CHAPTER 47

VENUS

The full moon rose in the daylight sky; a beacon as well as a countdown to what would soon occur at the currently undisturbed grounds of Aconite Hall.

We were ready.

Griffin had done what he did best, with the help of Louis and the input of General Theo, putting together our plan of attack.

Now it was a waiting game.

I'd awoken this morning to Griff sitting at the edge of the bed, looking out across the estate and to the trees as if he could already see the wolves coming. He looked ethereal as always, sitting in the morning light like some sort of angelic statue of death, carved of stone.

Severe and lost to his thoughts.

I knew he was going through every meticulous detail in his head, working through any kinks and mentally ticking off his to-do list for the day. We couldn't afford any mistakes. Not with the enhanced senses and strength the rogues would have during the four hours of the partial lunar eclipse. It had to be planned perfectly. That is, if we wanted to walk out of this alive. And I really wanted us to.

His back muscles were on full display, tight with tension and desperately calling out to me.

After drinking in the delicious view for a few precious, uninterrupted moments before he realised I was awake, I found myself kneeling behind him, rubbing those tense muscles in hopes that I could take away some of the burden he seemed to be carrying. As I kneaded and ran my hands along all that corded strength, he told me again of the plan. Ran me through the strategy and all his concerns, visibly relaxing with each word he shared as if all he needed was someone to lean on.

We spent some time enjoying the quiet of our room and courtyard, bringing breakfast and coffee out to the vintage two-seater garden table, before we split up so he could begin his day and start on the checklist he needed to complete.

My palms were sweaty as Kit and I meandered around the gardens doing somewhat of an unofficial final sweep before we would arm up and get ready. The anxious energy thrummed through me.

Going for a walk had been Kit's idea to keep us distracted, since there wasn't much else we could do until nightfall.

We had already passed the reflective brown lake at the back of the property, a wall of pines lining the back side of it and a mass of long purple flowers surrounding it.

Aconite.

Also known as wolfsbane—the reason for the estate's name. A beautiful but deadly force of nature so casually growing on the grounds like a field of harmless wildflowers.

It had made my blood run cold.

"You okay, Vee?" Kit asked after the handful of concerned glances she threw my way, presumably due to my lack of speaking.

I picked a flower from one of the many coloured rose bushes that lined the path we'd taken, spinning the less intimidating plant between my fingers, careful not to prick myself on the thick thorns along its stem. A white, luscious thing. Despite all various shades of pinks, reds, oranges and yellows at my disposal, I had always preferred the simple beauty of a white rose. Was drawn to it, even now.

"I don't know. I can't shake the bad feeling I have about tonight," I said softly.

"Girl, it's going to be fine. We're with the Carrington Knights. We've got it covered."

"I truly hope so. This feels like a bigger battle than I'm used to and I'm just nervous."

She threw her arm around my shoulder. "I know. But you're a Knight. You're capable. You're brave. You're strong. Remember that, babe. Consider that your new mantra." She flicked her hair back and grinned, eyes bright and sure.

I chuckled. "I wish I could have even a slither of your confidence."

She planted a big kiss on my cheek with a smack of her lips and then stared at the spot with satisfaction.

"There. I've transferred some of my magic to you," she joked with a wide grin.

I didn't know how she could be so calm, but I was going to try my best to let some of it rub off on me.

So we continued to stroll through the gardens, Kitana putting on a faux British accent as she rambled on about random things, pretending she was the pretentious Lady of the manor.

"These hydrangeas are in severe need of a good watering. Don't you agree, my darling?"

"I'll have to get the gardeners to pick some of these flowers for the tea party we'll have on the lawn later."

"The horse and carriage will be waiting to take us into town tonight. I do hope you'll join me."

"My dear Carter has spent far too much time playing in his herb garden but when he finally deigns to leave that wretched Glass House, I do plan to snog the shit out of him."

We were a giggling mess as we pranced around arm in arm. And I loved her dearly for it.

But this was the calm before the storm. I could feel it.

Call it my intuition finally kicking in.

Call it common fucking sense.

I just had this devastating feeling.

No more than a few hours later, we were in the Armoury.

The eclipse would begin around 8:30pm and we needed to be well and truly in place before then. Ready to go and on our A-game.

Setting up like this and preparing to venture out with this many Knights around us felt so surreal. Felt like something out of a movie as we all entered the space stacked with weapons upon weapons and suited up.

The team here moved like one solid unit—like one mind. I could tell that the New York compound would probably do the same in a similar situation, but in the time I'd been there, the need hadn't arrived. Perhaps it was normal for all titled Knights to be this efficient and hardcore.

This was my first real taste of being a Knight in this context. Fear was definitely lingering at the surface, but I swallowed it down. Put on a mask of casual indifference that I'd seen Griffin wear too many times.

There could be no distractions, no room for emotions. Just skill, strategy and intellect so we didn't get ourselves killed.

Amelia hadn't texted again since, so we had no idea of the number of wolves we'd be facing. But if they were brave enough attack Aconite Hall, there would have to be a lot of them. If they were sure they could take us.

I mean, this was the headquarters for crying out loud. The Carrington compound wouldn't be an easy opponent to beat, so the wolves had to be sure they could stand a chance if they were even bothering. Which truly was a terrifying thought.

I grabbed my weapons of choice, sticking to my twin sai, but also holstering a black shotgun to my thigh in case of emergencies.

As I was filling my utility belt with ammo, Griffin slid his hand down my back and then gestured for me and the other New York hunters to follow him to the side of the training room and down the steps into the basement gym.

We trailed after him without a word as he led us through the underground training area.

This room was so similar to our own compound with its concrete walls, darker colour-palette and modern black gym equipment.

The stairs from the training room led to an upper platform of cardio machines before leading deeper down into the main gym. We'd been shown all of this by Louis on our first day here, and had used the gym daily, but Griff led us behind all the equipment to a concealed door that he pushed open with casual ease.

This next room—that we had not seen before—was unlike anything I'd personally witnessed in New York.

Aconite Hall had a whole room full of what I could also describe as armour suitable for Knights.

We were already decked out in our usual black attire. But this was some intense shit before us.

"Welcome to the Wardrobe," Griffin scoffed. "For larger battles, this is optional for Knights," he explained, gesturing to the array of various chainmail pieces scattered around the long room. The space seemed to go on forever, the shining metal material gleaming in the dim spotlights. "It'll keep wolf fangs from penetrating your skin."

My jaw dropped and I found myself saying, "So we're like proper Knights."

Griffin gave me an adoring smile at the expression on my face, but Kitana replied enthusiastically as she ran around from piece to piece, assessing each one.

"Fuck yeah!"

Minutes later, we were out, heading to the stations Griffin had pre-planned for us.

My handsome Knight had opted for a short-sleeved Chainmail shirt, buckling a sort-of harness across his chest for his gun and ammunition. A few silver daggers and his kunai were strapped to the harness on his leg, over his black cargo pants that had been tucked into heavy boots. He'd left his own sword back in New York but had replaced it with another that he'd taken a liking to here: a pure black matte blade. The weapon sheathed at his back added to the badass vibe he had going on.

I think I once again drooled at the sight of him.

Somehow Kitana found the most fashionable piece she could: a high-necked number that cut off at her arms. Throwing it over her tiny black bralette, the chainmail covered her chest and all the important, life-threatening parts, but was stylishly cropped. She was such a good fighter though that she probably wasn't even worried.

For me, it was a simple long-sleeve garment of chainmail that was tight and quite form-fitting—somehow still very different to the usual traditional pieces I was used to seeing in mediaeval movies. I, unlike Kit, needed all the protection I could get. The top dipped down into a V at the bottom, covering a portion of my high-waisted leather pants.

Carter had on a very similar get-up to me, just a male version that was a little looser fitting and had a straight-edged bottom. Bleu, Winter and Sienna all found their own badass pieces too.

Out in the moonlight, the material caught the light ever so slightly as we descended the outdoor steps into the garden.

Fingering the surprisingly light weight yet almost indestructible material, Kit looked down at it with excitement. "If this was in black, so it camouflaged in the dark, it would be so elite."

Griffin looked contemplative before he said, "You know what Kit, that's a great fucking idea. I'll have to give gramps some notes."

She saluted the captain. "Kitana: fashionista and genius extraordinaire, at your service," she cooed, causing Carter to pull her to him. She immediately jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him intensely, like it was the last time they'd get the opportunity.They kissed like that every time.

When he let her down, my friend was all blushed.

I raised my brows at them, my smile growing at the giddy look on her face as she straightened and attempted to regain her composure.Key word being ‘attempted'.

"If that's out of your system, head to the west end you two," Griffin demanded. Though there was humour and a certain softness that he wouldn't use on the other hunters.

"On it, boss," Carter drawled as they began moving to their designated spot.

"Stay safe." Kit blew me a kiss.

"You too!" I called back, retuning the gesture.

Sienna and the others caught up to us and Griffin sent them all off in various directions: Sienna taking the back of the property with Louis, while Winter and Bleu—armed with scary looking snipers—took to the manor's roof, where they would patiently wait to fire on command with a small host of Carrington sharpshooters.Griff and I would be taking the east part of the property and surrounding woods.

The General, with his own Colonels, remained inside, casually waiting behind windows armed with bows and arrows.

Major Harper and a small number of warriors were stationed at the front gates, and the remaining Knights were scattered throughout the garden and forest, hidden to the best of their abilities, so it looked like it was just a normal patrol out, and not a whole unit waiting to strike at the first sign of an ambush.

Lights and ambience recordings were on within the walls of the manor, making it seem like the rest of us were inside, business as usual—at least from a distance. The idea was that the noise should be what the rogue"s senses picked up first. Assuming the rest of the hidden squad stayed quiet enough.

Instead of using our phones to communicate like we were used to, we"d all been given smartwatches to be able to quickly view the messages sent in the chat—a larger chat that Aconite Hall used that we'd been added to. Walkie talkies would be too loud and phones could be a pain in the ass when you were in the middle of fighting wolves. So these would work in our favour for quick yet silent communication. Plus, they were some weird high-tech that emitted minimal light.

These areas didn't have a rogue problem terrorising them like we did back home, so there was no reason for the compound to be patrolling to the levels that we"d been used to on a normal full moon. Not in Carrington or throughout the rest of the United Kingdom. We had to make it seem believable that just the standard patrol was out. Otherwise, the arriving rogues would know we were onto them.

Just to keep up the image, we sent two squad cars out to the usual spots that that wolf shifters frequented here. They'd also act as our eyes and ears if they saw anything out of the usual. An early warning system.

The world slowly became overshadowed with darkness as the light peeled away from the moon, a faint red hue scarcely illuminating everything in an eerie glow.

I felt like I was holding my breath in anticipation.

When an hour passed—approaching the maximum eclipse—and there was no sign of any other movement, my anxiety started to flare up again.

"It's too quiet," Griffin stated.

With how dark it had gotten, I was grateful to have a Gray by my side, his Sight ensuring we weren't blindsided considering my own hunter senses were no match for the encompassing darkness.

The silver in Griffin's eyes seized the red tinge of the moon, reflecting that slither of remaining light and keeping it captive as his gaze stayed plastered to the tree line. Waiting. Watching. Calculating.

I glanced towards the manor—now barely a shadow in the distance, looking more intimidating and looming than ever.

Messages had come in from the other Knights: nothing on their end either. Not to mention, no sightings on any of the thermal cameras set up around the property.

When another hour passed, and then another, that trepidation grew. And even Griffin seemed uneasy.

The time to strike—when the wolves would have had their greatest power—was well and truly gone.

Eyes that were now wholly silver observed the trees beyond where we stood.

"Something isn't right," he said at last. The quiet words felt incredibly haunting.

My gut sank.

But still no one showed up. Not a soul.

We waited and waited, watching that darkness pass back over the face of the full moon. Waited all night until the sun peaked over the horizon and the moon said goodbye.

When there was still no sign of a wolf, not even a whisper, Griffin ordered that I head back inside with the others.

I hated to leave him, but the hardened look on his face told me not to fight him on it. So I pressed my lips to his, hard and possessive, making sure a little groan left his mouth. And then I strolled back, linking up with Carter and Kitana.

Bleu, Winter and Sienna were waiting near the entrance for us.

We walked up those stone steps, taking one final look towards the empty expanse of land before us, utterly confused, conflicted and on edge.

It was quiet.

Too. Eerily. Quiet.