We'd walked in silence, the cold night air whipping around our faces, making my breathing come out as icy puffs. All around us, woodland enveloped the land and met the dark sky halfway, making us completely and utterly alone.

Aiden didn't look in the least cold and was busily typing into his phone, ignoring me.

"Where are we going now?"

He frowned, looking upwards at the opening to the woods in front of us. "In there."

"T- there? I don't think that's wise Aiden."

He stopped in his tracks, an amused smile playing on the corners of his lips. "I'm a werewolf April. I'm pretty sure we're safe," he said raising a dark eyebrow at me. "And anyway, I know these woods like the back of my hand – we're safe." He promised, hesitating slightly. I frowned at him as his hand twitched by his hand and he finally sighed, offering his hand to me.

I eyed it cautiously, looking from his hand, to the woods and then back to his face. Relenting, I let out an sigh and took his hand. To my credit, the sensation of fidgety awkwardness didn't hit me as I had expected.

He pulled me along and I had to jog to keep up with him, my stomach fluttering. I struggled to keep myself from shaking – I'd always had a fear of the dark. I hated not knowing what was lurking in the shadows, watching you – Aiden on the other hand, seemed fine with the whole situation.

"Ar – are you sure, this is safe Aiden?" I asked again, sensing the panic sliding up my throat.

"Look, you will be fine April. I promised you, didn't I?" He smirked, watching me closely. "I didn't know you were scared of the woods, how ironic considering I'm a... well, you know, a werewolf."

I glared. "I'm not scared of the woods. I just... I don't like the thought of going into a dark area, at night, with a freaking-psychotic werewolf – I don't know what to expect and that scares me," I admitted sheepishly.

"Huh," he mused, his smile giving way to a frown. "Well, too bad because the deep dark woods is exactly where we're going." Muttering at him to shut up, I sulked alongside him once again, swallowing my apprehension.

A jacket was thrust into my hands and I glanced up in confusion. Aiden wasn't looking to me, but his jaw had slackened. "Take the jacket – I can hear your teeth chattering from a mile away and it's kind of distracting," he explained. His voice had no tone, nor did he give away any sign of genuine concern.

"I don't need it. But thank you." I replied, keeping my tone polite. The sound of his tongue clicking against his teeth made me look to him.

"April, it's not daytime anymore. The night's only going to get colder, and I can't control the weather, so either take the jacket or freeze. I'd rather you took it." He added pointedly.

We stared each other down stubbornly, before I cursed myself for my foolishness at forgoing the need for a jacket and took it apprehensively, muttering a thank you. Shivering slightly after inhaling the familiar scent, still warm from Aiden's body, I gave him a shy smile of appreciation, pausing for only a split second, before taking my heart in my hand and following him.

********

After a long hour of tripping, stumbling and cursing through the woods, Aiden finally announced that we had arrived. I grimaced and touched my forehead - I'd walked bang into a tree, and I'm pretty sure an ugly bruise was forming. Aiden didn't seem to have any problem going through the woods – he was silent and light on his feet. Then again, he did say that he knew these woods like the back of his hand.

Night had fallen completely now, and the only light in the woods were the thin strips that lay undisturbed on the floor. Branches of trees reached out above us, shutting out any other source of sky. As soon as we reached a tiny clearing, I gratefully followed Aiden out of it.

Aiden slumped onto the ground, lying on his back, one arm covering his face. His features relaxed slightly and his face seemed to soften, making him look years younger. I realized I was staring and quickly looked away a few moments later. Then, my mouth falling open slightly at the scene before me. The field was draped by a star-speckled sky, the clouds glowing purple as the moon hung low and pale. I noticed he was now propped up on his elbows, looking upwards in awe. His head snapped towards me as though realizing I was there and he grinned pointedly.

I looked up too and the breath was knocked out me.

Stars dotted the sky. Thousands, millions, billions of them, winking at me, teasing me. The world had lit up and it was breath-taking. Literally. This was the first time I'd even seen so many stars at any one time and it was amazing.

I smiled and leaned back on my elbows, examining each of the stars carefully, afraid they would run away. I bit my lip, wandering how many stars I could count. Then, I furrowed my eyebrows as I started the count.

I don't know why I'd taken her here. It was a mistake – I let myself feel sympathy and look what happened – I took her to the one place I go when I want to escape. I blocked out my thoughts and sat myself down on the grass, looking up at the night sky that had intrigued me since I was a child. My mom had shown me this – taught me all of the names of the constellations and we'd sit here for hours talking and admiring.

I still remember her voice; still feel her hair tickling me as she hugged me, her soft voice as she'd put me to sleep. I remember everything about her as though it were yesterday – it haunts me. The guilt I wore wasn't an act or a mask. It was real. If anyone got close to me I'd ruin them. I'd drain them of all happiness and then they'd leave me, just like she did. But that was gone now. She was gone. Because of me.

I sighed angrily and clenched my fists to stop myself from shaking. I looked over to April and couldn't help the smile curving the side of my mouth at her expression. She looked absolutely awe-stuck. It was kind of amusing how amazed she looked. Her eyes were crinkled as she smiled – not what people would describe as the perfect smile, but I thought it was pretty cute.

Her head whipped around to me sensing my eyes and I dropped my eyes quickly, struggling to look natural as though I hadn't just been staring like a creep.

"Aiden?"

"Hmm."

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked hesitantly, her eyes scanned my face observantly.

"Why were you so upset in the party? I saw you earlier on - you looked like you were going to cry." I replied, trying to change the subject. My eyes traveled across to her face as she scrambled for an answer, her frown deepening.

Her mouth dropped. "I was never upset," she managed to splutter. "And anyway, I asked you a question first."

"Because. That's my answer. Now you answer mine." I replied stubbornly.

"That's not an answer!" She complained. "And anyway, it doesn't matter what happened."

"April..."

"It was... Noah." She replied quickly, the words spilling out of her mouth quicker than she could control them.

I sat up straighter now. "What?"

She hesitated. "He – he just said that Kayla's hates us and that she'll never come back to us... He also mentioned something about a feud with you." She said, her face remaining passive.

I chewed my lip, debating what to say. There was no way in hell I could tell her I killed one of theirs – but only because they attacked me first, with every intention of wanting to kill me - he nearly did had I not been alert. Snapping that wolf's neck was as easy as snapping a twig and the satisfaction I got from that one kill, made my stomach knot in uneasiness. If she found out I killed Noah's older brother, she would hate me, and I couldn't let that happen.

"Me and Noah... we've had a.... fight. It's nothing for you to be concerned about." I kept my voice level, clenching my jaw in anger.

She threw her hands up. "Fine! But what about Kayla? She's being dragged into the middle of this and it's not fair."

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "We can't help Kayla now – I'm not fucking Hercules, that I can go and save damsels in distress." I raged.

Her expression hardened she turned from me, her lip nearly bleeding from where she had chewed on it in. Her lips had turned purple from the cold and she licked them moistening them – I looked away quickly, cursing myself. Usually, this was the part where the girl would slap me for being rude, but April on the other hand would probably just seethe in silence.

"Fine. I'll sort it out myself."

"Don't even think about it," I warned, the hint of a threat creeping into my voice. If she got hurt... I brushed away my thoughts quickly and muttered an insult at her stubbornness.

She isn't going to go after Kayla – not with Noah fucking douche bag in the picture.

My mind ached with frustration at Aiden's carelessness about Kayla. Kayla was my friend – I couldn't leave her like that. I know my best friend is lurking underneath that falsity. I cleared my throat, a thought wandering across my mind like a lone in the middle of an snow storm.

I hesitated, unsure of how to word this. "Aiden?"

"What?"

I swallowed hard before continuing. "I – I looked up some history on werewolves on the internet and I found out a lot, but I wanted to confirm it to make sure they weren't myths," I begun cautiously, nervous about his reaction.

He scoffed, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Typical. Run to the internet for answers."

"Shut up," I snapped. "Well... I remember that you said if you mark a human as your mate and they aren't actually your mate, they die." He nodded slowly, confirming it. "You said you weren't sure if we were mates – you marked me anyway. Does that mean..." I trailed off, frowning. Voicing my thoughts made the whole situation seem more ominous – more real.

He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "That you could have died," he finished, chewing his lower lip in embarrassment. The words took a few moments to dawn on me, and my expression filtered through everything I was feeling. Hurt, anger, pain, betrayal. I finally settled on one emotion and before I could stop myself, I slapped him on the side of his face.

He recoiled from the impact and pouted at me, holding his cheek. "Okay, maybe I deserved that." He admitted. I glared at him angrily, my frown deepening at the fact he had chosen to risk my life without my damn permission.

"Damn right you did." I replied, scrambling to my feet. "You're a dickhead, you know that? How dare you bite me, mark me, kidnap me knowing full well I could have died in all of those scenarios? I swear Aiden, if you wanted me dead so bad, you should have hired an assassin to do it." I snapped. "At they would have gotten the job done." And then, for extra measure, I slapped him round the other side of his face so his left cheek didn't feel left out.

He simply recoiled and then stared up at me from where he was sitting, bemused. That just made me angrier and I began storming away from him.

"April, you don't even know how to get out of here."

"Screw you," I spat, not turning around.

"You're walking the wrong way!"

"Shut up, Aiden! I know which way we came from."

"Do you?" I heard him laugh. I flipped him the bird.

Ah crap. I was going the wrong way I realized 2 minutes too late. Now I was going to have to do a U-turn and go back the way I came. But I didn't want to have to swallow my pride for that. Unless I just ignored him as I walked back? Flipped him the finger again? Threw my shoe at his head?

So I quickly turned around and began walking back the way I came. Thankfully, he said nothing but merely watched me, amused, as I stormed past him. "April, please come back. I won't try to kill you again, promise." The childishness in his voice made me snort a little. I felt something pull me back to him, a lonely figure on the grass.

Pausing, I turned to him. "You'll admit that you're a major fudging dickwad with attitude problems and an ego the size of Everest and you smell like garbage and have a tiny little -"

"Okay, I get it." He cut me off. Then he sighed, smiled slightly. "I am all those things and more." I felt satisfied at the look of defeat on his face and slowly sat down next to him. Leaning over, he whispered. "I am also a sex symbol, an Adonis incarnate, a beautiful excuse for a man, a-"

I cut him off, scowling.

"Wanna learn the constellations?" He finally said after moments of silence. I stared at him, surprised and nodded. He was willing to do something altruistic - for me. He was surprisingly good. He listed them off like a little kid at Christmas. I laughed with him, loving the small dimple that formed in his cheek when he smiled that crooked smile, highlighting every contour and sharp detail of his features, like a demon in the light.

"Who taught you these constellations?" I laughed softly.

This question caught him out and he stiffened.

"My mother."

We remained in a stony silence until I broke it again. "Aiden, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry," I tried, breaking off into a deathly silence.

"There's no point apologizing to me about bringing the topic up. She's dead – gone – off the face of the earth." He spat bitterly. "She deserved more," he finished softly.

"That... that's – that's horrible." I finished lamely. I didn't want to say I was sorry – I knew never to say that.

He scoffed. "At least you didn't say you were sorry – I hate that the most."

"I know." I said simply, drawing my knees up so I could lean on them, pulling the collar of Aiden's jacket closer to me, shutting my eyes and inhaling deeply.

"My dad was broken after my mother died. My mother had to break their bond to allow my dad to live after she was gone. Mates can break their bonds in the most extreme circumstances, but it shatters you, nearly kills you. My dad fell into depression. But Lisa came along and he recovered slowly. But, he still betrayed my mom by moving on with her." His tone became angry near the end.

So Antonio had moved on with Lisa and Aiden was pissed about that – but surely, his mother wouldn't want Aiden's dad to die of heartbreak after her, right? Surely, she would have wanted him to move on and live his life? How did Aiden's mom die? I didn't want to push Aiden past breaking point, so I remained silent, placing a reassuring arm on his shoulder and squeezing gently. Usually, I wouldn't know what to do in these situations or how to act, but this felt natural.

It felt right.

His expression softened slightly although his cold mask did not. "And in answer to your question, that constellation was Lupas – it means wolf in Greek." He said smiling tiredly at me, although the smile didn't reach his lips.

"What a coincidence," I joked at the reference to a wolf. "Is that why Professor Lupin in Harry Potter is called that? Because he's a werewolf?"

"Maybe, I don't know. But we're not that ugly when we turn into werewolves." He explained, his dark eyebrow raising at my interest. "Wait, I never apologized for nearly killing you did I?" He said, referring to the mark incident, a trace of wickedness creeping into his voice.

"No," I said uncertainly, tensing as I saw him scoot closer to me, his dark aura of danger rebounding off me.

"You know, you really need to stop letting your fears get in the way of you." He remarked, his eyes never once leaving me. "You need to lighten up and live a little."

"If you mean 'live' I hope you don't mean smoking and drinking." I shot back.

"No, I mean stop being so scared of everything – do what you want – not what other want. Live for yourself." He said again, leaning back on his elbows.

"Since when did you become a shrink?"

"I'm not! I'm just saying!" He shot back, raising his hands in surrender.

"Aiden... If it helps, I think you knowing all the stars and constellations off by heart is pretty cool – I mean you must have been out here a lot if you managed to learn them all," I said softly, slightly scared of his reaction at my reintroduction of this topic again.

He stiffened but relaxed once I'd finished. "Well, we did spend a lot of time out here – this is one of places I remember most from when I was young."

I paused, hesitating. "Why did you bring me here?" The thought had been eating away at me and I was both curious and nervous about his answer.

"I don't know," he admitted honestly.

"We should go – it's getting quite late." I commented, hoping he would want to leave now. Secretly, I wanted to stay and admire the stars all night, but my body was saying otherwise.

"You're not really a night person are you? I live at night," he grinned, eyes lighting up with untold stories.

I rolled my eyes and got ready to heave myself to my feet. Oh God, I hope I haven't got a cramp in my foot and end up having to walk like an old woman through the woods again. His hand stopped me, his touch almost hesitant and unsure. I looked up in surprise, my entire body frozen.

"April, can I apologize?" His voice was teasing and I froze as he leaned closer to me. His lips were so close to my ear, so close, his breath fanning across my neck, minty and cool.

"W- What are you doing?" I stuttered.

"Apologising." He murmured, looking upwards through his thick, dark lashes. The green in his eyes buzzed with amusement, the grey fading into his irises now. My breathing stopped momentarily.

His hand came up and brushed past my face, tucking a loose curl behind my ear. I couldn't move. His eyes were locked into my own.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into my ear, his lips touching my earlobe softly. I tried to say something, but no words formed in my mouth and my mind wasn't thinking straight.

His teasing lips traveled across to my cheek and he came close, too close to my lips for my liking, one of his hands touching the nape of my neck – the place I felt most vulnerable. He brushed his lips upon my left cheek in a kiss, leaving them lingering there for a moment too long.

My body was rigid but as soon as his lips made my contact with my cheek, my defenses fell away like layers of an old, wearing book. His cool minty breath vanished as well as the hand pulling me forward from my neck gently, and he leaned, back smiling.

"Gotcha," I heard him say in a soft, mocking tone.

I just had Aiden Knight kiss me. On the cheek, but it was a kiss none the less to me – oh gosh, is that how it feels to be kissed? It feels like heaven reincarnated on human features. My stomach knotted in embarrassment and I raised my hand in a daze, touching my cheek softly.

"April?" His deep, Spanish tainted voice sounded distant, almost muffled – it was the last thing I heard him say because I felt my eyes shutting and my body becoming numb as I fell into darkness, my hand still tracing his lips on my cheek.

And that must have been the single most embarrassing moment of my life, because I fainted, yes, actually fainted because Aiden Knight has kissed me on the cheek.