Page 139 of Stargazer

“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.

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