"It can't be." I argued, shaking my head against Aarons intense gaze. "Isaac helped me when I was poisoned. Without him, I would have died."
But Aaron only regarded me sadly, his lips thinning. "Don't you understand?" He asked softly, his eyes as cautious as his voice. "Isaac was the one who poisoned your drink."
I shook my head again vigorously. "No, he wouldn't."
Aaron raised an arched eyebrow. "What did the doctors say was contained in the drink?'
I only blinked, raking for the memory. "They only said I had alcohol poisoning."
"It wasn't alcohol poisoning that caused your seizure." Aaron answered quietly, his eyes a whirlwind of misfortune. "It was the mercury put into your drink."
I felt my teeth scrape my tongue as I bit it. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth but I refused to acknowledge it. "Isaac put the mercury in my drink?"
Aaron slowly nodded his head. "Yes, he knew from Miss Anderson discovering you were allergic to the two elements that you would react to it, and potentially be killed."
I heard myself swallow loudly before I replied. "But then why did he make me vomit? Why poison me then save me anyway?"
Aaron only frowned harder, his eyes darkening in thought. "That is a question I do not myself know the answer to."
We both fell into silence, the wind increasing in speed around us.
"Something still isn't adding up." I finally said, raising my voice against the beginnings of a blizzard. "Isaac couldn't stab or shoot me when I asked him to. If he truly sought after my death, he would've killed me then and there."
Aaron only watched me, his gaze thoughtful. He said nothing but gritted his teeth.
"And when I went into the woods with Miss Anderson, he protected me from the other wolves. But then they also attacked him. Why would his own kind try to kill him?"
Aaron continued to say nothing, however his gaze flickered angrily, as if irritated that I was looking deeper for an explanation.
"There is something you are hiding." I finished, my tone lowering in accusation. "I thought you were done with the lies."
"Don't pretend like you don't remember Isaac practically throwing you up against the lockers threatening to hurt you." Aaron hissed.
"But he never did." I insisted, trying to understand his covered expression. "He saw my scar on my arm and stopped."
"Only because he realised that Miss Anderson thought that you were one of his kind." He lashed back, his voice edged with frustration. "Miss Anderson hurt you all in those different ways to truly see if the legends were true. The silver in your blood stream, the silver in high concentrations from the broken flask, making you cut yourself open and interrogating you about werewolf folklore was all a way to see if she was right about you."
"But how does she know about the supernatural world? Why would she assume I was a werewolf?" I quickly added, leaning closer to hear Aarons reply over the wind.
"Your last name." Aaron answered.
I reeled back to blink at him in confusion. "My last name?" I echoed.
Aaron nodded, his lips forming an unease frown. "You don't know the history of your last name?"
I shook my head in response, confusion raking me the way my shivers began to.
"Its derived from the greek word 'chrímata', meaning silver or in some languages, moon."
I only stared at him, still unable to connect the dots.
He let out an exasperated sigh despite the tense situation. "Silver, the key element to destroy wolf kind. And the moon, the key source of power to wolf kind."
"I don't understand how my last name relates to why Miss Anderson thought I was a werewolf." I answered, unsure of Aarons confessions.
"Legend says the Argent family were the patient zero of the wolf infection, with Zachariah Argent being the first tunid to be bitten by a possessed dog, infected by the devil." Aaron said, his voice full of forbidding. "He went rabid, terrorising small villages and adding to his pack until human kind lived in fear."
"So she believed I was a werewolf because my last name was the same as the first werewolf?" I finished, my voice wavering with shock.
Aaron nodded, his face wiped clean of any emotion. "Obviously your father wasn't a werewolf otherwise he would have been dealt with years ago. But the Argent family are said to be the most powerful source of werewolves as their blood line is linked to The First Werewolf." He searched my eyes, almost as if in wonder of how oblivious I was about my heritage. "No wonder she immediately assumed you were the supernatural."
But I only frowned in response, attempting to wrap my head around the idea that even the meaning to my own last name was hidden from me.
You had your father's eyes and your mothers determined face. I knew you would be an Argent.
"Isaac didn't protect you from Miss Anderson for your sake, he did it for himself."
But then I rose my head to meet his eyes. "Why would he do that? If he wanted me dead so much he could've left me bleeding in the forest."
Aaron only swallowed again, this simple movement causing his Adams apple to travel across the skin of his neck. "If she killed you, it wouldn't be too long before she decided to target someone else suspicious. Isaac knew she would eventually turn to him. He only wanted to keep you alive as a distraction."
I said nothing but felt my teeth tear the first layer of my tongue as I bit down on it.
"Do you remember those strangers at Isaac's party?" Aaron quickly said, his eyes blazing with sudden thought.
I inclined my head in a swift yes. I remember Mum saying something about there was unidentifiable teenagers at the party that didn't live in Brookefield – but that was the only information we were given.
Aaron leaned in closer to me, his eyes searching mine. "Those weren't city kids; they were Isaacs pack members."
I blinked at him dumbly, questions flying through my head. "They were?"
"How else do you think he managed to poison your drink?" Aaron replied earnestly. "Henry, the guy who gave you the drink wasn't just a drunk dickhead, he was one of Isaac's members that was under his orders to give you the spiked drink."
I didn't quite hear the last of his sentence, I was still hiding my shock at hearing Aaron swear. This was a completely different Aaron in front of me. An Aaron with no boundaries or barricades. An Aaron with widened, truthful eyes and a glorious look of urgency sprawling across his face.
"I don't believe he would spike my drink, he saved me in the warehouse as well. It contradicts his intentions" I said back, shoving down the sudden flicker of dread that began to create a lump in the back of my throat.
But Aaron only made a noise of frustration, combing his hands through his hair as he shook his head.
"He wanted to find the warehouse just as much as you. He would do anything to uncover and destroy the weapons that were killing his kind."
I ignored this and continued to lash at Aaron. "He saved me when the wolves attacked. He yanked the bullet out and stopped the fever. He did everything and yet you still stand here exclaiming how he is a murderer." But I still couldn't shake off the gradual sense of unease that surged through my body. Some things were adding up, and I couldn't help but think maybe Aaron was right.
"Renee, Isaac is sitting behind bars right this very second and plotting his escape. He is sitting in that prison fantasying about the feeling of driving a dagger through your heart! He is not who you think he is! Stop making excuses for him and open your eyes to the truth!" Aaron lashed, his face blossoming a crimson. I flinched immediately and took a step backwards, fear rolling through me.
"How can I believe someone who constantly lies to me!" I shouted back, my words nothing in comparison to the whistling of the wind. "Parts of your story still don't add up. If Isaac was a werewolf, why did this own kind attack him and practically tear him to pieces in front of my eyes? I was the one who helped him heal. I was the one who drove him, bleeding and dying in the passenger side of my car. I was the one who knew him, and now I don't even think I know either of you."
"Think about it Renee." Breathed Aaron, clearly trying to contain his anger. "Did Isaac let you take him to hospital?"
I opened my mouth to retaliate then paused. The truth was Isaac refused to let me take him to hospital because he claimed they would identify him as supernatural. But it wasn't the supernatural creature Aaron was referring to.
"No he didn't." I said in response, causing Aaron to let out a ragged sigh.
"Because if they did any form of blood test he wouldn't be deemed a human. He has the DNA of a dog; they would immediately discover who he truly was." His eyes were darkening the way the forest was beginning to grow shadows. "He is the murderer, just admit it."
I closed my eyes and forced my racing heart to stagger to a slower pace. I couldn't think straight, especially with Aaron gazing at me like I was a wave he had conquered. Like he had gradually paddled into my mind and now he was riding the wave that crushed my thoughts.
They are the ones killing the children and they are among us. You yourself live with them but yet you are oblivious.
I stifled a gasp and instead lowered my gaze to stare at my feet.
"He had no car when we left the warehouse." I said softly, my mind working. "Was it because he was already in the woods?"
Aaron made a disgruntle noise. "No, he would've been in wolf form."
I felt my frown deeper, feeling tiny individual snowflakes brush the nape of my neck.
It would have been for the best if he bled out in the woods Renee.
I squeezed my eyes shut, ignoring the sound of Aarons breath and the feel of his gaze on me. I knew he was waiting for me to say something, anything, but there was nothing left to say.
He led you to a body, alone in the night. How could he have known that was there?
I felt bile gather in the back of my throat. My thoughts flickered back to my regathered memories. I still remembered the way Isaacs lips had parted against mine, his breaths mingling with my own as he held me. I still remembered the way his fingers clutched my body, the way his calloused palm brushed my cheek and the way his eyes searched mine. I remembered the look in his eyes as he saw the bullet. The amount of horror in his irises and the expression of fear across his face. I remember his shaky arms as he worked at my chest, my own blood splatted across his nose.
I just wish he chose to target anyone else but her.
I remembered the way he shifted, the sound of his bones cracking and fusing together as his white coat disappeared. I remembered the way he had leapt in his wolf form in front of another wolf, his canines sinking into their jugular.
You need to stay away from me.
But then I remembered the flash of Miss Andersons throwing dagger, its bone hilt clutched in her slender fingers as she released it from her grip, the blade sinking into a nearby wolf.
I felt my eyes fly open, just in time to see Aaron raise his eyes to meet mine. He looked so innocent standing there, his green eyes softened with false pity, his lips tilted down. His fringe blew in the breeze, brushing against his eyelashes as he stared at me. He was beautiful, with his full lips and defined jawline. His ebony irises and soft, hidden freckles. But he was also something else.
"You're a liar." I spat, taking a step away from him. He blinked, his eyes narrowing but I didn't let him speak. "That dagger that was stained with Francesca's blood wasn't Isaacs. It was Miss Andersons."
Aaron said nothing, although his face paled drastically, as if he instantly regretted helping me find my memories.
"Isaac didn't slaughter Francesca, Miss Anderson did. I remember her using those throwing knives to kill the wolves." My heart skipped a beat as realisation kicked in. "Miss Anderson wasn't killing wolves; she was killing the missing children."
Aaron shuffled in his spot, his gaze dark. "Isaac is the killer Renee." He said carefully, his voice low.
"No." I answered back, taking away step away. "Isaac didn't throw the dagger to set himself up, he did it to prove Miss Anderson wasn't innocent. He knew there was no way of proving her guilty without having to sacrifice himself. He knew they would do a blood and fingerprint test. He knew they would undercover it was Miss Anderson. He knew all along what to do, he just had to ensure everyone was there to witness it." I took in a shaky breath, attempting to understand the shadow that passed across Aarons face. "What else are you hiding from me?"
"Renee you have it all wrong-" He took a step forward, something metallic in his pocket glinting in the moonlight. I froze as soon as I registered what it was.
"Where did you get that?" I asked, eyeing off the hidden gun that lay in his back pocket. He had done a careless job trying to hide it, its barrel pointing upwards directly into the sky. I took a step backwards as he turned to glance down at what I was staring at. Something shifted in his gaze, like a cloud was lifted from his face and now all of his secrets were out. He turned back to me, his cheeks flushed. "Renee, you don't understand-"
"I think I do." I lashed, taking another step backwards. "Who are you trying to protect? What are you hiding? What lies have you just told me?"
He only clenched his jaw, his veins throbbing up his neck as he watched me. I knew he was coming up with any lie he could muster in the short period of time.
"Forget it." I finally said, breaking the silence between us. I turned away from his desperate gaze to stride away from his broken smile. I knew he carried a lethal weapon but I also hoped he wouldn't raise the barrel at me. I hoped he wasn't the person I was beginning to think he was.
"Do you want to know why Francesca's blood was on the dagger?"
I paused in my tracks but didn't turn to face him. He seemed to take my hesitation as a yes because he continued.
"Because it was the very dagger that Miss Anderson used to pierce the heart of the shewolf."
I whirled at this, feeling my bones fuse together with fear. "Francesca was a werewolf?"
I stared at Aaron in horror as a smile began to stretch at his lips. He began to look sinister, his eyes darkening with shadows and his irises blazed with sudden excitement. It was like he knew he had trapped me, and I was nothing but a butterfly clutched in between his fingertips, ready to be crushed at any minute.
"You didn't actually believe every child that went missing was killed?" He asked, cocking his head. He reminded me of Isaac when he had pretended to be the murderer, only now Aarons expression wasn't a façade, and his fingers were brushing the tip of his gun.
"The wolves were all the missing children?" I echoed, feeling the heat drain from my cheeks.
Aaron only rose an eyebrow. "It makes sense doesn't it?" He asked, taking a step forward. I took a step backwards, ensuring there was enough distance between us. "All those kids went missing at the brink of night only to be turned into vicious creatures that roamed the woods of Brookefield." He eyed me, his pupils narrowing. "But you know all about that don't you Renee?" He cooed softly, his smile twisting into a smirk. "You nursed the white wolf back to health when no one else would. You helped a murderer escape the death he deserved."
"Stop," I began but he only continued, striding towards me.
"If only Chelsea and Izzy knew their bestfriend was tearing apart the innocent and feasting upon the dead under the moonlight." He paused to search my eyes. "If only Ms Colton knew that her son died at the hands of Isaac, and his body was torn apart by Isaacs very claws."
"You're wrong." I spat, fear mixing with the sudden anger I felt. "Even if those children are werewolves, I don't see them roaming the streets like Isaac does. I don't see them attending school or shopping down at the local fruit market."
But Aaron only chuckled in his response, the sound deep and throaty. I used to love the sound of his laugh but now it was corrupted with manic. "Maybe it was because they were under orders not to. Have you ever wondered who the Alpha was of their pack?"
"You said the leader was Isaac." I hissed in response.
"So doesn't it make sense that he is the only one who can live among tunids when they, themselves can't?" He pressed his lips together in a toothless grin. "Doesn't it make sense that he stripped them off the privilege of being human again?"
I continued to shake my head, however Aarons smile never faulted. He was confident in the way he strode forwards, his posture one of causality despite the situation. His eyes were blazing with sudden excitement, clearly joyous about my evident fear.
"Stop Aaron." I said shakily, taking the same amount of steps backwards that he was taking forwards. "Stop trying to scare me."
He chuckled again, the sound like a rumble that erupted from his chest. "I am only speaking the truth you were so desperate to hear."
"This isn't the truth." I said back angrily. "You're giving me parts of the truth, but still manage to lie straight to my face."
He cocked his head, pausing with one-foot hovering towards a step. "Why would I lie?"
I eyed him knowingly, taking in his innocent look. But I knew he wasn't innocent. I had seen him pull a trigger to the heart of something living. I had seen him turn away from the dying only to ignore them crying for help. I had seen him lie to the court for the sake of seeing Isaac behind bars. I had seen dark parts of Aaron that no one else had, and now it was starting to seep back in great shadows.
"The accusers always have something to hide. A lie for a lie. Falsehood for falsehood. You've given me so much information about Isaac, but none about you." I hissed steadily, ensuring my voice didn't rise in fear. I wanted him to think I wasn't afraid. Although I knew a gun lay in his pocket, hopefully the wolves would come and disrupt us before then. "So tell me why you carry a gun."
Aaron arched an eyebrow. "The Forsaken dwell in the woods. They are probably hunting our scent right now, why wouldn't I carry a gun?"
I glanced at the gun in his pocket, seeing a flash of my own reflection. I then looked back at him. He looked seemingly human enough, with his hands clenched by his side, his fingers brushing his jeans. There was a tiny stain on his white T-shirt, probably from some form of coffee. His muscles outlined the texture of the shirt, sitting in an admirable position in a way that carved his stomach perfectly. His arms were flushed slightly from the cold, but no goosebumps lined his skin. I finally reached his face. He was watching me carefully, his eyes levelling with mine. His smile had slipped from his lips and he looked thoughtful, his eyebrows drawing into an expression of concentration. I could only just make out the scar across his cheek from the ruler Isaac had snapped across his face. The scar was like a memory of the past. It had faded, but it was always there. Always ready to haunt those who sought it. I used to think of his eyes as a great sea, foaming with the deep ebony of seaweed but now they were great storms. They were darker than they ever had been before. As dark as the night around us, as if the ocean had been dipped in black paint only to dry into a carving of marble.
"Who are you?" I breathed, my words fogging into condensation from my parted lips only to be whipped away in the wind. His fringe covered his eyes as he watched me but he ignored it. He didn't reply, his lips pressing together. There was no change of expression or any indicator that he had heard me. He only watched me, his eyes unmoving against mine.
Finally, he took a step closer, filling the distance I had tried to put between us. I stiffened but forced myself to continue to watch him, weary against his closeness.
He ever so softly lifted up a hand, just enough so this knuckles brushed my cheek. Heat burst against his touch but it wasn't as much heat that was given off his body. He blinked against my gaze and whispered softly,
"Not who you think I am."