"Well would you look at the lovely couple." Nicholas declared his presence loudly, effectively startling me awake. A wide grin was on his lips, and his dark blue eyes lazily travelled between Hannes and myself.

I straightened from where I had been resting beside Hannes, and looked at the still widely grinning Alpha standing in the doorway of the living room. He was in the uniform that I'd seen him in when talking to Hannes throughout my training, and his polished black boots contrasted against the brown wooden floor.

"Who let you in?" Hannes growled, seeming a tad bit annoyed. I glanced at him, and saw that the tips of his finger had small lines of blue ink on it; he'd been writing beside me throughout the entire time I'd been resting.

Athena was rubbing at her face sleepily from where she sat in the corner of the living room, listening as Nicholas explained that Jeremiah had 'warmly' welcomed him into the home.

A look over Nicholas' broad shoulder revealed that Jeremiah stood behind him, eyeing the Alpha warily, with a hand placed on his belt, clutching something I couldn't see because of the angle in which I sat.

"Now now," Nicholas drawled, stepping into the living room, boots barely making a noise against the floor. "There is no need for that attitude towards me Hannes, especially after the gracious act I commited for your mate." Nicholas' blue eyes rested on me and he smiled brightly. "Isn't that right, Olivia dear?"

I looked between the two Alphas. It was slowly becoming apparent that Nicholas enjoyed attempting to irritate Hannes, who corrected Nicholas and bluntly said that the warriors had also saved me, not just solely him.

Nicholas scoffed deeply, dismissing Hannes' words, and faced me. "Athena informed me that you would like to talk."

I nodded, glancing at Athena. She was beginning to fall asleep and the book she held loosely in her hands started to slip out of them.

"I wanted to say thank you for saving me." I told Nicholas, running my eyes up and down his face, stare lingering on the confident, and almost cocky smile on his lips. "I remembered you pulling me out of the lake, and I am very grateful for you doing so."

There was a pause, and Nicholas looked at me in expectancy. He waved a hand almost dramatically. "Do carry on expressing your gratitude. It's not very often that I experience these kind wo-"

"The people in your pack kiss your ass, Nicholas." Hannes grumbled from beside me. Nicholas scowled, snapping,

"And yours don't?"

"Alright, alright." I swallowed down the laughter that threatened to rise as I spoke, jabbing Hannes' side with my elbow and giving him a stern look. I turned back to Nicholas, and nodded. "I thank you, again."

Nicholas nodded. "You are welcome, my dear Liv. I'd do it again in a heartbeat." He straightened, and looked over us all in the room, including Hannes who had begun to stand. Nicholas watched me again, as he went on, attempting to ignore the Alpha coming his way, "If that is all, I must return to my pack. I'd extended my stay to assist Elijah with a few things regarding documents or whatnot, and I have to say, it is utterly boring here in Wilde-"

"Get out, Nicholas." Hannes snarled, although it looked like he was repressing a smile. Abruptly, he clasped hands with Nicholas, and I became baffled as they shook hands, uttering low words I couldn't hear. I glanced at Athena, but she was sleeping already. Slowly, I walked to stand beside Hannes, and said my goodbyes to Nicholas as well. We watched as Jeremiah walked him to the door.

"You have an interesting friendship with Nicholas." I murmured. The mention of friendship made my mind flash to Helda and Yanneek, and I felt my insides clench. Hannes grunted, and I jerked in surprise when I saw a flash of red and brown fly past me.

Athena. She was wide awake, and looking relieved.

"Thank goodness he left. He can be a bit of a chatterbox and I feared he would talk forever with me if I showed that I was awake." Athena straightened the creases in her baggy black pants and planted her hands on her hips. "Right. Now I will be going to my house. Goodnight, both of you."

"Get home safely." I told her. Athena smiled at me, pressed a kiss onto Hannes' cheek and left, throwing a fluffy, light pink, shawl around her shoulders as she walked out of the door.

I listened to it click shut and glanced at Hannes, who had returned to the living room, attention back on the papers he'd been writing on. I lingered outside of the room before deciding that I'd head to bed early.

I walked into Hannes' bedroom, eyes moving up and down the half-opened closet that I had carefully placed my folded clothes inside of earlier today. There was plenty of room inside of it, and I'd been surprised throughout me putting up the clothes, for most of them could easily fit me, with the exception of a few sweatshirts.

I laid in Hannes' bed, but sleep didn't come immediately. The terse and tense conversation between Yanneek, Helda and myself played in my mind repeatedly, and I couldn't deny the twinge of hurt and confusion I'd felt after they rejected me attempting to explain why the warriors' presence was needed.

However, it seemed as if there was something else that was bothering them, although it had appeared that Yaneek disliked the notion of Jeremiah or Willow being in his home.

I felt the bed dipping and my eyes closed shut when I felt Hannes join me an hour later, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me back to rest against his chest. His hand moved momentarily to pull the sheets to cover us both, and I remained silent, listening to his shallow breaths, until he spoke, breaking the state of quietude that had fallen over the room for a few minutes.

"Willow has expressed her desire to start retraining with you again." Hannes told me, and I nodded, opening my eyes to stare blankly ahead towards a closed window, and the dark red curtains that barely covered it. Hannes' voice brought my attention back to him. "How soon would you like to start training once more?"

I was silent for a short moment, contemplating, but decided, "Tomorrow."

Hannes' arm around me stiffened. There was silence for a second. "Tomorrow?" He echoed, clearly surprised. I inhaled, his scent washing over me as I did so, and I nodded.

"Yes. Tomorrow. I feel like I'd be ready for it," I inhaled again, and paused, grimacing. "But I will tell Willow to go easy on me."

"She shall."

I tilted my head to the side, in an attempt to look at Hannes as I noticed the firmness in his voice, but darkness greeted me, which was quickly followed by the slow pressing of lips against mine. I laughed against his lips when I eventually pulled away; Hannes was clearly very eager to not miss the chances of doing that.

**************

Jeremiah jogged beside me as I ran, whilst Willow watched from where she stood by a withering tree, her back pressed against it and hands deep in her pockets. I could hear the low voices of Elle and Henri as they looked on nearby.

My shirt felt a only a slight bit damp with my perspiration, and I barely listened to Jeremiah's hushed words of encouragement as we continued running, approaching the fifth lap.

Willow stepped forward, hand up in the air, signaling for us both to stop. I saw a flash of concern in her eyes as she watched me pant relentlessly and I felt her tap my back, I suppose in her way of reassurance. My eyes lowered to the ground as I caught my breath.

Wind roared in my ears and I wiped a hand under my nose as I eventually straightened, listening hard as Willow explained for the second time that day, for my need to be faster.

I began to nod in understanding, but jerked backwards abruptly when a fist flew towards my face. Sputtering rapidly I stared at Willow incredulously, but her expression gave little away of what she thought. She watched as I once again avoided her swift, sudden punch by stumbling away.

"Remember what I taught you this morning, Olivia." Willow said. She grabbed at my arms and shook them gently. "Use these. They usually help with the blocking process, you know?" A quick smile crossed her lips, and she sighed when I glanced down at my arms, recalling what she'd instructed earlier this morning.

As I lowered my head towards my arms, I noticed with a quick glance that the position of Willow's legs and body gave away that she perhaps intended to punch again. I blocked in the ways that she'd taught me when she did so, and when I kicked her shin, rather pathetically after that, she simply stared at me, before rubbing at the bridge of her nose and glancing towards Jeremiah.

I felt heat burn my ears and I licked my dry lips. "You said to-"

"I know, I know." Willow looked towards my boots and legs, eyebrows furrowed as she analyzed them. Sharp laughter came from somewhere in the woods, and my heart raced as I looked around me, not seeing anyone other than the warriors.

"Those were some children of the pack. They are not nearby." Willow murmured, eyes still on my legs.

"You need to put more strength behind your actions, especially if you plan to kick someone." Jeremiah's voice floated to my ears. His look of encouragement made my embarrassment ease, and I nodded, fingers curling into fists.

I barely managed to recoil as Willow once again threw a punch aimed at my face, and blocked the other one which came at me almost immediately afterwards.

I eyed Willow, taking several steps backwards, but it didn't look as if she was going to be throwing any further punches, at least for now. I took a five minute break to squat whilst drinking some water from a flask.

"Come on, Olivia. There's just a few more things that we have to do and then we will be done for the day." Willow glanced at the watch strapped around her wrist. "We've been out for almost six hours. We'll be practicing longer throughout the upcoming days."

I swallowed the water in my mouth and rose, handing the flask to Jeremiah who kindly pushed it into the small dark bag I'd carried with me and had placed on the ground.

The next half an hour dealt with Willow instructing me of the different ways to tackle someone larger and taller than myself, and Jeremiah was the one who I practiced on. My body seemed to be aching by the time I was finished, not just from that, but because of the entirety of the things I'd done for the day.

Willow seemed to notice this just as the half hour was nearing, and sent me to do one last lap alone before declaring that we were finished. Elle quickly came to walk beside me as we began walking home, whilst most of the others walked ahead.

"You worked hard today." Elle commented, staring ahead of us as we slowly walked. I peeked at her from under my lashes, and managed a smile. My stomach twinged with slight pain, as I experienced what felt like a stitch, and I rested a hand against it.

"Thank you." I told Elle. Her eyes flickered to my hand and then back ahead once more.

"Willow had mentioned to me that you did some training in Corozal and stayed there for a while." Elle admitted. When I nodded, she inquired, curiously, "If I may ask, what was it like living there? I've heard rumours of the Corozal people, but I don't know if any of them are factual."

I pressed my fingers into my stomach as I felt a twinge of pain again. "Erm," I hesitated, and eventually dropped my hand away when the pain eased. "They seemed to be normal, at first. But as time passed, I did begin to notice the odd behavior of one person and it completely surprised me."

I explained to her the interaction I had with Elizabeth, Helda's aunt, and when she'd demanded if I'd done anything to disrespect the Corozal Council. I spoke of the way her behavior and attitude had rapidly switched from friendly and sweet to menacing, and pressed a finger against my head as I mentioned what looked to be the throbbing of a vein in Elizabeth's forehead when she had demanded an answer from me.

Elle frowned. "Someone had mentioned that disrespecting the council there was seen by the people in Corozal as highly offensive."

"That certainly explains Elizabeth's aggressive behavior." I muttered, dryly, deciding to take out the gloves that had been in the pockets of my pants and pulling them on, shielding my fingers from the cold.

"Did you ever get to meet any of the council members?" Elle asked.

I nodded slowly, Eric's face coming to mind. And then, Quinn's. I paused mid-step, remembering suddenly that she was still in this pack, imprisoned. I had almost forgotten this, and I felt curiosity stir in my mind. Elle halted beside me, and I heard her brother's footsteps behind me slow.

"Willow!" I called out to the lycan, who slowly, and almost reluctantly, stopped from walking. Jeremiah did as well, and they both faced me. I hesitated, but eventually blurted,

"Would you be interested in taking a different route back to my home?"