CHAPTER 171: THE PLAN...

Slater

As Kael and I entered the house through the back door, we walked straight into the kitchen. Rhett was standing at the counter in his jeans, pouring himself a glass of milk. He looked up in surprise when he saw us.

"Where were you two coming from?" he asked, setting down the milk carton. "It’s almost four in the morning."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "I was on my way to the human world to try to meet up with my sister. But we discovered something instead."

"What do you mean?" Rhett asked, staring at us with confusion.

"I saw Isolde a while from this place, she and about thirty people. They were moving crates, very large ones and Isole was there, also, Kael saw his boss there too."

We both turned to look at Kael, who had been quiet since we got back. His face was thoughtful, like he was working through a difficult problem in his head.

"My fears about Peter’s allegations might be true," Kael said finally. "From what I’ve gathered tonight, my boss is providing Isolde with passage to transport what they call ’test subjects.’ But I have no idea what they are."

Rhett’s eyes widened. "Test subjects? What kind of test subjects?"

"It could be the girls," I suggested. "The ones from the facilities we’ve been investigating."

Kael shook his head. "No. I heard them talking about how moving the subjects during the day was better than at night. They said the subjects were more unpredictable in the darkness. That doesn’t sound like kidnapped girls. This was something else that gains strength in darkness."

The words sent a shiver down my spine.

"Then what the hell is it?" I asked. "If it isn’t the girls, then what could they be moving?"

Kael shrugged and didn’t answer, his gaze dropped to the floor, and his lips were pressed tight.

"So you’re saying Isolde is using your boss’s connections to smuggle...whatever these things are?" Rhett asked, turning to Kael.

"Yes, and I don’t know why or where they’re being taken to," Kael replied.

I thought back to what I’d overheard. "Isolde mentioned transporting them in batches of four. And she said this was the first shipment before they could begin the ’final phase.’"

"Final phase of what?" Rhett asked.

"That’s what we need to find out," I said. "Tomorrow, we have to discover what they’re really transporting."

Rhett frowned. "We’re supposed to go back to Ravenshore later today. Vale had already asked that we return. We don’t have time to play spies."

"That won’t work for what we need to do," I said.

"Then how—"

I held up my hand, a smile spreading across my face as an idea formed. "Actually, it will work perfectly. I have an idea."

Both boys looked at me expectantly.

"Charis," I said.

"What about her?" Kael asked.

"But first we need to inform Isolde that we’re all Charis’s mates from the way she acts towards us, I don’t think she knows," I said.

"And you think walking up to Isolde to tell her that her ward has three mates would do what exactly?" Rhett scoffed. "Do you think before you talk?"

"C’mon," I rolled my eyes. "If Charis is tired and wants to spend an entire night here, I know Isolde won’t turn her away after all she’s been through a traumatic day. The media exposure, the angry parents, and having her identity revealed to the whole world. Any reasonable person would expect her to need time to recover."

Rhett’s eyes lit up with understanding. "You want us to say she’s too upset to travel."

"Exactly. We need to inform Charis that we would like a few days off campus and ask her to tell Isolde that she’s not in the right frame of mind to return to school right now. As her mates, we need to stay with her for support."

Kael nodded slowly. "Isolde would want to appear caring and protective. She couldn’t refuse without looking heartless."

"And it gives us a legitimate reason to stay another night," I continued. "Long enough to figure out what’s really happening here."

"But what if Charis doesn’t go along with it?" Rhett asked. "She might not want to fake being upset."

"She won’t be faking," I said quietly. "Think about it. Today was genuinely overwhelming for her. The exposure, the confrontation with Marcus, the media attention. It wouldn’t be hard for her to tap into those real emotions."

"That feels manipulative," Kael said, his voice uncertain.

"Everything about this situation is manipulative," I replied. "Isolde is using Charis for something. We’re trying to protect her. Sometimes you have to fight manipulation with manipulation."

Rhett poured himself another glass of milk while he thought. "What exactly would we be looking for tomorrow?"

"Evidence of what they’re transporting. Where they’re taking it. What the final phase is supposed to accomplish." I counted off on my fingers. "And most importantly, how Kael’s organisation fits into all of this."

Kael looked uncomfortable. "If my master finds out I was spying on him..."

"Then we make sure he doesn’t find out," I said firmly. "But Kael, you need to understand something. If your organisation is working with Isolde, and if Isolde is using Charis for something dangerous, then your master is already a threat to her."

That seemed to decide it for him. "You’re right. What do you need me to do?"

"Tomorrow morning, when Isolde asks about returning to school, I’ll mention that Charis seemed really shaken up last night. That she was crying and couldn’t sleep. You and Rhett back me up, say you’re worried about her mental state."

"And then?" Rhett asked.

"Then we suggest that maybe we should all stay one more day. To make sure she’s okay before going back to school."

"Isolde might suspect something," Kael warned.

I shook my head. "She won’t. Because to her, we’re just three lovesick boys who are worried about our girlfriend. She’ll see it as proof that we’re emotionally invested in Charis, which makes us easier to manipulate."

We stood in the kitchen for a moment, all thinking through the plan. It was risky, but it was our best chance to gather real information about what Isolde was doing.

"There’s one more thing," I said. "We need to be careful around Charis tomorrow. If she figures out we’re planning something, she might tell Isolde."

"You think she’d betray us?" Rhett asked.

"I think she’s confused about who to trust right now. And Isolde has had months to work on her, to make her feel dependent and grateful. We can’t assume her loyalty is entirely with us."

Kael nodded grimly. "Isolde is good at making people feel like she’s their only ally."

"So we stick to the plan," I said. "Tomorrow morning, we express concern about Charis. We ask to stay another day. And then we use that time to figure out what’s really happening here."

"And if we discover something terrible?" Rhett asked.

"Then we get Charis away from here, whether she wants to leave or not."

"How about Isolde?" Rhett asked again. "What if you’re wrong? If Isolde finds out you’re snooping around her operations, what then? Do you think she’ll pat us on the head and forgive us?"

"Then we’ll deal with it. But at least we’ll know and Charis won’t walk blind into whatever trap Isolde’s spinning."

We were about to head upstairs when we heard a soft sound from the hallway. Footsteps, moving carefully but not quite quietly enough.

All three of us froze, listening.

The footsteps stopped right outside the kitchen doorway.

Someone had been listening to our entire conversation.

I caught Kael’s eye and saw my own fear reflected there. Had Charis heard us planning to manipulate her? Had Isolde discovered we were spying on her operation?

The footsteps started again, moving away from the kitchen and back toward the stairs.

We waited in silence for several minutes before anyone dared to speak.

"Who do you think that was?" Rhett whispered.

I shook my head. "Could have been anyone. A servant, Charis, even Isolde herself."

"If they heard everything..." Kael started.

"Then our plan just became compromised, which means we cannot go through with it, or better still, we need to come up with something else. You know what guys, let’s sleep over everything, by morning, we’ll be bright and bubbling with new ideas," I finished.

We made our way upstairs as quietly as possible. At the top of the stairs, we paused to listen again. The house seemed quiet now, but I had the unsettling feeling that we were being watched.

As I reached for my bedroom door, I noticed something that made my blood run cold.

Charis’s bedroom door was slightly open.

And there was no light coming from inside.

If she had been the one listening to us, she was now lying in the dark, pretending to sleep, while planning what to do with the information she’d overheard.

Tomorrow was going to be much more complicated than any of us had planned.