Chapter Nineteen
Mournful howls rippled through the air, and Celeste leaned back in an overstuffed armchair in her bedroom, stifling a shiver. The full moon hung high in the sky, and all the werewolves were down in the basement, locked in. She hated it. She felt as if Grant and Jeffrey were a million miles away.
It would be hard on them too. Werewolves were meant to run free on a full moon. Being locked up would mean a miserable night of clawing at the walls and door, howling in frustration. It was the only way to be safe, however. On a full moon, werewolves were completely taken over by their animal nature. They were likely to attack any humans near them – possibly even Celeste. According to Grant, he and Jeffrey would know who she was because of their close family bond, but she wouldn’t be safe around the rest of the werewolves.
Grant had hired a security firm that his family had worked with for decades. There were times when werewolves needed security on a full moon, and when that happened, they worked with the Morganstein firm. They paid an enormous fee to the Morgansteins for their discretion.
The minutes seemed to drag by as she flipped through the pages of a book without really seeing it. Finally she set it down.
She walked out of her bedroom and paced through the halls.
When she wandered into the parlor, Norman, the human guard, looked at her in confusion. “How did you come through that door? And when did you change your clothes?”
A thrill of alarm shot through her. Something was wrong. “What do you mean?”
“You just came through the front door a few minutes ago.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He pointed at a hallway that led to the kitchen. “Yes, you did. You went that way.”
Jennifer. She’s in the house.
They heard the sound of shots coming from the kitchen, and shouts of pain.
“Go!” Norman barked at her, but it was too late.
Jennifer came barreling through the door, with Talbot at her side. Talbot pointed a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun at them, and his eyes were blazing with fury.
Celeste struggled to swallow her panic. Norman had pulled his pistol from its holster, but it was pointing at the floor.
“Drop it,” Talbot barked. Norman’s face flushed with anger, but he obeyed.
“Don’t shoot him,” Celeste said quickly. “If you shoot him, I’ll make you shoot me, and then you’ll have no bargaining chip.”
“Sure, buy him some time,” Talbot sneered. “Jennifer. Restrain him. If he tries anything, I’ll shoot.”
Jennifer didn’t even spare a glance for Celeste. She pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket and ran over to Norman, who looked at her with murder in his eyes. Talbot had just killed his co-workers. She handcuffed him to the staircase railing, then returned to stand next to Talbot.
“Okay, now what?” Jennifer asked Talbot. The howls coming from the basement increased in volume. It was as if, even in their animal state, they knew that something very, very wrong was happening upstairs.
Talbot looked at Celeste, his gaze cold and angry. “You and your mate have made my life extremely difficult. You do not want to piss me off any further. Take me to Jeffrey right now. We’ve already been downstairs. There’s a combination lock on the basement door. You will open it for me, or I’ll kill your sister while you watch.” He waved his gun. All the bullets were coated with silver, Celeste was sure. If she opened the basement door, he’d kill everyone but Jeffrey.
“What?” Jennifer cried furiously, backing away from him. “No! I did everything you asked! I got you into the house! I’m giving Jeffrey to you!”
“Getting me in the house is no good if I don’t have the boy,” Talbot spat. He looked at Celeste, and gestured at Jennifer with his gun. “Which leg should I shoot first?”
Celeste smiled at him politely. “Dealer’s choice,” she said. “And please, take your time.”
“Hey!” Jennifer screamed at her, her face contorted with fury. “I’m your sister!”
Celeste shot Jennifer a look of withering scorn. “You are related to me by an accident of birth only. You were going to sell your son.”
“He’d be better off with werewolves!” Jennifer whined. “I tried to take care of him. He’s a freak of nature! I couldn’t hide it any longer, and if the government found out and took him away from me, I wouldn’t even get any money for it and they’d probably just experiment on him. This way, I get the money, and he gets to live with people who know how to take care of him.”
“Take care of him?” Celeste shook her head in disbelief. She looked at Talbot. “What did you want Jeffrey for?”
His lips skinned back from his teeth and his eyes were huge. “None of your business, you little bitch.”
