CHAPTER 24

Ithought it was about time I called my sister and checked in on home. It had been a while since I'd spoken to Celeste. In fact, I hadn't heard her voice since I left, only talking to her via text. I was a horrible sister.

Not that I was making excuses but things just got so hectic here with the strict routines and all the extra hours I was putting into my training. When I did have some free time, I didn't have the energy required for a phone call. But it was time to stop putting it off and have the conversation my sister deserved.

The phone rang a few times before I heard Celeste's smooth voice. "Venus?" She sounded slightly frustrated, like she was looking for her phone. My sister surprisingly was probably the only girl her age that wasn't glued to her phone. She was likely studying with it buried somewhere under the large pile of books.

"Hey Celeste," I breathed out in relief, pleased to hear the familiar sound.

"It's about time you called!" She proclaimed.

"I know." It was all I could say, pausing for a moment before changing the subject. "What were you doing, you sounded flustered when you picked up." Was I deflecting the conversation? Probably.

"Studying." I knew her too well. "I have a test next week."

I laughed. "I miss the sound of you scurrying through papers."

"Oh trust me, you're not missing out on much. Things have been … interesting at home."

"How's mum?" I dared to ask.

"She's good. She's mostly the same. I haven't been the nicest daughter recently so I can't report much. I've been trying not to be home as much as possible. And when I am home, I'm locked in my room. Before you say anything, I can't help it, I just need time to forgive her. It's all just too unbelievable."

"Celeste, it won't go away just because you don't want to deal with it. It won't change anything."

"I know. But I just can't think about it too much right now."

I didn't blame her. I basically ran away so I didn't have to deal with it. But in some ways, me coming here and learning how to be a Knight was my way of dealing with it.

"That's fair," I sighed.

"Mum seems lighter though. Guilty for keeping it from us, but lighter. And Xari stayed for a while so she had some company at least, which I think she really needed after everything."

"That's good." There was another pause in the conversation. "Celeste?"

"Yeah, Vee?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

There was a moment of silence as she seemed to think about how she'd reply—the path she'd take. "Werewolves, Venus?! I mean come onnn!" she exclaimed. It's like something in her snapped slightly, like she could finally talk about it to someone and let her wall down for a moment. She didn't sound upset, just dismayed and borderline unconvinced. Hopefully it would help her to say it out loud and get it out of her system. "It's just so crazy. I can't wrap my head around it." My sister was not into the supernatural. She was a facts and figures girl. She needed to see the data. Understand the science behind something to really comprehend it. The most make-believe thing she believed in was the economic theory of the Invisible Hand. And that was saying something. So I got why this was so hard for her. It was part of the reason I never thought to confide in her in the first place. I was the fairy tale girl. She just wasn't.

"I know, Cel. I know." I didn't know what else I could say to console her, but I tried. "It hardly makes sense. That it all exists among us. When I found out what he was, it always felt like I was living in some sort of fairytale. But for me that was exciting. I'm sorry I didn't tell you though. It just didn't feel like it was my secret to tell. I felt like I needed to protect River, that if anyone knew, even if it was you, it would somehow put him in danger." My voice faded to a whisper, "I never once thought he was the danger."

She sighed. "I get that it wasn't yours to share. I wish you had, but I understand. Mum on the other hand—we deserved to know the truth. About her. About our dad. It was our right to know."

I couldn't disagree. "Yeah. I'm not pleased with her either. Not at all. But I'm sure it must have been hard for her to keep it from us. She must have really convinced herself it was the best option. Not that I'm making excuses. I'm still mad too." I waited a beat before asking, "Do you think you'll ever forgive her?"

"I think it'll always hold a place in my mind, always be a lingering thought when I look at her. But I'm sure I'll forgive her … eventually."

"And me?"

"Even though I'm mad at you, I miss you too much to hold it against you."

"I miss you too, Cel." I really did. And hearing her voice now made my heart ache. It was probably why I put off calling her. The distance was easier that way.

"I forgive you," she added. "Like I said, I understand why you kept it a secret and I know how much you loved him. It makes sense that you were protecting him. And you're right, I wouldn't have believed it anyway. It would have altered my world too much, and I don't know how that would have changed me at that age. So maybe deep down I'm glad that I didn't know until now. Maybe this was the right time for me to find out in order to accept it. And maybe this will somehow be good for me, once I eventually let it sink in. But thank you, Vee. I appreciate you addressing it."

"Thank you, Celeste." I meant it with all my heart. I was relieved she didn't hate me. She could be so tough and strong willed. Forgiving didn't come easy to her.

"River is asking around for you. I heard that he'd asked Maxine and TJ at the diner if they'd seen you around at all."

"What?" I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, he had no way to reach me at all and who knows what I could be doing with the information I knew. I was a loose end.

"Yeah. You know the town; everyone loves to gossip. There are so many different stories going around. Some that he cheated, some that you met someone new when you were visiting Xari and moved for him, some just that you grew apart and high school sweethearts almost never lasted. The most popular seems to be that you left for another guy. You know River's reputation, between that and him asking around about you, everyone thinks the poor boy must be heartbroken trying to get his true love back. From what I heard, he played the part of a grief-stricken lover quite well."

I was going to be sick. This was too much. I didn't know what I expected to be happening back home. Maybe I just didn't want to think about it. But knowing the town, this made complete sense. "So in most situations, I'm the bad guy?"

"Yeah. I've tried to dispel it as much as I can. But there's only so many people that believe the biased sister. It doesn't help that mum hasn't been out as much, they probably think she's just so upset that you left." She sounded angry for me.

"So where does everyone think I am right now?"

"Mum and I told people you just needed a change of scenery so you've gone to stay with Xari for a bit."

"Yeah, okay. That's good." As good as it could be.

"I ran into them you know," Celeste added, her voice dropping an octave.

I froze, afraid for her. "The pack?!"

"Yeah, but as soon as I saw them, I spun around and walked right back to my car. They were hanging in the town square. I could hardly look at them … the wolves." She said the last part like she was unsure of it. Like she still didn't quite believe that's what they were. Or she didn't know if she should refer to them as that.

"Celeste, please stay far away from them. They're not safe."

"I know. Don't worry. Like I said, I'm either locked in my room or at college. And that's the only time I've seen them so far and I didn't stick around long enough for them to bother me."

"Okay. I just need you to be safe until I'm back. I don't want them threatening you because of me." I didn't know how that thought never crossed my mind earlier. But also, why had they not gone straight to the house to find out where I was?

Maybe River knew me enough to know I wouldn't tell anyone. Who could I tell anyway? Or maybe they just didn't want the Knights more involved. Which they would risk if they went to the house.

"It's okay, Vee. As hard as it is to believe, mum is a hunter after all. She's got us covered. Plus I know a thing or two."

"Okay."

"Vee, it's alright. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stress you out. I just thought you deserved to know." Yes, deserved to know, like she deserved to know she was living amongst wolves. That her father was a wolf. Fuck, things were so complicated back home.

"It's okay. I'm glad I know." I couldn't live ignorant forever.

Celeste changed the topic slightly. "Can you believe dad was a wolf? That for me is the biggest shock of them all."

"I honestly can't." The thought of mum keeping it from us caused my anger to flare again. "I guess it makes sense why I was drawn to them in some way."

"That could definitely be part of it. I don't know why I never felt a connection though, but maybe somehow your subconscious knew since you actually had a few years with him." She sounded a little sad. Left out maybe. And my heart hurt for her. I hated that I had contributed to that by keeping things from her. I was happy I wouldn't have to keep these things a secret from her anymore.

"Maybe. I guess that's the only thing that makes sense."

We continued to talk about other less depressing aspects of our lives, attempting to end the conversation on a more positive note. I updated her about the training and my little group of friends, trying my hardest to skim over Griffin, even when she pushed on if there were any cute guys at the academy or if I'd found a rebound yet. I kept it simple, telling her what I'd told myself—and the girls—over and over again; that I was not ready but Griffin and Carter were massive flirts and annoyingly attractive. I wasn't ready to delve into the whole Griffin situation with her, especially not after all the River talk. She herself didn't have any boy updates, mentioning that she'd dated but had no time for anyone that wouldn't ‘woo' her and that they were just not worth her time—a very Celeste outlook on the subject. We also discussed the possibility of her coming out to the academy during her college break to hone her skills further. Eventually, we said good night.

More than anything, I felt deflated—tired. I was starting to forget about it all, living a new life out here, and now it all came crashing down again, the weight of it crushing my broken heart. I took one step forward and three steps back.

I had made the call on the fire escape, knowing that if anyone interrupted, it would be one of my friends. It was one of the few places with actual privacy around here. The Chill usually had people in it and the rooms weren't exactly secluded—the flaw of open-plan living. Somehow, I'd been in luck and no one had disturbed me. I took a few deep breaths, focusing my attention on the sky, to the few scattered stars that shined above me. It always seemed to calm me down. To ground me. At least momentarily.

Eventually though, I'd need to go inside. Need to face reality again. So I made my way back.

I couldn't shake the weird mood I was in. It brought everything back up to the surface. I was irritated that I looked guilty while River came out scratch free. The town gossiped, and I knew that, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. I was also worried for my family, even though I knew they could take care of themselves. With my mind occupied, I almost bumped right into Griff who was leaving the Chill.

"Whoa there, Supernova." He shot his hands up in surrender, stopping in the doorway before I could enter, leaving me out in the hall.

"Hmm? Oh." I was so out of it, I didn't even realise someone was there before he spoke, or that I basically barrelled right into him. But now that I was aware, I realised that I had put my hands out to brace myself and they rested on the hard surface of his chest. "Sorry," I muttered, looking at the placement of my hands and then at his face. He grinned down at me. Until he saw the look on my face. Then his own contorted into a scowl.

"Are you alright?" He asked, all humour in his voice now void.

"Um, yeah. Fine." I mustered up the words, dropping my gaze to my fingers that I had removed from his body and began fidgeting with.

"Cosmo." His tone was stern, a subtle command to confide in him as his large hands cupped mine, stopping the nervous movements. The tingle that the gesture ignited shocked me out of my current state, startling me out of my thoughts. I gave him all my attention. He turned to look around the Chill that hid behind him, taking note of the various people that must have been around—not that I could see over his large frame—before pushing me out into the quiet hallway, his hands still comfortingly holding my own.

"Tell me," he urged, now that we were alone.

I slowly and gently pulled my hands out of his. "It's nothing." My smile wasn't quite full. "I just spoke to my sister. She gave me an update about home."

"About him?" He asked, sliding his hands casually into his pockets.

"Yeah." My hands felt empty now so I fiddled with my phone, flipping it around. "It's just not fun hearing the rumours that go around in small towns. That's all."

One of his hands reached out to my chin, lifting it up so I could once again face him. "People will always talk."

"I know."

"You can't let every stupid thing some gossiping soccer mom says about you get to your pretty little head." I took in the slight upwards curve of his full lips and the deep grey of his flawless eyes. He really was beautiful. I nodded in agreement.

"Atta girl." He smiled and it consumed me.

"I can always head out to this town of yours and make them stop talking if you like?" He added as he let go of my chin and dropped his hand back into this pocket.

"I don't think that will be necessary. I'm trying to save those idiots from danger, not bring more."

He scoffed.

"I don't know what to do. I'm worried about my family—about Celeste being there. I'm worried the pack might try something again, and Celeste could be a target to get back at me. Maybe I need to go back earlier?"

He moved to the spot beside me, leaning on the wall. "I think your sister and your mum can take care of themselves. I'll talk to Thea about sending down a squad to keep an eye on things there. And as soon as you're ready, once you've at least learned to control your hunter gifts, we'll send you down too."

I looked at him gratefully.

"We'll all go. I'm sure Kit, Billie Carter will want to kick their asses just as much as I do," he grinned, excitement clear in his words.

I huffed a tired laugh, shaking my head. "Of course you do."

"The dog won't get away with it."

"Thanks, Griff," I sighed. "I'm going to unwind. I'll catch up with you later."

He nodded. "Cheer up, gorgeous."

"No promises." I waved at him as I left, stepping into the Chill.

I found a quiet spot, taking a seat on one of the leather armchairs under the loft. Needing to disappear, I pulled up one of the books I'd been waiting to read on the Kindle app on my phone, too lazy to go upstairs to get the physical book I was currently reading. I had no idea how much time had passed, but while I was deep in the new world I had dived into, I hardly noticed Kit slip into the chair across from me. She cleared her throat to gain my attention. I raised a brow when I spotted her. "Hello?" I greeted, confused by her sudden appearance and the way she was looking at me.

"So a little birdy told me that you needed some cheering up," Kit stated. She had her rare ‘no-nonsense' look on.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine. Really."

She slapped her palms on her knees as she stood up. "Well, ‘fine' isn't really good enough. Fine stands for fucked, insecure, neurotic and emotional. And while those things might be okay individually, the combination is not good for your complexion." She looked at me very seriously before she said, "You'll get wrinkles."I couldn't help the snort/laugh combo that came out of my mouth.

"Up you get. Billie is waiting for us outside with a taxi."

I stared blankly at her. "Oh, you're serious?"

"Dead," she stated, holding out her hand for me.

I hesitantly grabbed it, slightly scared. Kit on a mission was terrifying.

As soon as my hand was in hers, she pulled me melodramatically.

"Don't I need a jacket or something?" I asked, gazing at my leggings and thin grey long sleeve. Although I didn't know what time it was, it was already chilly when I made my phone call earlier.

"Already sorted," she replied instantly.

"Okaaayy then," I said in surrender, relenting all control to her.

As we approached Billie outside on the main street waiting at the door of a cab, she held a black fluffy jacket out to me. "Took you guys long enough." She turned to the open window. "Sorry, this is them," she explained to the driver. "Thank you for waiting." He not very nicely muttered something to himself. Not that we could expect anything less from New York drivers. At least he had waited.

"Yeah, well someone took a while to get with the program," Kit joked as she slid in.

"Sorry! I didn't realise she was serious," I tried to justify as I followed her.

Billie laughed as she got in last, closing the door behind her. "I don't blame you."

"Why wouldn't I be serious?!" Kit exclaimed.

"Well a little explanation might help next time." I gave her a pointed look and then broke out into a smile. "So what are we doing?"

"GIRL'S NIGHT!" They said in unison.

???

We pulled up to a little frozen yoghurt shop.

"First stop: Fro-yo." Kit seemed more than a little excited and to be honest, so was I. It was not what I was expecting—not that I had any idea what to expect when it came to Kit—but that's what made it so much better.

We strolled in and headed straight for the yoghurt machines.

"Dessert fixes almost all problems," Billie claimed, handing me a cup.

"And nothing beats filling your cup with toppings that cost an arm and a leg," Kit added. "It's quite therapeutic."

I went for a classic swirl of signature tart before doing exactly what Kit had suggested and piling on my fair share of toppings. I was a basic ‘strawberries and chocolate' type girl, going in for the warm Nutella, apple crumble, coconut flakes, loads of strawberries and finishing it off with a large helping of gooey choc chip cookie on the side. Kit had a major sweet tooth, filling her two flavour combo of mango and strawberry yoghurt with an array of lollies. Just when I thought she was done, she heaped on a spoonful of cookie dough and a sprinkle of Oreos—a very odd combination in my opinion but also very Kit. I was all about creating the perfect flavour profile. She was more of the ‘if you see it, eat it' type. Billie of course was a ‘less is more' kind of girl—which I expected from her—opting for signature tart with a small serving of mochi and popping pearls.

As we sat around and devoured our dessert, I filled them in on all the details of my call with Celeste. It was a combination of relaying the information and venting, starting with how I was so relieved my sister didn't hate me and ending with how fucking mad I was that River was still coming across as the golden boy. My friends comforted me and let me talk their ears off, occasionally with a mouthful of yoghurt, all without judging. This was why I truly loved them.

When I was done, Kit used some very colourful and unlady like words to describe River and then went through a list of all the things she'd do to him when they eventually came face-to-face, including but not limited to, putting a muzzle on him—and "not in a kinky way", as she so stated.

Contrastingly, Billie gave me some sound and extremely zen advice about not letting other people's opinions of you control your life. Something about how their gossiping says nothing about me and everything about them and that I needed to let go of things outside of my control to protect my positive energy. She was going to work with both of us—because "Kit clearly needed some spiritual guidance"—to vibrate at a higher frequency.

All in all, it was a much needed therapy session. But just when I thought it was over, the girls shoved me into another cab to yet another undisclosed location.

When the car came to a halt in front of an old looking warehouse, I was truly confused. Kit didn't give me much time to figure it out before she covered my eyes and led me to a door.

"This is where you kill me, right?" I joked. "I knew you were all too good to be true."

"I think Kit's dramatic-ness is rubbing off on you," Billie teased from behind.

When Kit was happy with my positioning, she removed her hands. "Ta-da!"

I was staring at a wooden door. A neon sign above it showed an axe, flicking between two positions so it looked like it was being thrown. A soft buzzing noise radiated from the sign. My confusion only grew.

"Umm … okay?" I said, clearly befuddled.

"Come on." Kit continued her pulling, opening the door to the mysterious place and leading me in. Billie chuckled before she followed.

We entered a dark hallway that was lined with vintage looking picture frames. Upon future inspection I noticed the first frame had a cartoon painting of Red Riding Hood with an axe. That was odd.

As I was pulled along I surveyed the rest. Each was a different cartoon character holding either a mediaeval styled weapon or quite jarringly sitting and drinking tea; Robin Hood with a crossbow, Alice in Wonderland with a teacup, Snow White with a sword. They were all lit with a different coloured neon light. "Guys … where the hell are we?" It was eerie. But cool. The hall opened into a wooden themed foyer that resembled an old-school fairytale tavern. And as if it were really a tavern, a bar sat across from us with barrels of beer on the wall and pints on the counter. It was like we were transported in time. Except just like the hall, modern neon lights scattered around and loud bassy beats contrasted the scene. There were other people dispersed around at different wooden tables and benches, drinking and laughing. I guess this was a bar. A really cool, really weird bar.

"Hey there, do you have a booking or did you want to take a seat at the bar?" One of the bartenders at the counter asked as we approached.

Billie went up to her. "Yep, I called about an hour ago."

"Great, this way," she said, coming around the bar. She walked out to the side and pushed through one of those very small saloon type doors. In complete contradiction to the previous space, she opened it to a modern hall full of different glass rooms and neon signs. They had brought me to a break room—it all made sense now. This place was very cool.

Once the worker had run us through the rules and we were suited up and in our first room, I turned to the girls. "What the hell is this? Couldn't we have just spared in the gym or something? You didn't have to do all this."

Kit beamed at me. "We could have, but this is way more fun!"

We threw axes, broke plates and smashed things with baseball bats. It was everything I needed and more. When we were done, I slid down the wall laughing. My friends joined me on the floor.

Kit exclaimed, "Operation cheer up Vee: a success."

"Definitely a success." I smiled warmly, squeezing them close to me as we sat on the ground together, opposite a mess of broken glass and china. "Thank you, girls."

"As much as we'd love to take all the credit, you should probably thank Griff. It was him who suggested you needed some girl time and we should take you out of the compound—give you a little break," Billie added as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"He did?" I questioned. That was extremely, and weirdly, thoughtful of him. I mean I knew he was sweet deep down but this was quite cute.

"He did," Kit assured me.

I don't know when or how it happened, but Griff had become a really good friend to me. In fact, throughout all our one-on-one lessons, I'd opened up to him quite a bit, without even realising. Although the beautiful creature, with all his flirting and suggestive banter, made me nervous to no extent, I was comfortable around him. I could talk to him—when he was being serious at least. And when he wasn't, he was just fun to be around and a great distraction.

I had to admit, the boy was slowly thawing my frozen heart.