After a little while I'd managed to pull myself away from Trent and forced us to go outside with the others. As much as I would have happily stayed wrapped in his arms for as long as possible, I knew Cam was on edge and wasn't comfortable here or around the boys that stayed here, and I'd never seen him so tense before, it was all so new to me and I didn't know what exactly was going to set him off.

We all sat and spoke about Ben and what we knew about him. It turns out that Cam and he had been meeting for months, Cameron was helping him adjust to the shift and what was going to happen to him. Ben was a rogue as well and none of his family were wolves – it was clear that his mother must have had an affair that no one knew of and it just so happened to be with a wolf.

Pretty bad luck on her part.

"So, what actually happened today?" I ask, not able to contain the worry that slips into my voice.

Cam sighs, a pained expression overtaking his features and I can see the distraught that's behind his eyes.

"We met up like usual in our free period out in the woods, the usual clearing that we always go to," his eyes glance at Trent hesitantly, "We always make sure we're not followed and try to cover up our scents and go pretty far in so no wolves from the pack can hear us going."

I see Cole snort in a laugh at his words and I shoot him a glare, not enjoying the way that Cam shrinks slightly at the tone. Cole stops when his eyes connect with mine and he clears his throat, nodding at Cam to continue.

I feel pretty proud of myself for being able to make him listen – he seemed to be worried that he'd upset me.

Or maybe upset Trent.

"We were training like usual, talking about control and shifts and then suddenly we both heard something," Cam's voice shakes as he clasps his hands on the table and squeezes his eyes shut.

"I told him to stay put and I went and looked for what it was... I should have just told him to leave, to get out of there but I thought it was just going to be some kids or something. I thought they'd be harmless... but they weren't."

Cam's body moves in a way I've never seen it before, clenching until it looks as though it may shatter, and his fingers are vibrating against the table, the knocking sound stretching out between us. I take them in mine and intertwine them, trying to push all the comfort I have through my body and into him, any way to stop the terrified expression that he wears.

He looks at me gratefully, squeezing my hand back and he stills a little, managing to take deep breaths.

"What was it Cam?"

"Hunters. Professional hunters, and a lot of them at that."

The fear that settles over me makes my blood run cold and my stomach jump into my throat.

There were hunters. Real life, terrifying hunters who went out of their way to kill.

To kill werewolves.

To kill Cam.

To kill Trent.

"How did they not get you?" I ask, trying to think of ways to understand exactly how I was meant to go outside my door and survive knowing what was happening out there.

"I got really lucky," Cam explains, "The noise I'd heard was out of the clearing and turned out to just be a rabbit. By the time I went to turn back they'd already moved in on him and didn't realise I was there."

"You say there were professionals, yet you walked right past them... that sounds convenient," Trent states, his voice low and almost accusing. I stare at him in shock not believing that he's about to try and blame Cam for this.

"Cam wouldn't hurt anyone," I answer back before he can say another word and it seems to stop him. He takes in my fierce expression and the way my hands are welded to Cam's and holds his tongue.

Fight me.

"How do you know they were professional?" Trent continues once I break eye contact with him and I look at Cole reassuringly, ignoring my anger for the boys who clearly think they're better than my best friend.

"They had weapons... that weren't just picked up out the blue," he removes one of his hands from mine and goes into his pocket, pulling something out which he hands to Trent, "This was in his chest... it's coated in something at the bottom."

The item is a metal arrow, the design down glistening as if it's wet. It looks daunting and I try to ignore the blood that's dried at the top of it, not wanting to think of the body that it had been yanked from. Trent takes it but quickly drops it onto the table, hissing as wisps of smoke drift up from his hand and where his skin made contact.

"Wolfsbane," he growls showing the blisters to Cole, but they quickly heal and disappear, and his hand looks as good as new.

This was going to take a while to get used to.

Could he cut off a limb and grow it back?

If stabbed would they all just pull it out like it's nothing?

The boys have their heads together, discussing most likely the weapon in their hands or the hunters that seem to be living among us, but I can't hear them. There's a ringing in my ears as my eyes stay focused on Trent's hand and my fingers tingle.

I stand up quickly and all the conversation stops as everyone looks at me.

"I...I just... I need water."

I bolt out of there so fast that I knock over my chair in the process, but I don't hesitate for a second and make my way inside, rushing to the sink and running the tap as soon as I reach it, splashing cold water onto my face.

Werewolves were real.

People can heal.

You're not going crazy.

I whisper it to myself a thousand times, ignoring the cold water dripping down my arms and into my sleeves and my fingers turning numb.

Hunters are real.

People are in danger.

The dangers you thought you knew aren't the only ones.

"Are you okay?"

The voice snaps me out of the trance I've put myself in and the soft hand on my back steadies me. A towel appears in my vision and I take it gently, shaking the water out of my eyes before dabbing my face, slightly embarrassed at how I've been caught.

"You know, you look like shit."

I sigh.

"Thanks, Lou."

The boy chuckles and leans onto one of the poles his arms are strapped to, his eyes raking over my body as if he's solving a riddle.

"You know about the werewolves then?" He asks, and I let out a laugh, throwing the towel down on the counter and brushing my hands off on my jeans.

"How could you tell?" I reply sarcastically, and he snorts a laugh before nodding at the water marks on my top.

"It's not the first 'omg werewolves are real' breakdown I've witnessed in my life," he chuckles, sitting down on the stool beside me, "If anything you haven't cried yet which is usually the first thing... what set it off?"

"His hand healed," I answer slowly, sitting beside him, "One minute it was blistered and broken and then suddenly- "

"It was perfectly fine? Yeah that's our healing abilities. We can pretty much heal from anything, apart from a few specific weapons and injuries but those are rare."

I nod, following him, questions swimming around my head and I stumble at the casualness that he says it all with, he didn't pause for a second.

"So, you're a wolf too?" 

"Everyone in this house is, it's our pack."

They were all wolves. 

There was so many people that moved to our school from Eastern Valley Woods that I definitely hadn't met them all yet, were they all wolves? Was the entire town? Did they all have supernatural healing abilities that made them stronger than any human I know?

Without helping it my eyes look down at his leg, taking in the way it bends in the wrong direction halfway down and Lou notices, the smirk dropping from his lips.

"Wondering how I can be a wolf and be useless at the same time?" he snarls, standing up and moving into me and my stomach clenches as I try to speak but nothing comes out.

How was he not able to heal himself? 

"Wondering how I can be a cripple but be supernatural? Wondering how I fucked it so badly that even fairytales can't fix me?"

I whimper as he leans into me, his breath at my ear as his hand slams onto the counter and I close my eyes, a little scared of the furious expression that radiates from him.

"I wasn't - "

"Oh but you were," he whispers in a tone so cold I feel myself shrink, "Everyone does, poor Lou, stuck in a body that he should be able to heal but he can't. So weak and defenseless while everyone around him is top of the food chain." His chuckle makes me flinch. "You should be used to that though, afterall you were a punching bag for years, no? And now you're in the lion's den, just a scared little lamb who's going to end up like me."

His hand grabs my chin and yanks my head up to him, the snarl on his face showing the fury behind his words and I hold back tears as my eyes turn glassy.

He looks as though he hates me.

"Trent isn't all he seems to be. Whatever good you see in him is fleeting. How long before you're turned into a meal, or a toy for one of them to play with when they're bored, hm? Or maybe you'll get taken by your little rogue out there and he'll do whatever he wants to you like they did to me. They'll rip you limb from limb and-" 

Something moves through the doors and suddenly Lou isn't holding me anymore and is thrown back into the wall across from me, growls erupting throughout the room as his body is held up, a hand wrapping around his neck.

"Trent!" I shout as he throws Lou into the wall again and he thrashes against him, his fingers clawing at his neck as I watch the fury engulf both of them. Pieces of the wall fly off of it and cracks form throughout it. 

Just how strong were they?

"What were you saying to her!" Trent yells and the pure power of it knocks me back a few steps, my heart hammering as fear shuts me up. The way his whole body changes shape and I can see the wolf part of him itching to break through. Lou smirks at him and doesn't say anything. Trent responds by growling and crashing him into the wall again. "Tell me!"

"I only warned her, I told nothing but the truth," Lou manages to choke out, his words shaking with hateful laughter as he spits at Trent, "Just telling her how great our precious Alpha is."

"How dare you disrespect me," Trent hisses, his face pressing into Lou's, "I've given you so many free passes I've lost count and I will continue to do so when it comes to me because you clearly have nothing else in your life worth doing," I'm shocked by his horrible words and the way they obviously hurt Lou but Trent doesn't seem to even blink, "But you do not give her fear, you do not touch her and you do not disrespect her. Am I clear?"

Lou looks at me with disgust in his eyes as his chest heaves with the lack of oxygen he's getting but doesn't answer and it's clearly the wrong thing to do because Trent's hand tightens and I watch Lou choke.

It was like watching me and Matt.

The thought passes through my head so quickly I almost don't catch it but unfortunately I do and it makes a sickening feeling settle in me.

This is how I looked.

"Yes, Alpha," Loui finally coughs out and Trent lets him go, dropping his body to the ground and he crumples beneath him, smacking against the tiles harshly. 

It's only now that I notice Cam and Cole standing at the door, worry on their faces. 

I reach forward, pain engulfing me at the familiarity of the scene and the boy on the ground but the glare that Lou shoots me stops me from touching him as he clambers to his feet, struggling to stand as his crutches slip out from under him.

"Don't touch me!" He half screams at Cole who lifts him up and as soon as he is steady he shoves him away, the force of it making me jump.

"You all think I'm so pathetic," he accuses, "I apologise for my behaviour," he spits at me, "Maybe you won't get turned into a chew toy by accident."

"Lou." Trent warns, a shake to his words and Lou shuts up and turns away, sending me one last stabbing glare before he leaves the room, pushing past Cole and Cam on the way.

"Careful, Alpha," he throws back with a smirk, "I think you're scaring her away."

His final words make everyone's heads snap to me and I know that I look petrified whether I can help it or not, the words alone were enough to make me fear the boys in front of me as much as I didn't want them to. 

Trent looks at me, pained by the way my face has fallen at his actions but I can't shake it, the thought of him being like that and being stronger and more powerful than anything I could imagine was too much, how could I feel safe around him knowing that he could kill me without even trying. 

Is that what happened to Lou?

"Elle I - "

"I just need a little bit of time to adjust," I interrupt before he can make me cave under his puppy dog like stare, "I'm used to violent men already I just need to accept that there's another level."

The words taste sour in my mouth and Trent's own contorts at them but I ignore it, grabbing my bag and jacket from the stool as I shove them on quickly.

"Cam, take me home?" I ask quietly and he nods without saying anything, ignoring the glare of Trent as he holds out his arm to me and I take it. 

"Elle, please, " Trent mumbles, reaching for me again, "I'm not like Matt, I would never hurt you."

I nod slowly and carefully take his hand, lightly squeezing it before I let it go. 

"Actions speak louder than words, you're going to need to prove that."

He lets us leave without another word and we silently go to the car, not even speaking to each other as we drive. 

My head was far too wrapped up in itself to comprehend conversation. 

There was so much that I didn't know about them, about wolves and about the world that they come from but I hadn't thought about all of that at first. Sure, I knew that they were going to be strong and be able to turn into an animal at some point but I hadn't for a second thought that there'd be such things as hunters or packs or even considered how being part wolf would take its toll on them as humans. Was a part of them animal? Was that part stronger than their humanity?

My mind is in such a haze that it's not until I'm sat down in Mrs Grenway's house and can feel her beedy eyes staring at me from across the room that I snap out of the mental coma that I've put myself in and actually begin to function as a human. 

Cam is nowhere in sight and the steaming cup of tea in front of me lets me know that I've been here a little while. 

"Tough day?"

It's a simple question but I stare at her in disbelief, taking in the humoured tone she wears underneath it and I scoff at her. 

"You think?"

She smiles and sighs, looking up at the photos decorating her wall and a wave of melancholy settles over her, her eyes shining with memories. 

"I was scared of Ernie too at first you know," she grins and I settle into my chair, the tea relaxing me as I listen.

"When we first met he was married, to another wolf no less, but it was an arranged one, to make a truce between packs. He never thought that he'd have a mate so he agreed to it, it wasn't until we met a couple years later that he realised he did have one." 

The soft smile she wears makes my heart break as the love that they had for each other is clear as day, making my whole body ache for it. 

"We couldn't exactly just wait for him to get a divorce, his father was an Alpha and he refused to let him break the agreement that they had made. He said that it would bring shame onto their family and threatened to have me killed. Wolves often think with their fists first and their brain second, it's an animal instinct," she explains, an edge to her voice, "One night his father sent someone to kill me, he didn't believe that I was really his mate and said that I'd used a spell to capture Ernie's heart," she laughs, "Not like that was even possible by then, I didn't have much powers, a witch needs an event that triggers them to be able to use them to their full extent. Up until then all I could do was light candles without a match and get the salt without standing up."

"But his father was determined and the assassin came and Ernie killed him. I'd never watched something so terrifying in all my life. He turned into a beast that I couldn't even begin to comprehend and I watched as he was a creature of anger and nothing else," she shudders at the memory, "He went in such a rage that he took off and went to his father. All he left behind was a body that was so shredded it was unrecognisable. When the wolf takes over it's not very often they can be stopped."

She leans forward and takes my hand, urging me to look at her as she lets out a steady breath. 

"I know that what they are is terrifying, and after everything you've been through it's hard to comprehend how someone can have that much power and anger and not take it out on you. But you need to know that Trent will never hurt you. It's against every single law of nature to hurt your mate, even in his most ferocious moment, I don't even think Trent could do it if he tried."

"But what about the rest of them, I'm not their mate, what if they get angry or Lou said that rogues could come, or -"

"My child," she soothes, her cold hand pressing against my cheek softly as she hushes me, "There are always going to be dangers in the world, more than you even know right now, but you need to realise that Trent and his pack would put their life on the line for you, you just need to wait." 

"Why for me?" I ask confused, I hadn't even met most of them yet and it was clear that Lou had an issue with me. "Why would they do that?"

She stares at me for a moment, almost contemplating what she's about to say before she just smiles and shrugs her shoulders.

"It's a wolf thing, call it respect for their Alpha."

I take in her words slowly, I want to believe her and a very large part of me does but there's just this small bundle of fear that sits in me and I know that it stems from Matt and the awful things he has done to me and the memory of my father and his vengeful glare makes me question everything that's supposed to be right in a family, but for some reason I can push it down. For some reason I know that what she says is true and I could never imagine Trent hurting me. 

"You said that an event needs to happen for a witch to get her powers," I quickly ask before we start talking about Trent again, I wanted to just not think about it for a little while, "What was the event that happened for you to get yours?"

The smile on her face is gone by the time I finish my sentence and I almost want to take it back, to not ask her the question that seems to hurt her the most but it's too late.

"The night that I was almost killed and Ernie went into a frenzy he went to his father, I followed him knowing that he was in a fit of rage and wasn't thinking straight. When he got there him and his father fought... it was like they were fighting to the death... and it took me a moment to realise that they were." 

Shock fills me - how could a father fight his own son to the death?

Just like your father tried to kill you.

I shake the thoughts away and focus on Mrs Grenway and her teary eyes. 

"Ernie wasn't an Alpha, his brother was to become the next one so he didn't have quite as much power as his father and he slowly began to lose the fight. All I could do was stand there and scream and watch as his father tore into him and restrained him and all I remember thinking was that I wish I could do something, I wished for my powers to heighten and I wished for the strength to beat him through my tears, and it worked. I got my full powers."

"It happened so quickly that I don't even remember much. One moment his father was about to sink his teeth into his neck and then next he was crumpled in a corner, his body twisted in a way that I can still see so clearly even now... he was dead."

The thought of Mrs Grenway killing someone, let alone the love of her life's father, was hard to believe but the solemn look in her eyes and the dip of her head told me that it was true, and she was still so ashamed by it so many years on. 

"But you saved Ernie's life," I comfort, trying to sooth some of the pain for her, "It was self defense, you didn't mean to."

"You're such a forgiving and sweet girl," she smiles sadly, "Just like Ernie. He forgave me straight away, he didn't even look back at his father as he grabbed me and we ran. I'd killed the Alpha, and that meant that I'd have an entire pack after me, so we left. The life we lead was on the road and on the run but it was the best life I could have asked for. Your mate is the other part of you, it's what completes you - and I promise you, Annabelle, you'll never get anything but love from that boy. You have nothing to fear."

She smiles for a moment but then begins coughing, her frail body shaking as she struggles to breathe and I quickly grab her drink for her and hold it to her lips, rubbing her back softly as I do. 

"Are you ever going to tell me what's wrong with you?" I ask quietly, watching as she manages to get her body in control but she just ignores my question and clears her throat, like she has done for so many years. 

"You know, I think your friend Kristie might have some witch ancestors," she admits, distracting me from my question, "She has the right aura and she has a strength in her that only comes from a strong bloodline." 

I laugh at her theory, imagining my smiling best friend with a broomstick and a cauldron.

"There's no way," I reply but my confidence quickly falters - Cam was a werewolf, why couldn't Kristie be a witch. "At least... I don't think..."

"Some people just have the ability but it's never triggered, don't worry about it, time will tell if she is or not, " Mrs Grenway quickly interrupts my rambling and sinks into the sofa, closing her eyes as she rests, "I'm just going to have a nap if that's alright, would you mind letting Obi out?" 

I don't hesitate in agreeing and watch as her breathing evens out and she settles down, her pale skin and the grey tone covering it worries me but she refused to ever admit to me that something was going on. I'd let her rest for now but eventually I was going to make her admit to me what was wrong. 

What she'd told me was a lot to take in - I couldn't believe that her soft and gentle hands were capable of killing someone, or were capable of harnessing enough power to do it. She was always so kind, sure a little snippy or sarcastic but never violent. And Ernie had to have been the sweetest man I'd ever had the pleasure of knowing, how could he try to kill his own father?

I suppose love can do that to people. And this whole soulmate thing seemed to just make it even more intense. 

"Come on, Obi," I whisper to the sleepy giant in the corner who's watching me with half closed eyes, "Time to go for a walk don't be lazy."

He begrudgingly gets himself up and plods over to me, the slowness of it all making me giggle as I hook on his lead and pat his head, my heart swelling as he cuddles into my legs. They were my family, I didn't have anyone else left and they were probably the best that I could ever dream of. 

There's a faint knock at the door and I quickly shush Obi who goes to bark as I glance at Mrs Grenway who's sleeping peacefully through the noise and I rush to the door, the nerves in my body tingling as I reach it.

Come on, Elle, you can't be afraid of everything.

I take a deep breath and carefully open the door, my heart hammering in my chest as I pull it wide enough to see whose outside and when they smile at me all the air rushes out of my lungs and I sigh, swinging the door open.

"Hi Cole, what are you doing here?"

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What do you all thiiiiiiiink? Starting to really get into the thick of things and I'm so exciteeeeeeeeeed. Also sad because some good things are going to happen but also some not good things and it's going to be intense. 

i love you all 

xx 

Please vote and comment and let me know what you think xx