It's been a while....

My hand immediately lowered to the pistol in the depth of my coat's large pocket, and I backed towards the car as the warriors moved to stand before Helda and myself, bodies tense and eyes wide with alertness.

I could see Skylar leaning against the railing of her porch, arms lifting to fold across her chest as she watched the advancement of the lycans.

"I recognize you." A male lycan pointed a finger at Henri as he spoke, a sly smile lifting his lips and eyes glittering dangerously. The male was Jeremiah's height, which was fairly tall, and his body was lean and well muscled. His blond hair was slicked back and seemed to gleam under the afternoon sun.

"You're from that Wildeland pack," The blond-haired lycan paused a few feet away from the warriors, and he rested a hand against his hip, cocked his head. "You were in a meeting with an Alpha, Hannes I believe, a year ago."

Henri said nothing, and tension cracked in the air. My lower back grazed the boot of the vehicle, and I felt Helda's shoulder brush my own as she shuffled to stand beside me. My heart pounded in my chest rapidly, mouth becoming dry and eyes fixated on the lycans, who had yet to lose that familiar, skin-crawling glare.

"Who are those two humans with you?" It was a female lycan who asked this. Her head tilted as she attempted to see past the warriors, and I listened, tight-lipped when Willow demanded lowly,

"Get in the car, girls."

I began to move along the car, hands feeling around for the door, but I jerked to a stop at the sharp growls that erupted.

"Don't you fucking dare," Jeremiah's hand was around the throat of a male lycan, whose face was rapidly beginning to pale. Jeremiah's dark eyes travelled over the other lycans around us. "If any of you touch her, I will rip you to shreds."

I released a sharp breath at his snarled words, continuing to slide along the car, Helda close behind. My fingers wrapped around the handle of the car, and I began to open it, but shrieked when the door was pushed closed harshly, the dark window of it seeming to tremble.

Claws scratched the side of my neck but the lycan who'd begun to attack me was hauled away by Elle. I felt blood beginning to drip down my skin, and my fingers shook as I opened the door, feeling Helda push me roughly as I got inside the car.

She slammed and locked the door behind us and I watched in horror and surprise as Jeremiah did exactly as he'd promised; rip the lycan to shreds.

Claws painfully and quickly raked through the attacker's body repeatedly. Flesh and skin was pulled and torn. Massive amounts of blood from the attacker was spilled and his clothes were becoming dark with his blood.

The lycan's growls of aggression morphed into shrill yelps of pain, and Jeremiah didn't stop until parts of the body of the lycan was on the ground. I gagged at the sight of some of the flesh, pieces of body and skin littering the road; the male's head was severed from his body and rested a few feet away from the car.

I could hear Helda sobbing behind me, and I made out the words of the strange lycans outside, who demanded to know why the warriors were choosing to defend humans, and why Jeremiah had killed a fellow lycan. Words of how the life of the dead male had been worth more than Helda and myself was also spat.

Rage was building on most of the lycans' faces, and I watched as Henri began to move to the car, head turning towards us as if he'd intended to reassure, but a lycan leapt at him, pushing both of their bodies into the car, causing it to rock.

It did not take long for the six unfamiliar lycans to begin attacking the warriors, and I watched, fear constricting my throat as two of them fought Willow, who easily began to evade their attacks. Nonetheless, worry crested in my chest and I hesitantly lowered the window half-way, ignoring Helda's screeches of protest.

Licking my lips nervously, I withdrew my pistol, taking aim at the blond-haired lycan, whose back faced me and was hurling punches at Willow. I hesitated, noticing that he would quickly move or jerk when Willow swiped at him; I didn't want to accidentally shoot her.

I waited for several seconds, eyes trained on the lycan, watching the way he swerved and dodged. I ground my teeth together, released the breath I'd been holding when he paused and pulled the trigger. His body bucked as the bullet sunk into his back, his howl of pain ricocheting in the air.

However, he did not collapse or die.

Instead, he turned, mouth foaming and fangs showing. I pulled the trigger again, shooting his stomach and immediately saw the wildness grow in the male's eyes as he stumbled forward, ignoring the blood beginning to seep through his shirt.

I shot backwards, pressing into the seat, hand reaching forward to press the button that would allow for the window to raise again.

He fumbled forward, eyes glowing bright with blood-lust, and just as he was several feet away from the car, blood and skin spurted from the side of his head, and I bit back a gasp as he fell. I moved forward warily in my seat and caught sight of Skylar holding a shotgun, lowering it as her eyes travelled down to the now dead male lycan.

Her grey eyes flickered to my face before she turned, taking aim and shooting the badly wounded female lycan attacking Willow. The female crumpled to the ground as the bullet dug into her chest, a choked noise falling from her mouth.

My head whipped around at the sound of a grunt, my body moving to the window by my left, where I saw the bodies of three lycans on several areas of the ground. Blood was around them and on them; Henri, Jeremiah and Elle stood a few inches away from the bodies.

I heard Skylar release a loud curse as one remaining lycan somehow managed to rip her necklace off of her and Frederick shot forward, jerked his claws through the back of the male's neck before Skylar could use her weapon.

She took several slow steps backwards, eyes running up and down Frederick and then the male who'd fallen to his knees, upper body swaying back and forth, eyes closed and blood trickling down his neck and back.

Frederick sunk in his claws and I grimaced when he stepped forward, hands holding the male's neck and twisting it roughly until it snapped.

Skylar's eyes landed on me once more, shotgun still tightly in hand, chest rising and falling as she inhaled and exhaled slowly. Her grey eyes drifted shut as she rolled her shoulders before opening her eyes again, a look of concentration and a tad bit of annoyance filling her gaze.

She glanced at Willow who stood nearby, her voice a bit muffled because of the raised window, but still understandable,

"Your friends and yourself should leave. More may come."

********

"The cuts are not deep." I muttered to a pack nurse, Angel, who confirmed my words with a nod. She'd already cleaned up the blood which had stained around the area. There was dull pain in the area, but it was definitely not unbearable.

In my hands was a dagger, the one Athena had gifted me. I had paid little attention to it throughout the entire attack, and had opted to use the pistol instead. I placed it away when Angel returned by my bedside, and my gaze went to the male, silent lycan opposite me.

Henri sat nearby on a bed, shirt gone and wounds being examined by another pack nurse. His eyes were staring ahead blankly, expression empty. My head lowered as I stared at a small bucket of bloody tissues by his feet; he had lost far much more blood than I had, but he was already healing quickly.

I could hear Willow's and Elle's voices outside of the small house, speaking in soft, quiet tones. Frederick was nearby, and I could hear him walking back and forth, his boots loud against the wooden floor.

He abruptly pushed aside the curtain blocking me from seeing what was beyond it, and I looked towards the cellphone he extended.

"It's Hannes." Frederick told me, shaking the device when I simply stared at him in confusion. Realization arose after he spoke and I took it from him, resting the face of it against my chest as I thanked Angel for cleaning me up and stood.

I left the room, brushing by the white, soft curtain, slowly making my way to a library stand as I raised the phone to my ear.

"Hannes?"

There was silence, and when I heard his voice, the deep sound soothed the nerves which had been in me after the encounter with the lycans.

"Frederick told me what happened." Hannes' voice was gruff. He exhaled, and I heard a sound that made me think he was rising from a chair. "I felt your panic through our bond."

"I figured you would have."

"Were you injured, Olivia?" His voice was louder, deeper with concern. I shook my head, realized he couldn't see me, and then spoke,

"No. I'm fine." My eyebrows pinched together and I heard the sound of something being unzipped. Sighing, I told him firmly, "You're staying in the Mallum pack, Hannes. Don't start to pack any clothes into your suitcase. I am fine."

"Olivia-"

"Really, Hannes. I am fine. I wasn't hurt, other than receiving a little swipe. I'm fine, I promise you."

Silence fell over the line, and my eyes flickered to the entrance of the home. Yanneek stood in the doorway, worry on his face until he saw me. I sent him a reassuring smile before listening as Hannes spoke again,

"Don't leave the pack until I return," He sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. "I will see if I can come back at least a day early. Most of the things we can cover will probably take two days, not three like I'd initially thought."

"Okay," My gaze went to Willow who stood a feet behind Yanneek. She was not facing our way. "I'm in good hands here with the warriors."

Yanneek gestured with his head, body beginning to turn towards the door, but I pointed a finger, mouthed to him to wait before saying goodbye to Hannes, who didn't hang up until I promised that I would call him later tonight.

"The lycans apparently seized control of a village not too far from the supermarket we were at," Frederick explained to me when I began walking over to him, his cellphone still in my hand. I handed it over as he went on, "Some humans managed to flee whilst others were killed. More than likely, those who attacked us were scouting around the surrounding areas, perhaps seeking other areas to disrupt."

A snarl was heard between his words, and he shook his head, as if attempting to shake off the anger he felt. "Elle and I will walk you back to your home. I'm just going to check on Henri and will be with you in a minute."

I faced Yanneek once Frederick left, seeing the grim expression that had captured his face. He tapped a finger on his neck, but looked at my own. "I see the scratches." His eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows raised in surprise. "And your mark."

He leaned backwards and studied my face. "You are happy with him, yes?"

I nodded, smiling. "I am."

Relief poured across his face. "Good. Good." He squeezed my arm and then released it.

"Where is Helda?" I asked no one in particular, stepping forward and looking around me; she had came with me to the house, but I could not see her.

"I saw her a few minutes ago, entering her home. She seemed pretty shaken up." Yanneek pulled at his beard, the action something which I was beginning to realize to be a habit of his. "I'll check on her later."

I nodded at his words, but listened to Angel's voice behind me as she asked another pack nurse, voice drained and tired,

"Will this world ever become peaceful?"

The long silence that followed was her answer.