Hi everyone! This chapter may be a bit unedited, but I'll try to edit anything later. Hope you enjoy the chapter. 💕

"Elijah."

My Beta's head turned at my voice, the folder in his hands lowering as he gave me his full attention whilst I stepped into his home office. The scent of peppermint was heavy in the air, and became even stronger when I approached his desk, surveying the mess on it.

Various opened folders and documents could be seen, and I eyed the three bowls filled with various mints resting amongst them. A smile twitched my lips as I glanced at Elijah, reminded once again of his extreme delight for mints, something which he worryingly enjoyed since we were children.

"Good morning." Elijah greeted me and placed the folder onto the desk, circling it to get a coffee pot and lift it in question. I raised a hand, declining, my attention becoming focused on the folder he once held.

"What is this about?" I asked, sliding it closer to me so I could see it properly. Several curses erupted from Elijah as documents fell to the wooden floor at my action, and I offered an apology as I skimmed the words of the files inside the folder. I could feel a niggling of annoyance once I saw that it pertained to Corozal.

"It's the information you requested." Elijah muttered, gathering his documents and beginning to clean up his desk, making sounds of displeasure as he did so. I nodded absently, thumbing through the files in the folder as I lowered my body on to his armchair behind the desk, hastily flipping through the files until I saw what I wanted.

I tuned out the noises from Elijah as I read reports on the few persons who had managed to leave the community a year ago; their description of life in Corozal had been apparently very stressful.

Many of the commanders had pushed for extreme submission towards them, and propaganda about all lycans needing to be slaughtered and being evil in nature was at first subtle, but then mounted significantly when the commanders were of the opinion that trust and obedience towards them had been gained. The propaganda then strengthened, and words of the heinous actions of lycans were spoken of daily.

The humans who had written the reports disagreed with some of what was stated, claiming that some of the information about lycans had been blatant lies.

My mind drifted to Olivia and I recalled the disgust and sadness she'd revealed on her expression when I'd brought up the topic of what the people of Corozal had done to those in the Woodsworth pack. Evidently, she'd been of the opinion that the lycans shouldn't have been killed, and knew that the Corozal army had been wrong.

Her wariness towards all lycans still remained however.

And that was something I partially understood. The last time she'd trusted a lycan, it had ended in the deaths of her parents. And based on the horrific statements she'd made inside the cave, and what I'd seen on her body whilst bathing her after she was brought to my pack, she had endured extremely harsh treatments by Kanes, and possibly other lycans.

Her reluctance to trust lycans was high, but I knew that somewhere in her mind, that she was aware that lycans were not all like those in the Klawmoon pack. Nonetheless, her fear towards us was still clear.

My stomach tightened, and my fingers curled cruelly against the papers at the memories of the bruises I'd seen on her body, especially the ones on her back. My anger grew, and it soon could be smelt in the air, startling Elijah who had begun to finally finish up his cleaning.

"You owe me some mints," Elijah said, wisely deciding not to ask me about the reason for my anger, for speaking about it would only increase it tenfold. I inhaled slowly, urging myself to calm down as I rested the folder on his now mostly clean desk and arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I remember you stating that you'd purchase a packet of mints for me if I managed to provide your information this morning." He thrusted a chin towards the folder. "And voilà. There they are."

"You have three bowls of mints already, Elijah."

His upper lip curled and he flickered a quick glance towards them. "And I'll be having four bowls of them with the set you're going to give me."

I stood, and Elijah's outstretched hand wavered slightly as I towered over him. His determination still shone in his eyes, and a shimmer of glee entered them as he saw me withdraw what he wanted and toss them to him.

He caught it swiftly, muttering about how he'd have to hide it from Helmitch.

Helmitch would often visit the home unannounced and would ask Elijah about specific files or documents pertaining to the pack. He'd also been present with Elijah when they'd found Olivia. Oftentimes I thought of Helmitch being somewhat of an uncle figure for Elijah.

"Before you leave," Elijah spoke, his voice a bit unclear since he'd unwrapped a mint and slipped it into his mouth. "That friend of Olivia's should be arriving here very soon and I've told Willow to speak to Olivia about this. I'll need to question the girl though, just to ensure that she truly does not want to associate with Corozal."

I nodded. My thoughts went to that community that I traveled to with the pack warriors and Quinn. By the time I'd arrived, most of the people there had left; some of the soldiers had not been killed, and had a headstart to Corozal because Quinn had initially refused to give away its location.

A warehouse had traces that many machinery and weapons had been inside, and what little was left there was taken by the warriors. The whereabouts of the Corozal people was currently unknown, but most packs were establishing more strategies if a dangerous situation arose and the Corozal army attempted to attack.

"I shall see you soon." I told Elijah, and he gave a grunt as his attention became drawn to his bowls as he began searching for a particular mint.

My mother stood outside of the house, arms clasped behind her back as she watched me leave it, the gleam of happiness in her eyes something which both amused and surprised me. She'd been elated ever since I'd told her I'd found my mate.

"Let us sit." Mother suggested as we both walked to a partially snow covered bench, and with a quick swipe of my hand, I'd pushed the snow off so that she and I could both sit.

"Mmm." Mother sighed in pleasure, eyes becoming lidded as she sunk into the bench. "So cold."

A bright red book was held in her hands, and her nails would stroke up and down the cover as we sat in silence, marks being left from her nails slicing through it.

"This belonged to Anabelle." My mother eventually spoke, lifting the book in the air before lowering it. Roughly, she flipped through the pages. "It was her diary, and after searching through it for a bit, I managed to find her notes on what had happened to Olivia's parents."

My eyes narrowed, and my jaw clenched. I was still so shocked that my aunt had allowed innocent humans to be killed, because she and most in this pack had seemingly been strongly against any ill-treatment regarding humans.

As I listened to my mother speak of what she'd seen in Anabelle's diary however, it became clear that Anabelle had never shared the same sentiment that most did in this pack regarding humans.

Kanes Lockland had apparently also been a close friend of hers as well. She had asked that some of his pack members and himself be the ones to murder Olivia's parents, and imprison Olivia, solely because they had been a part of a protest that was vehemently against lycans' cruelty.

Furthermore, what was revealed in Anabelle's diary, was that she was one of many who disliked any protests or signs of defiance from humans, but it still disgusted and floored me that she'd allow Olivia's parents to be killed.

"So what will you do now?"

I straightened, glancing at my mother as I digested this information as I growled. "What do you mean?"

My mother straightened as well, tilting her head as a soft smile grew on her lips. "Olivia, darling. You'd told her that you didn't believe her."

"Because I hadn't." I said, the words heavy on my tongue. I had not believed her, but did regret saying this to her. I knew now that what I should have done was to investigate what had happened, and question Anabelle more critically before denouncing Olivia's words.

I still remember the look on Olivia's face when I'd said I didn't believe her, and grimaced at the shock and disbelief that I had been written on her face.

When my mother had spoken in the cave and had backed up Olivia's claims, the blood in my veins had run cold as I realized my mistake.

I'd expected anger being shown towards me by Olivia, but what I realized after the truth was revealed once again in that cave, and after I'd looked upon Olivia and felt her emotions, was that she had not been furious by me disbelieving her, but she was more so mildly irritated and exasperated, not only at me, but at the Elders, excluding my mother. Olivia had known she was right.

I rubbed my jaw as I looked at my mother. "I will speak with her about that." I grunted, just as engines sounded in the air, and tires moving over snow could be heard.

I stood at the sound of my house's door opening and closing, chest warming as I watched Olivia step outside. It seemed as if she had not noticed my mother or myself as yet and was instead simply watching the vehicles.

She took a few steps close to a particular vehicle when it stopped, but paused when the door opened.

I watched as the blue eyed woman, Helda, stepped out of the car, and I immediately noticed her exhaustion.

Worry flickered across Olivia's beautiful face, but she didn't move further, especially when some pack warriors began to guide Helda to a building, where she'd be questioned by Elijah.

"I'll talk with you later," My mother said, laughter in her voice as she took notice of my need to be by Olivia. I crossed the short distance, footsteps barely audible, but nonetheless Olivia knew somehow without looking that I stood close behind her.

"Hannes." She said, voice unsure and a bit curt. Her long sleeved oversized shirt hung off of her upper body, and my eyes were drawn to the way her tight jeans hugged her legs and butt.

How she looked now had been a stark contrast as to how she'd looked when she first came to the pack. She'd been extremely thin and underweight since she had evidently eaten very little whilst in the Klawmoon prison.

"Olivia." I said in greeting, clearing my throat when I realized that my voice had taken on a deep, lust-like tone because of me silently appraising her. Olivia noticed my voice as well, and she glanced behind me, eyebrows raised, but her attention turned back to the vehicles as they drove further into the pack.

Olivia continued to stand quietly, even after they went out of sight, and I stepped closer to her, breathing in her pleasant, sweet scent before asking,

"Have you eaten breakfast?" I asked.

Olivia shook her head, not facing me at first, but turned when I suggested that we go inside to eat. She was silent beside me, and seemed to be consumed in her thoughts as we walked.

Worry tickled the back of my mind, and I wondered if her silence was because of what had kept her up last night, or because of the appearance of Helda.

Could it be because of me?

One of the cooks and a good friend of mine, Stewart, held the dinning doors open for us, excitement painted across his expression as he watched us look at the food he'd prepared. The variety seemed to surprise Olivia, which somewhat dampened his mood, but it quickly arose once more when she thanked him quietly, but sincerely.

I glanced towards an overhead clock whilst sitting after thanking Stewart as well, knowing that I had a meeting to attend very soon, but I wanted to eat and converse, well, try to, with my mate first.

Olivia forked up some waffles, eyeing it in almost disbelief, but then looked to the scrambled eggs resting on a plate as well, before slowly looking between them in contemplation. The action was almost amusing as I saw the concentrated way she did this, and when I spoke, she slowly tensed.

"They both taste excellent."

Olivia glanced down to my untouched food. "You didn't eat any." She pointed out. I smiled, hand moving to grasp my fork as I said,

"Stewart would at times cook breakfasts for me as a child. His food had always been delicious."

Olivia's dark eyes briefly went to the door which Stewart had disappeared through. "Hmm."

She and I began eating, and I waited until she was nearly finished before asking,

"So what was it that kept you up last night?"

Olivia's fork which had been raised to her mouth trembled, and a flurry of emotions passed in her eyes as she hesitated to answer. When the silence stretched, it soon became clear that she was not comfortable speaking of it, and I swiftly changed the subject instead.

"Olivia, do you recall the argument we had the day before you left?"

Olivia blinked, seemingly at first confused by the direction I was taking the conversation, and she watched me carefully.

"Yes." She finally said, her voice giving away little of what she was thinking.

I watched her for a second longer, just in case she wanted to say anything else, but it soon became clear that she didn't intend to, and just watched me blankly.

I pushed aside my empty plate, and settled my hands upon the edge of the table as I eventually said, "I should have questioned my aunt more before I told you what I did. I apologize if I hurt you-"

"You didn't." Olivia's eyes trailed behind me, and without turning around, I knew she was looking at the empty space on a cabinet which once held a photo of Anabelle. It was gone now. "You didn't hurt me. I'd hoped that you would have believed me, but I was still a bit prepared that you possibly would have doubted my words."

Olivia lifted a glass of water beside her plate, taking languid sips of it, finally meeting my eyes once more, the confidence shining in her gaze surprising me. She finally lowered the glass, and I narrowed my eyes in interest as she went on,

"Indeed, you should have asked Anabelle more questions, and if she still didn't say what I did, the Elders and yourself would have proceeded to do the investigation like they said they would have." Olivia sighed, resting back into her chair and eyeing me when I spoke,

"Nonetheless, I still believe I should have waited until I gathered more information before speaking with you about whether or not your parents deserved their deaths. I apologize."

Olivia's dark eyes roamed my face, but she gave a short nod in acceptance as she returned back to her breakfast.

My cell phone vibrated in my pants as I stood, the sound Olivia easily picked up, and she looked at me when I allowed it to continuously vibrate as I said, keeping my voice gentle, "If you ever want to speak of what bothered you last night, feel free to come find me."

I didn't answer the call until Olivia's quiet words slipped from her mouth, her voice so soft that even I, a lycan, struggled to hear what she said as she lowered her gaze to her breakfast,

"I'll keep that in mind."