Chapter 107

I had never been more nervous than I was when Matt dropped me off at my house. I knew Jack would be waiting for me. I approached our front door with a heavy heart. The events of last night weighed on me like a cloak of lead, suffocating every breath I took.

When I opened the door, Jack was pacing in the living room. His eyes were filled with a mixture of relief and worry as they locked onto mine when I finally stepped inside. I didn’t think it would last long. Anger was never far around the corner.

"Where have you been, Celeste? I've been out of my mind with worry," he exclaimed, his voice fraught with concern. But there was a harsh edge to it. I was going to be in for an earful if I didn’t take charge.

I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I knew would be a difficult conversation. "Sit down, Jack. We need to talk."

He furrowed his brow, sensing the gravity of the situation. We settled onto the worn-out couch, the silence between us stretching like an unspoken promise.

"I know everything," I said finally, my voice steady despite the tumultuous storm of emotions inside me.

Jack's eyes widened, a mix of surprise and apprehension flashing across his face. "What do you mean?"

My gaze bore into his, unwavering. "I know about the werewolves, Jack. I know that our father is alive."

For a moment, the room seemed to hold its breath. The weight of my revelation hung in the air, suffusing the space with an electric charge. Jack's eyes, once locked onto mine, dropped to the floor, unable to meet my gaze.

"How... how did you find out?" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

I leaned forward, my determination cutting through the air. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that I know, and I need you to understand something, Jack. I need more freedom. I can't live in the shadows anymore. If you want me to stay, you have to start letting me have a life beyond this house. Otherwise, I'm done."

Tension filled the room, tangible and oppressive. Jack's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, wrestling with the weight of my words. Finally, he looked up, his eyes a tumultuous sea of emotions.

"Celeste, you don't understand. It's not that simple. The world out there... it's dangerous, especially for someone like you," he implored, his voice tinged with desperation. I had never heard that tone from him before and it was disconcerting.

“Why especially for someone like me? What aren’t you telling me, Jack?” I asked, my voice rising as frustration swept through me. First our father and now him. I was getting really tired of all the secrets.

Jack’s nostrils flared. “I just mean someone untrained. I tried to keep your childhood as normal as possible. I never wanted you to be a part of this.”

I balled my hands into fists. “I never asked you to do that! You were the only family I had! The least you could have done was be honest with me!”

Jack jumped up and it took everything in me to not flinch. He had never hit me before, but with how charged the conversation was, he might. But he didn’t raise a fist to me. Instead, he resumed his pacing.

“If I had been honest with you, our family would have taken you and molded you into a killer. You have no idea what they’re like. All I wanted was to protect you from them. So I told them that they could have me and only me or we would disappear. I have sacrificed so much for you, Celeste!”

My eyes widened as his outburst. My heart ached for him, but I couldn’t falter. Not when I was so close to having my freedom. Once that was secured, then I could focus on comforting him.

I shook my head, unwavering. "I'm not a child anymore, Jack. I can't stay hidden forever. I need to live my life, and I need you to support me in that. If the family comes for me, then they come for me."

Silence settled between us again, broken only by the soft ticking of the old grandfather clock in the corner. The minutes stretched on, each one a heartbeat in the symphony of our shared existence.

Finally, Jack spoke, his voice resigned yet tinged with a spark of understanding. "You're right, Celeste. You deserve to live your life, just like anyone else. I've been trying to protect you, but maybe I've been holding on too tightly."

A surge of relief washed over me, mingling with the still-lingering anxiety. "Thank you, Jack," I whispered, tears glistening in my eyes. Maybe now that this was all over, we could actually have a normal relationship.

“I do have one condition, though,” Jack said and I would have given him anything at that point.

“Just do me a favor and don’t sleep with Matt,” Jack said gruffly and face immediately turned red. I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a hand. “You can date him if that’s what you really want, but please do not sleep with him.”

I pressed my lips together. “Why are you willing to let me date him then?”

Jack sighed and sank back onto the couch, leaning his head against the back as he stared up at the ceiling. “Because I would much rather you date him in the open then go behind my back. I know how you feel about him. At least this way I can still watch out for you.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. I could agree with Jack for now. Besides, Matt and I were just starting out. I didn’t think we would be sleeping together anytime soon. But even if we did, that would be none of Jack’s business. He wasn’t the only one who could keep secrets.

When neither of us said anything for a while, I finally got the courage to ask, “So, are you going to go see our father?”

Jack looked at me then and I could clearly see the hatred in his eyes. “Do you know where he is?”

I nodded. “That’s how I know everything. He told me. And that’s where I was last night.”

A muscle in Jack’s jaw twitched. “As far as Henry Schreiber is concerned, he’s dead and has been dead for almost twenty years. He’s an embarrassment and I want nothing to do with him.”

I frowned. I had been hoping for a family reunion. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been daydreaming about us living together and functioning like a normal family on the drive home. I guess I had gotten ahead of myself.

“Don’t look at me like that, Celeste. You really should have seen that coming,” Jack reprimanded me and I rolled my eyes. Mostly because he was right I should have seen that coming.

“I’m going to take a shower. It was a long night,” I told him, effectively ending the conversation. I wanted to be alone now that that was out of the way. I had a lot that I needed to think about.