CHAPTER 12

With my hair somewhat still wet, my hazel eyes rimmed with black liner and Griffin"s top tied tight at my waist, I walked with Kitana to dinner. She grabbed my hand as soon as she was dressed in a black leather mini dress and all but pulled me through the lounge area that Griffin showed me earlier, commonly referred to as ‘the Chill'. She couldn't wait for me to officially meet Billie, who I'd heard a lot about while Kit did her hair and makeup. With how long it took her to get ready, she also managed to tell me a lot about herself.

She explained that her mum was Japanese and her dad was American. She got her blue eyes from her dad and always thought that blondes had more fun, so she wanted to test the theory for herself. It apparently rang true for her, so it stuck. She'd grown up in the Gray Knights; both her mum and dad were Knights and met when her dad was doing a stint at the base in Japan. Being born and raised here, everything always felt the same: Knights dressed the same, acted the same and their routine was the same—every day. Her boisterous personality found it hard to cope with all the uniformity of this place and so in her teen years she began experimenting with fashion as a way to let her individuality shine. And shine it did. She made a lot of her own clothes at that age, getting creative with modifying the stuff she had, but these days she just loved to shop. She made me promise she could take me shopping soon and was appalled at the lack of things I brought with me.

I also learned that she loved to talk. But I wasn't complaining. She made me feel welcome and comfortable—like I'd known her my whole life. I gathered that she loved to push the boundaries here and I admired that about her. I was too much of a goody two-shoes who almost always followed the rules because I was too afraid of getting in trouble and people not liking me. Kit was one hundred percent herself and didn't care how it made anyone feel. She reminded me of Celeste in that aspect, which was probably why I felt so drawn to her.

It was just about sunset when we reached the dining area—the Diner—which was actually where that source of light in the concrete hallway originated from. Turns out the hall led to an open expanse of grey stone dining tables in a beautifully exposed brick room. Turns out they also had a name for everything here.

The same delicately designed arch windows from the Chill adorned this area too. Hues of orange and pink now created a warm sheen as people lined up to fill their plates with food at the buffet along the side wall. This space was parallel to the lounge and fanned out alongside the back half of the building, just beyond the strategy room and Thea's office—those were the two doors in the hall that I noticed earlier. I hadn't seen them yet but I'd been told about them. I also hoped I never had to see the latter. I couldn't imagine it would be a positive scenario if you found yourself in there.

The kitchen was tucked away at the end and to the right of the dining room, directly behind those two offices apparently. Every space in this building was aesthetic and utilised in the best possible way. Beautiful yet serving a greater purpose; a delicate balance of form and function.

People filled this space with little clusters of friendship groups and cliques. Kit pointed out Billie who sat at the end of the long table closest to the windows. It also happened to be the closest spot to the buffet which I didn't think was a coincidence—I guess hunters also loved to eat. Made sense, considering their strong builds and endurance. I was surprised to see she wasn't alone. Griffin sat right opposite her.

So much for avoiding him.

He'd changed from his earlier attire and was now in a charcoal t-shirt that slightly hugged his broad chest and defined arms. His dark hair was wet and messy on top of his head and I noticed he wore a dog tag chain around his neck. He really had that whole tormented fallen angel thing going for him.

He gave me a flirty wink as we walked towards them. I hated that I blushed in response, so I quickly focused my attention on Billie who was smiling at us. Kitana dropped my hand and gave her friend a quick squeeze. She mumbled, "Billie, you're gonna love Vee!" before turning to me and saying, "Vee, this is Billie. And I believe you already met the one and only Griffin."

Billie stood up. The tall, model-like girl standing before me was just as breath-taking as Kit, but so different and unique. Billie had long, slim limbs with chocolatey skin. Her face was long with defined cheekbones and full rose coloured lips. Her eyes were captivating: large and doe-like with dark brown, almost ebony coloured irises and huge lashes. She gave me Bambi vibes.

Her dark locks were braided and reached her waist, which was exposed in her cropped band tee and low-rise khaki cargo pants. The top of her hair was pulled into a top knot, showing off her beautiful features and glowing skin.

She smiled as she pulled me in for a hug. "Welcome, Vee. It's so nice to have a new addition to our group." Her voice was deeper than Kit's, smooth yet slightly husky. "And you killed it earlier in the ring by the way. I don't think anyone expected that. It was impressive. Sienna isn't easy to go up against."

"It's so nice to meet you," I cooed. "Thank you. It was honestly terrifying. I really thought I had botched my chances of getting in. I'm just so grateful. And thank you for letting me join you guys."

"Of course!" There was no doubt in my mind that she had wholeheartedly accepted me already based on the sincerity in her voice. I had a feeling these two supported each other in every decision, like good besties should. At that moment I wondered what Sky was doing and what part she had played in all of this. Was she as dangerous as the rest of them? I pushed the thought aside, right now I was with these welcoming, kind people. I'd never had a girl gang before—excluding my mum and sister—and I was really excited for the possibility of one here.

I remembered Griffin was sitting in silence observing us. So I looked at him and offered a smile in greeting. His mouth twitched upwards and he nodded at me.

There was one seat free next to each of them, each with an uneaten tray of food. They must have picked us up something since we were running late. It seemed likely that Kit was often late so this was probably part of their normal routine, only they had one extra person now. It was sweet that they had gotten me a tray too and after the day I had, I couldn't wait to dig in.

I weighed up the two seats but before I got a chance to act on anything, Kit plonked herself down on the seat beside Billie and excitedly started retelling her everything she learnt about me. Griffin tilted his head sideways towards the one beside him, giving me the go ahead. This was going to be interesting. I tried to calm my nervous heart rate, wondering why the hell I was nervous in the first place.

I cautiously rounded the table and took the seat next to him.

"You wear my shirt better than I do," he whispered close to my ear as he leaned in towards me.

"Oh, ah … thank you … for the clothes. You really didn't have too."

He returned to his slumped position in his chair, arms crossed so his biceps popped. "I just hope you're also wearing my underwear," he gave me a devilish grin.

My face surely turned red and there would be no hiding it. Somehow I managed to retort back.

"Actually, I thought I'd save them for later."

His brows arched up, surprise clear on his face as he contemplated me, and then he ever so slightly bit his lip in what seemed like excited approval. What was wrong with me? Why was I encouraging him?

"Where's Carter?" Kit questioned. I was thankful for the interruption.

Griffin lazily replied as he pushed his food around with his fork. "He's off doing God knows what with God knows who. He'll catch us later." The girls snorted in response.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly with no more awkward interactions. The three of them spoke like they had known each other forever and I was surprised to see Griffin let his guard down so much with them. They told me stories about growing up together at the academy and what life was like here. It was … nice. I felt content and excited to be a part of it with them. Maybe coming here was the right decision.

As we were getting ready to leave, Kit pointed out Carter in the distance chatting to a group of girls.

He waved before ducking out and disappearing with them.