Chapter 5

　　Celeste had no idea why she was suddenly so twitchy and grumpy. Maybe it was because she couldn't even feel her wolf. Or maybe Jeremy should be blamed for shutting her out. She didn't know.

　　They argued a lot as all the siblings did. And it was not the first time Jeremy kept her out of his room. Hell, she had done the same to him, too. But this time, the fact that she couldn't see him annoyed and frustrated her like nothing else. She had no clue why it felt so different now. She should have been glad she didn't need to deal with her idiot brother.

　　Finally, she gave in. Fuck! She didn't need him! She would probably shift tonight and had all the questions answered instantly.

　　She puffed and lay on the bed. She heard the little noises the summer wind made when it ran between the leaves. A small part of it entered from her window and brought in the light scent of leaves and dirt, stirring the air of the room with the fragrance of the cookies.

　　Celeste turned to her side, facing the window. It was already dark out there, and she could see the starry sky from her bed. Away from city light, the stars were much brighter. That was her favorite part of the country. But from this angle, she couldn't see the moon yet. She only caught the faint ring of it lingering on the edge of her frame. So she settled by counting the stars until the moon decided to make her appearance. It was not so round, but the silver moon gave away the cool, calm texture that took Celeste's breath away.

　　"When will I transform, dearest Goddess?" She asked, spellbound. And of course, the silence that followed was well expected.

　　She stared hard at the moon, hoping to wake up the wolf inside her. Wolves were drawn to the moon, weren't they? But even when her eyes were sore from the staring, she still didn't feel anything from her wolf. Celeste closed her heavy eyelids, wondering what was going wrong…

　　When she opened her eyes again, it was bright in the morning. She jerked upright and looked down at her body expectedly. But soon, disappointment was written all over her face. She was still in her human form, and her clothes were perfectly unharmed.

　　No luck transforming! She didn't even dream about it last night.

　　She yawned and dragged herself out of the bed. She opened the door and saw Jeremy's room. The door was open, but the man was nowhere. She hurried downstairs and was told her twin brother was gone earlier.

　　Celeste didn't know what she felt. Was he avoiding her?

　　The third day was the same. When she finally managed to stop the man on his way out, Jeremy didn't even look up at her.

　　"I'm going to see Byron, and I'm already running late." Then the man fled.

　　When he came back at night, he slid into his room and locked the door without making the slightest noise. And by day, he was nowhere to be found again. Celeste started to wonder if she actually had a twin brother.

　　Now she was not just guessing. She was almost certain the man was hiding from her. But why? Had she done anything wrong? Or was Jeremy just want to be alone?

　　Celeste couldn't help but spoke her mind at breakfast, "Jeremy is acting weird these days, don't you think? After his first shift, I mean."

　　Nora knitted her brows. "I was thinking about that. He met Byron yesterday. When Byron invited him to shift and hunt, Jeremy refused."

　　Jeff swallowed the waffle in his mouth. "Right. It has been three days, and he hasn't shifted again since that afternoon. He should let his wolf out more often so they can get used to each other. And the full moon is only a few days away, he'd better loosen his wolf a little before the moon forces the wolf out." The father took a drink of his coffee and added, "I was going to talk about it with him, but the brat ran faster than a rat!"

　　Celeste chuckled. "I bet he can outrun any rat in the world now." She spread the syrup all over her waffle and took a bite in satisfaction.

　　"Oh, right! I'm going out today to quit my job," said Celeste after she swallowed the mixture of syrup and waffle. She always complained about her part-time job being too far away. Now that her transformation was approaching, she decided it was her time to quit the job for good.

　　Nora looked up at her daughter, "Why don't you just make a phone call? Your wolf might surface today."

　　Yeah, yeah. Her wolf might surface today. Celeste had heard that every day ever since Jeremy's shift. But her wolf never surfaced. Celeste couldn't even feel any sign of her wolf. Somehow, she knew her wolf was not ready. She wouldn't surface today.

　　"I know. But I don't think my wolf will come out today. In fact, I just know she's not ready. Besides, I promised I would give away the cookies. Sarah cried for the cookies I made."

　　Nora nodded, concerns still on her face. "Be careful then. Jeremy could have gone with you in case anything happens. Too bad your dad and I have to work."

　　"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

　　It was not big of a deal. Celeste could finish her own business without help. But she was indeed a bit disappointed that Jeremy wasn't there.