Anabelle's body was partially covered with snow when I saw her, and a simple glance showed that she was indeed dead, and had been for a while. Her skin was an oddly dark color, and her exposed arms and legs looked peculiar.

Declan, one of the Elders, crouched over her body, sharp orange eyes travelling over her face. A small suitcase was beside him on the snow, and he wore latex gloves that were currently prodding at Anabelle's lips. When it appeared as if he was finished examining her, Declan climbed to his feet.

Athena shifted beside me, and I could see some of the pack warriors behind us in the distance, watching on silently as their Alpha and Elder began conversing quietly amongst themselves. In Athena's hand was a torch, given to her by Elijah, and its flame danced in the corner of my eyes as I, feeling mildly satisfied, looked back towards Anabelle's dead body.

Tightening the coat which Hannes had given me before we'd left the home, I took Athena's torch and walked to stand beside Declan, boots sinking into deep snow repetitively. According to Athena, we were near the border of the Wildeland pack, and there were many trees which surrounded us for the most part, as usual. The males' heads turned as I shone the light from the flame above her body.

"Someone tried to force a potion into her mouth." Hannes revealed to me. Declan nodded in confirmation, and hauled the small suitcase up into his hand.

"I swabbed her mouth. We should know what sort of potion was made by late tomorrow."

My fingers around the torch tightened as I once again looked at Anabelle. Her expression was not one of relaxation and even dead, looked stiff and tensed. I felt my lips pull as I fought my reaction to seeing her corpse, and when I looked up again, it was to meet Hannes' eyes.

"What will you do to her body?" I asked.

Hannes' lips pressed tightly together and when he exhaled, breath vapor floated from his mouth and he glanced to his warriors.

"I'll have someone put her back into her grave." His voice was terse, and this time, I didn't fight my humourless smile as I hissed,

"Don't bother."

I allowed the torch to fall from my hand onto her body, and the flames began to rapidly eat away at her clothes. Declan startled backwards, emitting a low growl of surprise, but my gaze remained on the flames as I watched them swallow Anabelle's body, slowly engulfing it. I heard the murmurs of voices behind me, and the bitter smell of her flesh beginning to burn stung my nostrils.

I didn't realize how close I'd been to the flames until Hannes took my elbow, drawing me backwards. It had been then that I'd briefly looked at him, but he showed little of what he thought at my actions. However, his hand didn't drop away from my elbow, and he continued to hold it until I was certain that the flames would utterly destroy her body.

"I'll be going back to the house." I told Hannes, moving away from him. Athena sighed a sigh of exasperation and tiredness as I passed by, her eyebrows drawn together as she casted a disgruntled look towards her sister before turning to walk beside me.

"I suppose you are in no mood to continue to watch the movies?" Her voice was dry, sarcastic and playful. Her reaction was not at all what it would be after what I'd done, but I didn't question it.

"I could perhaps watch one." I told her. My breath hitched as I saw the crowd of warriors ahead, who soon parted to let us pass through. Gazes did not linger and polite nods were exchanged before their attention became fixed on the continued burning body once more.

As Athena and I made our way back to Hannes' home, I heard Elijah breaking the silence behind us that had fallen over the woods, giving barking instructions that they assist the warriors that were already carrying out their duties.

Helda was outside of her home when we neared Hannes' house. She rested on a bench, a thick shawl around her shoulders and eyes lowered to her folded arms resting on her stomach. My mind went to the suspicions the Elders had towards her or Yanneek creating the potion, and when she eventually lifted her head as we walked by, my smile felt forced and uncomfortable on my lips.

*********

"You're too slow." Willow grunted when I came to a halt, the heels of my shoes digging into snow. I dragged in lungfuls of air, nodding.

"I agree." I muttered, rubbing my forehead and swallowing repeatedly. "I've been told that before in Corozal."

Willow's lips thinned, and she circled me slowly, her footsteps barely audible. "You were limping slightly when you ran. Have you injured your leg?"

"No. It was just cramping."

A soft sound, which suspiciously sounded like a chuckle, came from Jeremiah who stood near the edge of the clearing. His eyes had usually been on what was around us more so than Willow and myself, and he had been quiet throughout Willow urging me to quicken my pace as I ran several laps around the clearing.

From what I'd been told, for today, Willow would simply be assessing my athleticity and endurance, or lack thereof. And that was what she'd been doing for the past hour and a half, guiding me through a variety of exercises and stepping back to watch me before dropping a few comments.

"You know of push-ups, do you not?" Willow asked suddenly. I nodded, uncurling and clenching my fingers when she asked that I do several. I looked down at the snow covered ground, regretting my decision not to wear gloves and crouched to the earth. I heard Willow walk away to speak to Jeremiah as I begun them, and frowned at her words,

"I want her to gain some muscle. All I see right now is a small, bland body."

My head lifted as I lowered my body whilst doing the exercises she asked of me, and I levelled her with a short glare. Her lips curled at the act and she continued watching as I panted through the push-ups. Coldness crept up my palms and fingers, and eventually I stopped, moving to rest on my knees. My fingers shook and I rubbed at them whilst I awaited further instructions.

"Alright." Willow nodded in satisfaction. "Come with me."

She gestured with her head, and I followed her to the middle of the clearing. Willow asked if I knew of things such as burpees, and when I sent her a puzzled look and shook my head, she immediately set out to show me. I was impressed by how swiftly and effortlessly she did them, and felt embarrassed when I attempted them as well, but listened intently to her instructions and prompts.

"What is that? Make sure your hands drop to the ground and underneath your shoulders after your feet touch down. Try to fully straighten your back when you go into that plank position. That's right. Now walk your feet back towards your hands and jump. Start over."

I did this for fifteen minutes, but not because it was the time which Willow had asked me to do them for. Instead, she'd told me to do them for as long as I could, and fifteen minutes was that. When I stopped, I laid on my stomach, ears burning and face hot.

I barely paid attention to the words Jeremiah and Willow spoke of, but stood eventually. My tongue travelled over my lower lip, as I gazed about me, catching my breath, but I choked on my spit when I saw Hannes nearby, standing beside an unfamiliar male lycan. I sighed quietly to myself as I realized that they'd probably been watching me struggle through the exercises.

"The Alpha mentioned that you were apparently trained by a man in Corozal," Willow said to me. "Could you explain what he taught you?"

I nodded, forcing my attention on Willow as I spoke to her of what I recalled Eric showing me. I grimaced internally whenever I mentioned his name, as memories of what he'd done to the Woodsworth pack would emerge as I did so.

Willow was nodding by the time my voice trailed off. "I see. So basic things." She muttered, before turning on her heels. "We're going to finish up here. Just take three more laps around the clearing and we'll be done for the day."

I nodded, rotating both of my ankles and glancing once more at Hannes and the lycan. Jeremiah had begun walking over to them, and I could hear their voices as a conversation developed. The male lycan looked to be older than myself, with extremely dark brown hair and glittering dark blue eyes. The dark uniform he wore was unfamiliar.

I focused back on my running, throat beginning to sting after completing the second lap and beginning my third. Willow looked on when I tried to slow, so I picked up my pace until I was completed.

After Willow tossed me a bottle of water, I leaned against one of the trees, eyes closing as I enjoyed the taste and feeling of the water sliding down my throat, rapidly quenching my thirst. I could hear Willow moving around beside me, and when I opened my eyes, she was kneeling beside a duffle bag, and in her hands was a worn paper. I could see some scribbled words on it, and was able to understand that it had to do with things regarding training.

Deep voices raised and Willow and I both lifted our heads to the males standing nearby. My eyes once again travelled over the dark brown-haired man once more.

"That is Nicholas. The Alpha of Northsage." Willow folded her paper in half and shoved it back into her duffle bag. "He arrived here this morning to discuss with Hannes and Riggs about the recent attacks."

Nicholas tilted his head towards us when Willow spoke, and I wondered if he'd managed to hear her.

"A couple days ago, he also spoke to Hannes about the threats from Corozal. Some of the humans who had been taken from the Woodsworth town recently managed to leave the Corozal community and Nicholas is temporarily housing them. They were the ones who told Nicholas about the threats," Willow straightened as she spoke, swinging her bag on. "Apparently Eric has spoken of this pack and yourself several times."

I looked at Hannes. More than likely, the threats had been the reason why he'd, at times, been appearing either deep in thought and frustrated. I remembered seeing him in the woods, and how he'd momentarily watch me. Worry had been lingering in his gaze, as well as concentration.

"Some of the people of Corozal know where this pack is," I quietly told Willow. "They could easily find us."

Willow shrugged. "They could. And if they choose to attack, they will die." Confidence oozed from the well-trained warrior as she spoke and then she glanced at a watch strapped around her wrist. "Like I said before, we're done for the day. Will you be coming with me back to your house or will you stay here with your mate?"

Said mate was already walking towards us, Jeremiah and Nicholas trailing along. I was introduced to the Alpha, and we exchanged names.

"You were doing well with the exercises."

I narrowed my eyes and thrusted my fingers into the pockets of my coat. "No I wasn't, Nicholas."

Nicholas' lips lifted in a half-smile. "Yeah, you are right."

The soft sound of Jeremiah chuckling arose, and he sobered up immediately when I laid my eyes on him.

"We have a meeting to get to." Hannes said. His eyes were slowly moving over my face and lingered on my lips. The heat that darkened them surprised me, and I looked away quickly, shyly. Nicholas nodded, and with a small bow my way, he strode away, along with Jeremiah. Willow was nearby, and I heard her searching through her bag.

I watched as Hannes too began to walk away. I'd begun to pivot towards Willow, to ask if she needed help searching for whatever it was that she was looking for, but I abruptly found my back thrusted against the bark of a tree, with Hannes towering over me.

His lips immediately covered my own, distracting me from the rough tree against my back and my surprise melted to pleasure. His hand cupping the back of my head, deepening the kiss when I began responding, pressing closer to him, my fingers moving to rest on his hard stomach.

Heat pooled in my lower gut, and need soared through me as he nipped at my lips, his fingers pushing further against my hair. His scent encased me, and I breathed it in slowly. Lust was in his darkened eyes when he pulled away from my lips to press a gentle, long kiss on my forehead before speaking against my skin.

"I'll see you at dinner."

And before I could muster up any words, he drew from me, and I listened to his footsteps as he walked away. Coldness immediately surrounded me and through my passion-filled haze, I saw a smirking Willow.

"Looks like you and the Alpha have become close, hmm?"