Hello my angels! 

This book is currently number #61 in the wolf tag and im literally dying. We're also almost at 59K reads, honestly it's hard to believe you guys can't hear my screaming from Scotland.

Thank you so much for all the love and support, you're the best people on earth and I love you all immensly.

Pre warning- this chapter is going to make you feel things. I can't wait for the reactions, I LOVE YOU ALL XXXXX

I wanted to pic a fav comment from the last chapter but it was too difficult – whoever leaves the best comment this chapter gets a shoutout xxxx

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"Honestly, I don't know how you've managed to get her wrapped around your finger so quick. The woman doesn't even let me call her Margaret, let alone Maggie."

Trent has taken me on a walk into the woods.

And however crazy and scary that sounds, for some reason I'm not worried.

It's like no matter what he does, I trust him to look after me, and it seems like Obi does too because he happily trotted into the forest, despite being scared of it the last time we passed it.

"I just have that charm," Trent winks and I roll my eyes and continuing walking, following him through the trees, a faint path under our feet but I doubt Trent even needs it with how confidently he strolls.

It was a warm night and I'd considered taking off my jacket, however, the long sleeves of it protected my skin from the sharp branches that we were passing through and so it remained on, tight against my skin. It was just a thin work out jumper with a zip at the throat, but it was enough. My legs, on the other hand, were a bit worse off. I was wearing cropped patterned leggings and so my calves and ankles had been receiving a bit of torture from lower bushes and such, but it was nothing too serious and there was no way I wanted to turn around and go back. I felt like I was on an adventure.

"How do you know your way so well?" I ask and Trent glances at me briefly, shrugging.

"I don't really, just following the path."

I frown at his answer, knowing that that isn't it at all but before I can say anything he spins around and halts my walking, my foot hovering in mid-air.

"Don't put your foot down," he orders and I stand in shock, waiting for him to explain. Instead, he slowly pushes away a branch from where my foot was about to land and reveals silver metal underneath, spikes glinting in the setting sun.

"Is that a trap?" I gasp, taking a step back and then immediately I freeze, terrified that there would be more around me, "A trap for what?"

Trent sighs and stands back up, leaving it completely uncovered, his face coated in a pained look.

"It's for wolves," he states simply as if he hadn't just told me that a dangerous predator could be lurking around is. "They're no good though, the people that lay them put them in the most obvious places and leave their scent everywhere, plus the metal makes a noise whenever you walk near it because of the vibrations in the ground."

My mouth drops in shock as I take in his words, suddenly feeling a little unsafe.

"Is Obi okay to be in here?" I gasp, looking for the dog and Trent quickly grabs my arm.

"He's fine, he's a dog, he can smell the same things. He's not stupid." I warily nod but I'm still not one hundred per cent convinced. "Look, do you trust me?" he asks and I sigh.

Of course, I trusted him, I just didn't trust other people who could have done this. Although I understood that they were dangerous animals, surely coming into their territory meant that you knew the risks.

"Yes, I trust you," I state and he smiles at my words and holds out his hand to me, his eyes silently promising me that nothing will happen.

"Then follow me."

I eye his hand for a second, not knowing what to do.

Was I crazy enough to follow a boy I'd known for such a small amount of time into a forest that was maybe filled with dangerous animals?

On one hand, I wanted nothing more than to grab his hand and follow him into the woods, to have the best time and just forget about everything that's going on. But on the other...

Matt.

If he was out in the woods with some girl, I wouldn't be happy. And it wasn't exactly fair to be doing this while he was away.

On Tracey's boat.

I quickly take out my phone and check to see if I have any reply from him at all but all I see is the picture of Kristie and I smiling back at me.

Absolutely nothing.

I look back up at Trent while slipping my phone into my pocket and he raises a brow, waiting for me to decide and as I look from his outstretched hand to his smile I make my decision.

Fuck it.

I grab onto his hand and his lips turn into a massive grin, his fingers enclosing around mine and I begin to walk behind him, our bodies bumping into each other occasionally as I try to watch where he steps, in fear of another trap.

Occasionally, he turns and looks at me and I keep seeing him glance at our entwined hands, a chuffed smile repeating onto his lips every time.

"How do you know so much about wolves and traps?" I ask, "You don't hunt them do you?"

I never even thought about him being the horrible one. What if he was a killer?

He laughs and shakes his head, looking back at me with humour filled eyes.

"No Elle, I don't hunt wolves," He thinks for a moment before turning away again, "I have a love for them."

I relax and he seems to notice it, sending me a questioning stare.

"I was worried you hunted them," I explain, "I could never even be friends with someone who thought it was okay to kill such majestic and beautiful animals. Especially ones that are in their own environment. I've always dreamed of seeing a wolf."

Trent's foot stumbles and he trips forward, dragging me with him and I scream out as I go flying to the ground, but I land on something soft and comforting instead of a trap or a stick which I could impale myself on.

My heart feels like it's about to burst out of me.

I really am such a worrier.

I lift my head and look at Trent below me who is chuckling as he lies on the grass, his arm wrapped around me and my body pressed against his.

He made a pretty good mattress.

"Sorry min elskede, I lost my footing," he chuckles before his eyes pop open in shock and the smile slips off his face.

"What did you call me?" I ask confused while giggling, "I think you just spoke another language."

Trent groans and covers his face with his hand but I still see the blush on his cheeks before he can hide it.

"It's Danish, I speak a couple languages," he admits although it's muffled and I smile.

"So what does it mean?" I ask again while reaching out and grabbing his hand, softly tugging it down so I can look at his face and it's like all the breath is knocked out of me when I see him looking nervous.

"It's nothing, it's like saying 'mate' or 'pal' to someone."

I feel disappointed that it wasn't something better than that, but at least it wasn't an insult.

Although, I don't know why he would react the way he did if it really did mean just 'friend'.

"I've always wanted to learn a language, maybe I'll learn Danish?" I tease and the nervous expression slips from his face as he looks down at me, his lips curving into a small smile.

Before I can ask anything more Obi appears and begins to attack Trent and I, his tongue trying to kiss us both at the same time and I scream with laughter, rolling off of Trent in an attempt to get away from the over friendly dog.

"Obi!" I cry, shoving him off of me as I try to spit dog hair and grass out of my mouth, "Down boy!"

Surprisingly, the dog actually listens to me and moves away, choosing to give attention to Trent and I actually feel like someone has grabbed my insides and twisted them when I see the two of them playing together, Trent's laugh echoing around us.

It was strange, at school he seemed to always have a sort of defence up around him, I'd never once seen him look so relaxed as he did right now.

It was like he was born to be outdoors.

As my eyes drift from the gorgeous boy on the ground beside me, I finally notice the scenery around us and gasp at the sight.

I don't know how I didn't notice the beautiful colours around us before, but now it was as if it's all my eyes could see.

Unknown to me, we had fallen into a small clearing surrounded by trees, the space stretching out in front of us as if someone had placed a small piece of paradise here on purpose, hidden away from onlookers. The trees were no longer green but pink, the blossoms fanning over my head like they were celebrating, tinging everything with their rose coloured leaves.

Below that was a breathtaking pool of water, the surface of it glittering in the sun as water falls into it, cascading down the sides of rocks and I wonder how I hadn't heard the rushing sound before.

I never knew something so beautiful could be hidden in a place that people feared.

"It looks like a painting," I whisper breathlessly, not wanting to blink in case I miss a detail of the scene. Slowly I climb to my feet, smiling as I listen to the sound of birds chirping.

"I thought you'd like it," Trent says, getting up beside me and I glance at him in wonder.

This was what he wanted to show me?

"This is my favourite place and you seem like you need a reminder of how beautiful things can be despite all of the ugliness around us."

His words make my mouth drop open, my mind whirling with his words as I watch him glance at me, a nervous smile on his face as he lifts his hand and scratches his head.

He seemed to do that a lot.

"Sorry if that was a bit mushy," he chuckles, clearing his throat, "We can just forget I said that and pretend I took you here by accident if you like?"

His offer makes laughter bubble from my throat and I shake my head, unable to form words as I try to calm down my frantic heart.

How did he manage to do that to me with only a sentence?

After a moment my laughter dies down and I sigh, tilting my head up to the sun as I take a deep breath, basking in the way the wind blows through my hair and makes it fly around my face.

I feel free.

"This is amazing," I tell him, not needing to look at him to know that he's listening.

He always seemed to be listening, even when I wasn't actually telling him something.

How else would he have known that I needed this?

"Do you want to sit?" Trent asks, motioning to some flat rocks over by the water and I nod eagerly, following him over.

"How did you find this place?" I question as we take a seat, the stone surprisingly comfy underneath me.

Trent shrugs, looking out over the water.

"I like going for jogs through the woods, stumbled across it one day and made sure to remember how to get to it."

I scoff and roll my eyes, making him turn to look at me in confusion and I groan.

"You are honestly unreal, why would you come for a jog through here? Actually, why would you go for a jog at all – they are the spawn of Satan."

Trent laughs, leaning back onto his elbows as he stretches his legs out in front of him, his foot softly knocking against mine.

"I like the outdoors, and I like finding new places – running doesn't really seem like exercise when I get too interested in where I could end up and get to forget about my problems for a while."

Although his words are like poetry to my ears and I feel light listening to them, they also create a heavy feeling in my heart as I look at his sorrow filled expression.

"I'm sorry about earlier," I mumble, causing him to frown at me and my hands wring together, "About when I said about your brother." The easy smile slips off of his face, "I didn't mean to say that, I forgot about our conversation last night and I only remembered once I asked about it, and I should have just kept my mouth shut, I get if you're annoyed at me I just–"

"Elle!" Trent interrupts, grabbing my hands as he leans forward, a chuckle escaping his lips, "I'm not annoyed at you. It's okay."

The tension rushes out of my body and I feel relief slip through me, my shoulders dropping as I look at his easy smile.

"Stop worrying, okay?" he asks and I nod softly, shooting him an embarrassed smile and I feel the blush coat my cheeks, causing his eyes to zero in on it.

Instead of making fun of me like I expect him to, his eyes widen a little, as though he was seeing something for the first time and one of his hands removes themselves from around mine, rising to touch the side of my face.

His fingers trail along my cheek and his lips twitch as he tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear, lingering, softly pressing against my skin.

"I used to think I'd experienced life's beauty," he murmurs, his thumb running along the outside of my lip, "I could not have been more wrong."

Is this what dying felt like?

I swallow the lump in my throat and my eyes look down, unable to deal with him staring at me for so long but it's as if they have a mind of their own because not a second later I'm looking at him again, unable to tear my gaze from his and I can physically see his breath halting as we look at each other.

"I'm nothing compared to this place," I half joke, trying not to think about how serious he looked when he said those words and he shakes his head a little, his fingers circling the rosy apples of my face. His eyes sparkling like the water below us, emotions swirling within them.

"It's nothing compared to you."

I had had words spoken to me before, tender ones in moments of pure vulnerability, peppered with kisses across my naked body as I lay bared to the person.

I had felt the touch of someone as they told me they loved me, their body covering mine for the first time and touching me in places I had never experienced before, their whispers filling me with safety and affection.

I'd experienced what I thought was the purest and most beautiful moments in life.

But all of that seemed like nothing right now.

Until this very second, watching the way his lips formed around the words he spoke to me, I had never known what it was like to literally feel yourself fall in love with a moment.

And I never wanted it to end.

His hand runs down the side of my neck, my body shivering in response as his nails gently scrape along the skin, leaving a trail of tingles in their wake before gently curling around to the back of my head.

It's as if I have floated out from my person and I'm watching above like a spirit, unable to control myself or the way my body leans into his touch, wanting to be closer to him, to feel him.

"Trent," I whisper, unable to make my mouth form any other words apart from his name, and it rolls off of my tongue like caramel, slipping down my throat in a sweet ecstasy.

His eyes flash with something dark and I feel his fingers curl a little, their hardness digging into the flesh on my neck and his nostrils flare as he takes in a deep breath, his eyes closing as he does.

I push down the dreaded feeling in my stomach as I lift my hand and curl my fingers around his forearm, just wanting to feel the heat of him beneath my fingertips and I notice how his arm tenses as I do, the hairs lifting in response.

Tell him how you feel.

"Trent," I say again, inching forward, "I-"

Trent's eyes snap open, making me jump slightly and they dart around the area, seeming to almost survey it and he stands, bringing me with him and close to his body.

What was going on?

"Is everything okay?" I ask, glancing around the clearing, panic beginning to slither it's way down my spine, "What is it?"

I hadn't heard anything? Was he just trying to find a way to break the moment we were having?

"We should go," he announces, his voice flat and rough, "It's getting late."

Before I can respond and point out how the sun was only just beginning to show signs of disappearing he whistles to something behind me and I turn to see Obi lying by the water.

I had forgotten about him.

He looks up at the sound and immediately walks over, heading straight to the side of me that Trent isn't occupying.

"Let's go," Trent tells me, his hand moving around my waist as he urges me forward and I stumble a little, still confused at the sudden change of atmosphere, "Maggie will be getting worried."

I try to laugh at his words but all that comes out is a short cackle that sounds fake even to me, but he doesn't seem to notice; he's already pushing me ahead of him, his eyes not once looking at me.

I follow Obi back into the trees, sparing one last glance at the stunning scenery behind me before we disappear into the trees, wishing for nothing more than to be back on those rocks, pretending like I was a different person.

Soon the view is cut from my sight and we make our way through the forest, the conversation non-existent apart from Trent's occasional directions or warnings about traps on the ground.

Obi doesn't go further than a foot away from me once and I feel the hairs lift on the back of my neck as my eyes watch the shadows surrounding us, wondering what could possibly have put Trent on edge.

Maybe it was me?

Maybe he regretted saying what he did and needed to get away from me?

Was that it?

I don't ask him my theories and I don't bother trying to get him to tell me what's wrong after about the fifth time of attempting, he just kept saying that it was getting late and nothing was wrong but by the way we were walking faster than normal and the absence of his usually charming comments, I knew that everything was not okay.

Eventually, we emerge from the trees and head down the road and I almost feel better at seeing the street, knowing that we were no longer surrounded by something foreign to me.

However, it doesn't last long as Trent still doesn't say a word to me and I'm reminded of his refusal to kiss me last night.

If he kept regretting what he was doing then why was he saying those things to me, why was he pulling at my heartstrings and making me lose my mind?

We arrive at Mrs Grenway's and I feel angry upon seeing the front porch, the dying sunlight dusting the wooden steps.

Why was he doing this to me?

Was he even meaning to make me feel like this?

But the thing that makes me feel the most frustrated is when I notice my fathers car parked only a few metres away and reality washes over me, bringing the fantasy day to an end with its putrid colour and memories that follow it.

Obi trots up the steps happily, leaving us behind and I only hesitate for a moment before following him.

"Thanks for today," I mumble flatly, irritation dripping with every syllable, "Goodnight."

I don't even look at the boy as I make my way to the front door, tears stinging my eyes as I dig my fingernails into my palm, trying to prevent them from falling.

I would not let him know how much he affects me.

"Hey wait!" he calls, his hand bringing me to a screeching halt as it wraps around my bicep, "What's wrong?"

His voice is soft and full of confusion and although I know that on some level he hadn't done anything wrong, my mind was screaming at me to tell him what I was thinking, to let him know what he was doing to me.

"Elle?" he urges, bringing me around to face him but I keep my head down, staring at his chest, determination strong.

His fingers curl under my chin and he pulls it up to him.

"Please tell me, I've had such a good time I don't want to ruin tonight, I don't want to taint this."

Finally, I snap and shove his hand off of me, the tears pooling in my eyes as his hand falls from my jaw, shock evident on his face.

"And what exactly is this?" I ask, pained laughter spilling from my lips as I step back, my hands fisting in my hair, "What are we doing? I mean it's not as if we're fucking friends! It's not like we can actually hang out together."

He freezes, his hand still reaching out towards me as if I've clicked pause.

"I can't do this," I cry, "I can't keep acting like how we are is normal and I understand it because I don't."

I take a deep breath, looking straight at him, my arms crossing over my body.

"So tell me right now, what do you want? Because I can't keep doing this, it's too confusing and I have a boyfriend who I love, so you need to explain to me what it is you think is going on here."

Silence echoes around us and slowly, his arm falls down to his side, his jaw clenching as it does. His eyes never leave mine but I watch them flicker through emotions, the thoughts in his head running wild as his fists clench before they finally settle on something.

His brows unfurrow and the lines on his forehead disappear as his face relaxes, his mouth a straight line. The air around us seems to settle and an uneasy feeling washes over me. I'd never seen his eyes look so dead.

"Nothing is going on," he answers simply, a smirk ghosting onto his lips, "I think you're hot and wanted to try and get the golden girl of North Valley Woods to prove to your asshole of a boyfriend that we're not scum."

A feeling like I've just been hit by a truck knocks the air out of my lungs and I suddenly have the urge to throw up the contents of my stomach onto the street in front of me.

I look for any sign of regret on the godlike face in front of me but it's as if the Trent that I had known had disappeared and the emotionless clone of him had taken his place, their eyes like glass as they watch me, emotionless.

So that was it.

I smile tightly at him and nod my head, a chuckle slipping from my mouth as I sigh, my lip curling in between my teeth.

"Thank you," I grin, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to pour from my eyes, "Thank you for bringing me back to reality."

Trent rolls his eyes and I watch his arms flex as he shrugs in a nonchalant way, not even looking at me and suddenly the idea of him being made of stone doesn't seem entirely unrealistic.

"You wanted the truth – you got it."

The knife in my body twists deeper at his uncaring tone and I start walking backwards, needing to put space between the two of us.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Trent." I say and he scoffs at my words, "Goodnight."

I take one last glance at him, my eyes drifting over his ruffled hair and the black leather jacket that I'd come to love so much but now only makes me feel painful memories and all I want to do is scream at him for making me fall for his charm, for the way he made me feel.

As I walk up the steps I stop, my body hesitating at the doorway as I open the door and let Obi inside, my fingers brushing over his soft fur and when I hear silence behind me I know that Trent hasn't moved.

"By the way," I whisper, "I never thought you were scum... not until now."

My words are quiet and perhaps they'd get lost in the wind, but somehow I know that Trent will hear them.

He always does.

I don't look at him and I don't wait for a response, there was only so much I could take.

And so I walk through and slam the door behind me, shutting out Trent.

As I turn the lock on the wood I imagine it is the lock to the space in my mind and in my heart that belongs to Trent, the images of him occupying it.

With a shaking breath, I close my eyes and picture myself throwing away the key, ending the memories I have of him and our time spent together.

It was done.