Hiiiiiiiii babies!!! 

FIRSTLY - LOOK AT THIS ART!!!  Done by the utterly incredible danz-m !!! I can't wait for you guys to see the rest of her artwork - if you are impatient and don't want to wait then you can see them already on my insta! An unreal amount of love to Danielle - I'm blown away and actually cried when I got the drawings x 

Trying not to mash loads into each chapter so that the story doesn't seem rushed and you guys dont get confused but ITS SO HARD!! 

SO MUCH IS HAPPENING!!!! 

SCREAM

(Ironic that this is chapter 66 and the devils number is 666 and a CERTAIN SOMEONE IS MAKING HIS REAPPEARANCE KIND OF GRRR)

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CHAPTER 66

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The second that I tell Trent that Andy mentioned the bomb and tried to warn me of someone, I'm in the car and back at the packhouse before I can blink. If I'd ever wanted to see Trent in Alpha mode - this was the time. 

We're sitting in his office - somewhere that I've never been before but had always wondered what it looked like. To say it exceeded expectations was underexaggerating. 

I'd maybe have thought that it would look professional and neat - large windows and metal lining. 

I was wrong. 

Firstly, there were no modern features anywhere bar the computer that sits on one side of the room. Everything else seemed to be made of dark wood - glossy finishes up to the ceiling. One wall did have windows, but the dark curtain over them blocked out most of the light until he pulled it back as he ushered me to sit down. 

Secondly, the place was a bit of a mess. Every surface seemed to be covered in post-it notes or pieces of paper that had lines drawn between them, red circles surrounding bold words that stand out. It was safe to say that Trent was investigating something and it looked pretty complicated. 

But what caught my eye most was that the other walls were lined with books upon books. As far as I could see these weren't any ordinary books and some of them looked to be pretty old up on the high shelves. 

Words catch my eye as I survey them; shifting, witch hexes, healing for werewolves. 

I could probably do with spending some time reading these. 

As Trent comes off of his phone he clears his throat, pulling my attention away from his personal library and instead to his stressed features which are skimming across the scattered papers in front of him. 

So far, no one had actually told me anything of what was going on and I'd sat pretty patiently waiting to be brought in to the circle of knowledge. 

And yet - nothing.

I reach across to try and bring his attention to me, maybe to stop him from stressing out so much. 

"Trent-"

The door behind us swings open without him even looking at me, his figure immediately rising as people walk into the room and come round to his side. 

I huff and sink back in my chair as they greet each other, giving a little wave to Robbie and Lyle who just nod at me briefly before turning to their Alpha. 

"I need you guys to go and scope out these trails," Trent orders, fingers making a pattern on the map, "Get a team of at least ten to go either way - I want this guy found, now."

"Yes Alpha," they respond, their heads bowing, "We'll let the other scouting teams know." 

Their feet spin and soon they're gone again, their orders seeming to be all they came for. 

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" I ask sweetly, trying to calm the ball of anger that's building in me as I'm ignored by yet more people coming into the room and talking to Trent, "No? Great." 

They disappear a minute later and I feel my foot start to tap at the blatant refusal to tell me anything or involve me. 

Why was I even sitting here?

Trent picks up his phone again just as it rings, his words clipped and short. 

"Can you guys not just speak with your..." I motion to my head, trying to think of the word to describe it, "Telepathy thingy?"

Whether he even hears me is debatable as he just talks over me, his words a mile a minute and I give up trying to follow them. 

This was becoming a joke.

I was the one who had spoken to Andy, I was the one who apparently needs to be protected so why the hell was I the only one not getting spoken to?

"Trent?"  

The door opens again.

"Professor Richardson is here, Alpha." 

 I look over my shoulder to see Scarlette in the doorway, she shoots me a quick smile when she sees me and I return it but I know that she can see it's fake. 

In response to the announcement, Trent quickly hangs up, a tight grin taking over his face as he moves around to greet the person entering, passing me as he does. 

Must be important - he didn't do that for anyone else. 

"Professor Richardson," he greats and I turn back around to see an older man entering the room. He pushes his glasses up his sharp nose as he holds his hand out to Trent, the bundle of papers almost falling from his arms as he does. 

"Alpha Night, always a pleasure. Although I do wish it was under different circumstances."

He doesn't seem to be a werewolf, his figure looks smaller and more frail - although maybe that just happens with age. 

Did werewolves age the same?

Scarlette's figure sitting down in the chair next to me stops me from thinking about it too much , the muttering of men behind us too hushed for me to properly hear. 

"How you feeling?" she asks, a small smirk on her lips as she puts her feet onto the desk, "You worried?"

"I mean I'm sure I would be," I respond, crossing my arms over my chest as I roll my eyes, "But I haven't been told anything so I couldn't comment." 

Scarlette scoffs under her breath, eyes rolling as she leans into me. Her thumb points back at the two conversing men. Briefly, I hear Trent say my name. 

"You're the Luna," Scarlette whispers as if it's obvious, green eyes sparkling, "Make him tell you."

She was right. 

I'd sat for far too long just listening while other men controlled my life - Matt, my father. 

Trent wasn't about to become one of them.

He promised me he wouldn't.

I'm rising before I can think things through, the bolt of courage in me being fueled by the simmering anger that has been boiling the moment since I sat in the chair. Why the hell wasn't I being told anything when it clearly had something to do with me?

I don't miss the squeal of excitement Scarlette releases as I walk up to the men, ignoring their tense conversation as I stick my hand in between them - my megawatt smile plastered onto my face. 

"Hi," I butt in, cutting off their words, "I'm Elle Williams, a pleasure to meet you." 

Professor Richardson looks at Trent before hesitantly taking my hand, the shake lasting notability shorter than his previous one and I grip his hand with a little more force than necessary. 

"Professor Richardson," he replies, pulling his hand back as he glances between Trent and I. "We should maybe go somewhere else, we were just discussing-"

"Me?" I offer, making his mouth shut, "I thought I heard my name?"

The poor old man looks flabbergasted at what to do, his eyes widening with panic as he waits for the man beside me to say something.

"Elle," Trent says softly, an edge to his tone as his arm comes around my waist, "I don't want you-"

"Frankly, I don't care what you want," I interrupt, my anger seething as I put a step between us so that he can't touch me, "I'm sick of being ignored. I'm the person that Andy came to, I'm the person who was almost killed by a bomb and yet I seem to be the only person not getting told what the fuck is going on."

I take a breath and ruffle my shoulders, letting the honey-like smile slip onto my lips again. 

"So, if you'd like to stop keeping me in the dark, then I'd be eternally grateful," I face Trent, "I am Luna after all, am I not?"

I would say that there's silence throughout the room but that would be a lie - Scarlette's muffled laughter makes that impossible.

Trent on the other hand hasn't reacted yet. He just watches me; eyes unmoving and instead of stepping back like I've been taught to my entire life, I square up to him - hardening my glare. 

After a few seconds, the tense moment ends and his lip curves up slightly at one corner, eyes glancing behind me before settling on my face again. 

"Scarlette, could you please show Professor Richardson to the kitchen and make sure he's looked after." 

"Oh, that's really not-"

The ageing man's words are cut off with one slight look from Trent and he stops his argument, clearing resigned to following his orders. 

"Of course," Scarlette grins, popping up beside me, "Knew you had it in you."

I smile at her wink that she throws, her voice growing in volume as she opens the door from the office, ushering the professor outside with a whistle and a wave back to us. 

As the door slams, my confidence dwindles.

Okay, now it was silent.

Trent stays quiet for another moment before shaking his head, a deep sigh resonating from him as he moves over to me. His hand curls around my chin softly and I hold my breath as he brings his face to mine, his lips pressing against my forehead. 

"I should have known that I couldn't keep you from this."

It's not the words that I expect to come out of his mouth but relief washes over me. Had I expected him to at least try and argue - probably, but I also knew that the two of us were growing together and I wasn't getting left behind. 

"I'm sorry for disrespecting you in front of someone," I mumble as he pulls back from me, "But we're meant to be a team and it's frustrating sitting there and not being told anything."

"I know," he says, his fingers moving down to my hand where he lifts them to his lips, "I'm sorry, dorogaya. I should be treating you as my equal, my Luna. I'm not your bodyguard." 

The rest of my argument dies on my lips as he kisses my hand, his words lingering like his lips and I let both of them fill my heart and settle my anger. 

Equal... that's all I've ever wanted.

"But there's a reason that I felt like I couldn't tell you," he sighs, a sharp edge to his voice as he pulls me around to the other side of his desk, his hands beginning to riffle through the clutter.

"Trent you can tell me anything, I promise I-"

"It's not that I don't want you to know," he interrupts, his brows pulled together, "I just didn't know how to tell you." 

I look from his concerned face to the piece of paper that his hands hover above, clearly, he found what he was looking for. 

A creep of unease begins to crawl up my legs, digging into my muscles and making them clench. 

"What?" I ask, throat tightening, "What's happened?"

He doesn't say another word. Instead, he just holds out his hand to me, the thin piece of paper crinkling as I take it from him carefully. From the uneasy way he looks at it I think it might bite me for a second, but when I finally have it in my hands and he sits down in his chair, I turn it over and see why he's been so hesitant. 

"Oh."

My blood runs cold and all happiness I felt at being included quickly dies, my spine stiffening as my stomach recoils. It was a profile of a person, their information dotted alongside it as well as some handwritten notes that look just like Trent's from English. The face makes horrible memories flood back, pains breaking out over my body at their smug grin. 

Even in black and white, I know exactly what colour his eyes are.

Trent's hands are covering his mouth, his elbows resting on his knees that keep steadily bouncing. I know he's watching me - to see how I react, to see if I crumble. 

I refuse to.

"Why do you have this?" 

I know that this is it - the moment where he decides if I'm strong enough to know the truth or not. He was waiting to see if I was still afraid of him, of the things he had done to me and the control he had over my life. 

But I'm not.

"Matthew Daley is a member of a group of hunters that are living in East Valley Woods." he slaps another three sheets down ontop of it, "Carter Gacy, Luke Brawnfield and Andrew Lutten are also suspected hunters, although how much they know we're unsure."

An easy laugh leaves my lips, my arms crossing as I scoff.

"Very funny, now why would you really not tell me?"

He couldn't be serious. He just couldn't.

By the look on Trent's face - I know I'm wrong.

"But how-" I shuffle through the pages, heart beginning to race as I see all their faces, "How would they even know?"

"We think they've been recruited," he informs me darkly, "We just don't know who by." 

No. This had to be a mistake. How could Matt and all his friends be a part of this world, be hunting this world when they didn't even know that it existed. It just didn't make sense, it just didn't-

My mind flashes back to the day before our schools merged. Matt had warned me to not even look at the new school, he had warned me to stay away. I thought he was just being his usual controlling self, but did he do it because he knew what they were?

Every time Trent had tried to speak to me, every time he had so much as looked at me Matt seemed to freak out. He never said anything about them though, he never-

"When you guys argued," I whisper, realisation dawning, "They called you a lower species."

Trent laughs, his head tilting to one side.

"They're hunters - being prejudice kind of comes with the job."

Could I believe it? Out of all the people in the world I happened to be dating a hunter when I met Trent? Was that possible? How had I been so blind?

"But how..." 

I trail off, my head exploding with new information and the revelations now just make me numb, my mouth barely even able to form words. 

Fear. I felt fear. 

If Matt was a hunter then he was much more dangerous than I had thought. I always knew he had darkness in him - but killing people? How could I possibly imagine the boy I dated when I was sixteen as a murderer. 

Flashes of Matt's angry face and snarling mouth stop my thoughts of innocence, the truth behind them clear. 

He was definitely capable of murder.

Trent seems to sense my thoughts and pulls me into him, spreading his legs so that I can settle onto his lap. His curves around my back, acting like a chair and I lean into him, feeling like a child afraid of the boogeyman. Trent's touch keeps some of the bad feelings away, his warmth melting the shards of agony hitting my chest.

"How did you find out that he was a hunter?" I mumble, my fingers skimming over their faces.

Trent sighs his fingers on my waist tightening in anger.

"They're the ones who burnt down our school, they left their scents all over it."

I want to be shocked, I want to say 'that can't be!' and feel horrified by the idea, but all I taste is bile rising in my mouth and the pit in my stomach drops further. My arms begin to wind around Trent as I realise that Matt had been intent on killing him this entire time. 

"Does Matt know?" I ask as my head rubs into his chest, "Do they know that you know what they did?"

Trent leans back in his chair, his other hand leaving the documents to instead curl around my own, our intertwined hands feeling like the only thing anchoring me down right now. 

"Not at first," he says slowly, as we both watch his finger draw figures of eight on my palm, "But I told them when the time was right. You should have seen their-"

"What do you mean, 'when the time was right'?" 

I know he's trying to make me laugh or smile, but right now I just want to know every bit of information that he knows. I couldn't keep living so naively and distracting myself with good things when this had been happening under my nose. 

Trent and Matt were trying to kill each other while I was deciding who to date? What else had I been completely blind to?

Trent takes a glimpse at my face, noting how stern and stubborn I look before he breathes, wincing before he opens his mouth.

"I kind of waited until you left him." he catches the flash in my eyes and quickly explains, "I knew that if he knew that we were onto him then he'd run, they all would. I couldn't let there be a risk of you disappearing with them. So I waited until I knew you were done with him, until I knew there was even a small part of you that wanted to be with me... and then I went and saw him, waited for him outside his house."

"That was suicide!" I cry, sitting up to look at the stupid boy underneath me, "Why would you go there on your own, how did you know they weren't waiting and-"

"It was fine," he promises, his soothing voice stopping my rambling, "We'd been watching them for days and it was clear that wherever they all met, it wasn't in their houses. He was alone and I was completely safe."

Could I be annoyed at him for the possibility that he could of gotton hurt? 

Probably not.

"Anyway, his family definitely aren't involved," Trent continues, "If anything his mother is far too good for him and I'm unsure how he even came out of her."

That gets a slight laugh from me. It was definitely true - his mother had a heart of gold. 

"So how come he got so scared? Didn't he know that you could smell him?"

This is when I see Trent's figure change, his eyes darkening and the lines of confusing etching across his forehead. 

This is what had been troubling him.

"He pretty much shit himself," he mulls like he's trying to explain it to himself as well as to me, "I told him that we knew it was them and that if they valued their life they should run, not because we'd kill them but because we had enough evidence to go to the police - that seemed to scare him a lot more than death. But then he asked how we knew and it was almost like he had no idea of our actual abilities. I think whoever told them to attack our school, didn't tell them everything."

He pulls out a folder that has no name on it and the picture in the box on the left is blank - anonymous.

"I think they were set up - someone wanted us to know it was them."

Now I know why he didn't want me to know.

"Someone is trying to start a war." 

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