was so strange, one second we were talking about the attacks, and the next, you were on the floor. Are you feeling all right? Should I call a doctor?”

  Celeste took a deep breath as everything started to come back to her. Her heart pounded. She had to get out of there.

  “No, no, that’s fine, don’t call. I’m just not feeling so great, worn out and all,” she said. “I think I’ll go lie down for a bit. Help me up?”

  Heather was more than happy to oblige. She grabbed her friend by the hands and hoisted her up before walking her to her room. When Celeste was settled under her covers, Heather closed the door, giving her some space to rest.

  Celeste immediately got up. There was no time to rest. She had too many questions that needed answering, and it all started with Zev. She picked up her cell and dialed Zev’s number. To hell with no contact. It went straight to voicemail.

  “Zev, it’s me,” Celeste said in hushed tones after the beep. “I gotta get out of here. I’m going home for a few days…” She paused before adding, “Stay out of the woods. And, call me, for fuck’s sake.”

  She hung up the phone and tossed it on her bed. Taking a duffel bag from her closet, she began packing clothes for the next few days. She jumped when her phone went off. Zev. Leaping across her bed, she scooped it up and hit the talk button without checking the screen.

  “Hello,” she answered expectantly.

  “Hey, babe,” Calen greeted her. “Heather called. She said you were sick. Something about you fainting? Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she answered, her voice deflated when she realized it wasn’t Zev. Why wasn’t he calling? “I think I’m just getting a bug or something.”

  “Well, it sounds pretty serious. I’ll swing by after workout. What would you like me to bring you?”

  Celeste clenched her jaw. Calen was such a good guy. He deserved so much more. It killed her to do what she had to do next. A vision of Zev snapping Chris’s neck flashed through her mind. She steeled herself to sound convincing.

  “Oh, that’s sweet, hon, but I’d rather you not. Not tonight. I may be contagious, and there’s no way I want you unable to practice because of me.”

  She heard him take a breath to argue.

  “But, will you please check on me tomorrow? I should be fine once I’ve had a nice, long sleep.”

  She heard him release a breath of disappointment, but she knew he’d comply. He’d do anything she’d ask of him, and she knew it. Now, she used it to her advantage.

  “Of course I will,” he said. “You just take care of yourself, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning, first thing. Get some rest, babe.”

  “I will. I promise.” She hung up the phone. A single tear escaped her lashes.

  She felt horrible lying to him, but it was for his own good. Ugh. She even disgusted herself. She was no better than a cold-blooded killer in wolf’s clothing. She threw the phone down angrily into her pillow.

  Why the hell hasn’t Zev called!

  Celeste finished packing her bag, grabbed her purse, and stuffed her phone in its front pouch. She scribbled out a note explaining to Heather her quick trip home and not to worry, she’d be back in a couple days, and if she needed her for any reason, to give her a call.

  Celeste left the note on her desk and walked over to her door. Placing her ear against it, she heard Heather listening to music in her room. Celeste took a deep breath and quietly opened the door. Slipping out of the room, she managed to steal out the front without detection. At least there were still little things to be grateful for.

  Celeste ran to her jeep and hopped in. She turned the key and sped out of the parking lot, heading down the road leading out of town.

  * * * *

  The drive home was quiet, peaceful. Celeste welcomed the alone time. It gave her the chance to think and lately, her life with Calen, although extraordinarily satisfying, left little time for being alone. Keeping her eyes on the road, her thoughts flew through her mind, surpassing the speed at which the trees passed in her periphery.

  Home was a six-hour drive from the university, and Celeste drove it straight through stopping only once to use the restroom and stretch her legs. When she pulled into the driveway of the faded white paneled home with dried shrubbery and a muddied lawn, she felt as if she could have been a world away. And, had never been more relieved. She turned off the jeep and got out. Her younger brother, Randy, was already busting through the screen yelling.

  “Ma! Pop! Celeste’s home! Come out!” The rambunctious thirteen-year-old was the fourth born and youngest of the Wolfe clan. He had the same dark hair and dark eyes Celeste had, and he was secretly her favorite sibling.

  Celeste embraced Randy as he threw himself into her arms. She looked up to see her parents standing on the dirtied porch, the railings cracked and splintered, a look of concern spread across both their faces. Celeste released Randy and, grabbing her bag through the window, headed up to the house.

  “Celeste, my girl, come here.” Her father took his eldest into his arms. Celeste dropped her bag and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He pulled back and looked at her face.

  “What is it?” He gazed at Celeste and gasped as he saw her eyes. Celeste looked down. “Celeste?”

  Her father grabbed her chin with his hand and raised it up to show her mother.

  “Look, Regina.” Celeste’s father spoke as he turned his daughter’s face so her mother could see her eyes.

  Her mother took in a sharp breath.

  “Come into the house.” Regina spoke with authority. Turning to her husband, she said, “Jeffrey, bring her in now. Randy, get your sister’s bag and put it in her room. Let’s go.”r />
  Celeste followed her father, feeling ashamed. She knew what he saw in her eyes. It had been there constantly since the murder, since the wolf poked its head out and revealed itself to her. She knew her father had seen the thick yellow ring encircling her dark irises. Celeste’s mother held open the screen for everyone to pass through.

  Inside the house, a lentil stew filled the air. Celeste’s stomach growled. Her mother looked at her.

  “Let’s eat, everybody. No use having to explain everything on empty stomachs.” Regina disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Explain what?” Randy asked. “Hey, CeCe, what’s up with your eyes?”

  “Don’t you worry about it, sweetie.” Regina emerged from the kitchen with a fistful of spoons in her hand. “Right now, the only thing I want you to worry about is finding your brothers and lettin’ them know dinner is ready.”

  Randy’s shoulders slumped at the task, but he went searching for Bill and Michael. Celeste was left with her parents in the room.

  “We had thought it skipped you. Sometimes, that happens, especially with the females.” Her father’s hushed tone was excited.

  “Jeffery, not now, please,” Regina interrupted. “Let’s wait until Randy goes to bed.”—she stroked Celeste’s hair—“Celeste, my darling girl, there is so much I need to tell you, so much you need to know.”

  Just then, Randy entered the room, Bill and Michael close behind him.

  “Hey, big sis.” Michael, the second child, swooped in for a hug. She smiled at the sentiment. Technically, she was older, but bigger was hardly the case. Michael was close to six-feet-two-inches in height and weighed nearly two hundred and twenty pounds. He towered over her. She raised her arms up to reach his shoulders as he embraced her and lifted her up in a hug.

  Growing up, the two had been close in age with just two years separating them in school. But unlike Celeste, Michael did not have a taste to go to university. He got a job right out of high school as a mechanic’s apprentice.

  “My God, Mikey, what are they feeding you over here? You’re even bigger than I remember.”

  “Hey, hey, now. I’m still a growing boy,” he pretended to be insulted; though Celeste suspected he was proud of his massive stature.

  Bill, on the other hand, was five years younger than Celeste and although he was of average size, he had big dreams of not only going to university but also excelling there and eventually making it all the way to NASA. He was a high school senior this year, and like Celeste, there was promise of a scholarship to take him anywhere he wanted to go. He was also much shier than his older brother and wasn’t much for words. Celeste was sure it was because he needed to save all that brainpower on developing the next life-altering invention.

  Celeste released Michael and looked up at her brother’s face. She gasped. His eyes had a tinge of yellow. He gave her a quick wink. She looked over to Bill. His eyes were the same.

  “But, how?” she asked confused. “I don’t understand.”

  Her father placed his hand on her shoulder. “There’s a lot you and your mother need to discuss.”

  “Okay, time to eat,” Regina said after the welcome was over.

  The family adjourned to the kitchen where they sat crowded around a round table, bumping shoulders and elbows, kicking each other’s feet as they ate.

  After the meal, Celeste’s brothers went back to their business, leaving Celeste with her parents in the small living room to talk.

  “Tell me what’s going on.” Celeste’s voice cracked. “I know you know what’s happening to me. Please.”

  Her parents looked at each other then back to her.

  “Tell us what’s been happening.” Regina placed a hand on Celeste’s knee.

  Celeste looked down at the hand, her eyes avoiding both her parents. There was no way she could even begin to describe what she had been going through with Calen, or Zev, let alone the wolf that now plagued her every thought.

  Celeste’s mother nodded at her father. He stood and left the room. Regina reached over and held her daughter’s hand.

  “Celeste, I know it may seem impossible to explain to me, but I think I may understand more than you know. And, I want you to know that I will never judge you. I hope you will feel free to explain to me what you’ve been going through…” Her voice trailed. She waited for Celeste to respond.

  After a few minutes, Celeste lifted her head up and looked at her mother. Her eyes were sad and confused. Regina knew the look all too well. She squeezed her daughter’s hand in reassurance.

  “Mom, I didn’t know what to think of it, at first. I didn’t think anything of it,” she began. “I just thought it was Calen, my boyfriend, that my feelings for him, my behavior, were simply a product of me finally falling in love. I…I’m embarrassed to—” Her voice cracked.

  Regina knew exactly what she spoke of.

  “Celeste, don’t apologize. There’s no need for it. It’s me who should be apologizing to you. I didn’t prepare you properly.” She sighed. “You are a shape shifter. We all are. I could have warned you about how your urges and desires would amplify the closer you were to shifting. That you would want to do things you’ve never considered before.”

  Celeste’s mouth dropped open.

  “Then it’s not my imagination?” Her eyes were wide in shock. “All of it, it’s real? How…how could you not tell me about this?”

  Regina’s eyes focused on her lap. “In honesty, your father and I thought it had skipped you. Although males tend to change later, a female tends to emerge near sixteen, and you…well, you didn’t. You were well beyond the typical years of shifting. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard of it happening, especially these days. Your father and I felt it would be best to let you go off to college with a mind free from the worry, free from the weight of knowing.” Regina met Celeste’s gaze, sincerity in her eyes. “We can explain everything to you, but first, I need to know what has happened. How far along in the shift have you gotten? Your eyes—your eyes are telling me more than you know.”

  Celeste looked away. She had forgotten how the yellow rings were nearly always present. A few months ago, when they first started to show, she had wondered if she had some sort of illness, like a virus. Now, she realized what she had was much worse than any medical ailment. She was a wolf shifter. Celeste took a deep breath.

  “But yours and dad’s eyes, they’re not like mine.”

  Regina shook her head and smiled. “As you accept your true self, you gain control of when and how much it shows. Now, tell me, Celeste, what’s been happening, how are you feeling?”

  She took a deep breath. “It’s like I feel I’m never satisfied. I met this amazing guy, Calen. My boyfriend. He’s handsome and funny and easy to talk to. He’s not demanding or bossy. He’s perfect, Mom. Like a warm breeze on a cool day, or a cool breeze on a warm day because really, he’s anything I need him to be.” Celeste crossed her legs, her foot bouncing back and forth in nervousness.

  How could anything you say about Calen be true when you kissed Zev like you did?

  “I’m not sure when it happened, but one night, I decided he would be mine. It was like I was claiming him. And, that’s pretty much how it happened. I wanted him and he was mine, Mom. He still is…”

  “But?” Regina knew what was coming. She sensed it in her daughter.

  Celeste was quiet for a moment.

  “But…someone else happened, and this someone is not someone I can ignore no matter how I try. And, I can’t explain it.”

  Celeste’s heart began beating rapidly and her palms started sweating. She felt a twinge in her belly that shot downward at the thought of Zev. She prayed her mother didn’t notice her response.

  “Tell me about him,” Regina said.

  Celeste took a deep breath. “Zev is…commanding. He’s not rude or rough, but his energy demands I pay attention. I like it. I need it. And, there’s something else. There’s…” Celeste paused. She didn’t know how her mother
would respond, but if she didn’t get it off her chest, then she’d surely lose her mind. “It’s almost like he’s an animal in a human body…wild, but controlled. And, it’s like he, and I don’t know how, but it’s like he pulled my animal out of me.”

  “What kind of animal, Celeste?” her mother asked quietly.

  Celeste took a long, deep breath.

  “A wolf. A large, beautiful, black wolf with yellow eyes.”

  Regina leaned in and hugged her daughter tight. “Oh, my precious girl, I’m so sorry I didn’t warn you. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you how it would be.”

  “Tell me now,” Celeste demanded, pulling out of her mother’s embrace. “Tell me now.”

  Regina nodded. Then, taking a deep breath began the story of their family.

  “It started as a curse, really. A curse on an entire group of peoples…our people, the gypsy. A powerful witch had been wronged by her gypsy lover and took revenge in the form of the curse. She cursed our entire race to walk among humans, to live lives like humans, but to shift into animal form because after all, that is what she thought of us—animals.

  “But, she didn’t stop there. No, in order to fully divide our culture, she cast a spell to separate our people, driving us into different countries, separating from families, never connecting with each other…always shifting into animal form uncontrollably, never finding our true mates.

  “She had wanted to make the curse a punishment, and it was, for several hundred years. But the gypsy is a cunning race, my dear. Over the centuries, we learned to control our animals, learned to use its power in our favor. We turned the curse into a miraculous gift.”

  “I don’t understand,” Celeste began. “You’re talking about fairy tales.”

  “No, Celeste,” Regina replied solemnly. “I’m talking about the beginning of our kind.”

  “Our kind?”

  “You are…this whole family…we come from a lineage that may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. But I can assure you it is as real as we are sitting here now. And, I know you know I speak the truth. You have already experienced a bit of it yourself.”