"This will just be a few minutes." Yanneek slowed the jeep to a halt as he spoke, and I watched as he stepped out of the vehicle, a hand searching through a pocket of his pants.

Twisting around in my seat allowed me to see that several other jeeps, with warriors of the Wildeland Pack, had joined us. Grimacing, I too got out of the vehicle, legs uncomfortably stiff from not moving for so long.

I walked a few feet away from the gas pumps, absent-mindedly listening to the voices of those who had recently joined us and came to a stop at a shop nearby, which windows were partially barred; the shop was evidently long abandoned.

The shelves that I managed to see were completely bared, and a few empty wrappers laid on the dusty floor. An old, strange smell grew when I pressed closer to the window, to take a further look inside, and I immediately staggered back at the scent when it hit me.

"Are you alright?"

Elijah's voice reached my ears and I turned to face him. A hint of a smile was on his lips, and dark eyes watched me steadily as I gave a half-hearted nod.

"There is some food that was prepared in case you were hungry," Elijah told me, and it was then that I noticed the duffle bag in his hand. He gestured that I take it, which I reluctantly did. A wrapped sandwich was revealed to me, as well as a bottle of water.

"Hannes and I were made aware of you in that prison by Alec last night," Elijah said, retrieving the now empty bag from me. "We figured that you both did not have anything to eat throughout that time and this morning."

I nodded, the weight of the sandwich heavy in my hand. "Thank you."

Elijah's face momentarily shuttered at my words, as if displeased, but he managed a small smile. "Of course."

He shifted on his feet, and his boots scraped against the pebbled ground.

"A word of advice, Olivia."

My body immediately stiffened, and I looked expectantly up at him. Any hint of playfulness had vanished and although I sensed he had no ill-will towards me, my stomach nonetheless began to twist.

"If you choose to leave the pack again, tell someone. No one has any intentions of stopping you, but you could very well find yourself in a much worse situation than you had been in previously," Elijah's eyes narrowed as my own did when he spoke, and the sounds of engines starting richocted behind us, but he did not look away, not just yet. "Do not be as naive as you were before."

Coldness settled in my chest. "Naive?" I whispered, head tilting.

"You left the pack with people you barely knew." Elijah responded with equal quietude and building anger like my voice held.

"And I was in a pack with lycans I know little of." I hissed, taking a step closer to the Beta, but he held up a hand.

"I have no intentions of arguing with you," Elijah said, nose flaring. "But take heed to my words, Olivia."

I watched him walk away, striding confidently towards a jeep, one which Lilith sat in as well. He opened the back door, and I barely saw a glimpse of a sleeping Alec inside, before it closed again.

"Olivia!" Yanneek called my name and my eyes followed his movements as he circled his vehicle and entered the driver's seat. My body rocked as uncertainty grew, and I could feel my fingers becoming cold, not because of the weather, but because of stress.

Had I been naive?

I had desperately hoped that I would find some form of a haven, and that place was what I had initially thought to be the Corozal community. I had so easily put my trust in a place and in people which I now know I should have never had; there was absolutely no chance that I would have known before I left the Wildland pack of what I know now about Corozal.

I had been told by Helda that the people in the community were helping humans flee from towns under the rigid control of lycans, and although this was only slightly true, the army had also killed many innocent lycans and it bothered me deeply that I had once trusted the Corozal people. People, who had turned out to be so odious.

Once again, I had allowed my trust to be in another, and devastating results had almost arisen about because of it. I could have been killed after saving Alec.

Trust has to be earned, but I had been so desperate for a place of comfort.

Never again….

My hands lifted to rub at my face, nails scraping against my cheeks painfully until I exhaled softly, hearing Yanneek yell my name once more.

Dropping my hands away, I slowly walked to his jeep, not meeting his eyes as I slid inside.

The sandwich rolled to the empty space beside me, as did the bottle of water.

"You are trembling," Yanneek muttered, and I said little when he drew a coat over my body. My head pressed against the window, eyes drifting shut every now and then as I listened to the purring of the engine and silently pleaded for the confusing, turmoil of emotions racing through my mind to just stop.

*********

"Where is she?"

A woman's voice, at first muffled, reached my ears, and I peeled open my eyes, seeing the familiar houses of the Wildeland pack. I straightened, urging myself quietly to fight away the sleep.

At first, this was difficult, but then the wind flew through the jeep when the door was opened, and I met a familiar pair of eyes and I became a bit more awake.

Willow, one of the guards who had been with me throughout the first couple days of me being in Hannes' house, stood outside, hands on hips and a hint of disappointment on her face as she surveyed me.

I could not help but think that in that moment she resembled a mother who was disappointed in her child's actions.

"And look, she hasn't eaten." Willow muttered to herself, scowl deepening as she waved a hand behind me, where I knew the sandwich laid. The male guard, Jeremiah, stood behind her, watching with almost a languid expression.

She looked back to me, murky green eyes gleaming as she reached an arm outward. It took my sleepy mind several seconds before I realized that she wanted me to take her hand, and even then, I hesitated.

Her brown and loosely curly hair lifted in the wind as she eventually whipped around, leaving Jeremiah with me instead.

Jeremiah and I stared at each other for a moment, but then I gathered the products Elijah had given me and stepped out of the jeep. Jeremiah's hand steadied me when I stumbled when my feet hit the snow, and I quietly gave him my thanks as Willow looked on.

"I told you not to do something which could bring you harm." She murmured, not giving me a chance to protest as she gently took my arm and began leading me to Hannes' home.

Lycans were near, and they blatantly watched us, following our movements with their eyes.

My skin prickled with awareness as they abruptly started taking several steps towards us, but halted when I eventually lifted my head to stare and examine them properly; shirtless males stood by, simply observing, and the females adorned tight, thin shirts that made me wonder how they remained warm, and the imprint of their nipples and breasts were obvious. The edges of their long, black skirts drifted over the snow as their eyes danced between Jeremiah, Willow and then myself.

"Why do they stare?" I asked Jeremiah when we entered the house. He said nothing at first, but took the coat Yanneek had given me off of me, and placed it on the coat rack by the door, which I thanked him for, especially since holding the water and the sandwich made it difficult for me to take off the coat myself.

"They are aware of you murdering Anabelle, and are curious of how you, a small human, could have been capable of doing such a thing." Jeremiah paused, back still facing me and a hand still rested on the collar of the coat despite it already being situated securely on the rack. "They also know you are Hannes' mate."

Silence fell at his words, and I watched as Willow exchanged a long, distasteful look towards her partner before facing me. "The Alpha wanted to tell you of him announcing this to the pack himself," She muttered dryly. "But the cat's out of the bag, I suppose."

I watched as she slipped off her gloves and stuffed them in a pocket.

"What you did could have ended with your death," Willow said, straightening after another round of silence in which I simply had stood and gazed at both of the lycans in expectancy, whilst trying to hide my surprise at Hannes declaring me to be his mate.

I lifted my head at Willow's words.

"However, Anabelle was ill, and not as strong as she once was. Nonetheless, you being able to kill her was unexpected."

I felt a twinge in my neck and stomach. "She had injured me horribly," I admitted. "Lots of blood was lost."

Willow snorted softly. "Indeed, lots of blood was lost."

"How does Hannes feel about his aunt's death?" I blurted the question out before I willed myself not to and I saw the rapid emotions that went across the lycans' faces until Jeremiah chose to speak.

"The Alpha did not speak much of it. A funeral was held days afterwards, and he was seen very little throughout the next days afterwards."

Nothing more was said, especially after Willow gave what she must have thought to be a subtle look of warning to Jeremiah. I took off my shoes as they spoke quietly amongst themselves, and they only stopped to join me when I began to ascend the stairs.

"The bedroom is warm, and the fireplace is burning." Willow told me seconds before I reached my door. And it was. Pleasant shivers crept up my body.

I immediately walked to the fireplace, simply standing before it until the cold which had seemed to have wrapped around me after leaving the gas station disappeared.

"The Alpha should be returning this evening. In the meantime, if there is something that you desire, please ask myself or Jeremiah for it," Willow spoke, making my head turn towards her.

She visibly hesitated, and her fingers wrapped around the handle of the door as she backed away. "The Elders will be requesting your presence, and the Alpha and yourself will need to meet them."

I frowned. Elders were highly respected lycans in packs, and their words were viewed by pack members to be almost as valuable and cherished as much as the Alphas'.

"Why do they want to speak with me?" I questioned.

Willow's fingers tensed around the handle, and she released a long, slow sigh. "They intend to question your reasons about why you killed Anabelle, and if you were just in doing so,"

Willow's eyes ran over me, and she sighed again, albeit softer than previously. "Hannes' mother is one of the elders, and she too seeks to hear your explanation for you murdering her sister."