The nurse's eyes reminded me faintly of my mother's. Obsidian and warm. They regarded me with caution as I showed her my wounds, narrowed when they saw my old bruises.

"Some of them will need stitches." The nurse, Emily, managed to say after dragging her eyes from the darkened bruises and looking towards the still bleeding wounds. I nodded stiffly, sitting further up on the bed until my back rested against the headboard as the nurse prepared her necessary equipment.

With tired eyes I watched as she skillfully cleaned up the blood, but sharply redirected my gaze towards a closed window when she began stitching. Silence fell over the room for several seconds, before the nurse began to hum softly, a melodic tune which made me even more tired than I already was.

When the nurse paused, I shifted into a more comfortable position, telling the woman that I may not help but fall asleep, which she quickly disapproved of. So I sat quietly, tight lipped as she continued on with her work. Soon afterwards, I faintly heard the front door opening, and my eyes immediately flung away from the window once more, narrowed towards the approaching figure.

"Olivia." Ryker, Helda's uncle, called my name and knocked, even though his head was already protruding through the small space from the half open door. Pity washed over his face as he took in my body and I resisted feeling ashamed of my scars. Emily slowed her hands, and she looked towards me and then back at the older man.

"Do you know him?" She asked, her expression taking on one of concern and wariness. I nodded half-heartedly, watched as Ryker cleared his throat, averting his eyes from me. My upper body was barely covered, but I didn't care that he could see my nakedness. In prison, there were many times in which I would have little choice but to strip my clothes off in front of guards, so I have somewhat become immune to people watching my body.

"I'll wait around until you're finished here." Ryker muttered, shuffling away from the doorway, his footsteps signaling that he was moving to the living room.

Emily held my gaze for a long moment, as if searching for permission to continue, which I granted with a small nod. Silence descended once more, and I was extremely tired when she finished off her stitching.

"Some of the other wounds will need to be kept bandaged and you'll require some rest. Don't go tiring yourself out." She patted my shoulder and then turned her attention away as she began putting away her tools.

"Thank you." I tersely said, standing carefully and walking to a closet filled with neatly folded clothes. I cautiously slipped on a long sleeved white shirt, followed Emily to the door and waited until I saw her disappear into another house before I gave my attention to Ryker.

I found him standing in the middle of the living room, a look of utter bafflement on his face as he stared ahead.

"You have a sink in your living room." Ryker said, shaking his head. I moved around him, eyeing the grey sink tucked in a corner, beside the fireplace and nodded in confirmation.

"Indeed I do."

Ryker shook his head again, a low chuckle coming from his mouth. "What kind of…" His voice trailed off and he shrugged his shoulders, facing me whilst I decided to make myself comfortable on the couch. My hand lifted to drift back and forth across a cushion, and a heavy sigh feel past my lips, eyes stinging with the need for sleep.

"What happened back in the pack?" Ryker asked softly, any signs of rising laughter drifting away from his voice. I moistened my lips, hesitating briefly but eventually spoke, knowing that the sooner I had the conversation over with, the sooner I'd be to being able to slumber.

Ryker listened on impassively, not interrupting once, which I was thankful for. It was only when I was finished explaining, that he spoke,

"You are lucky to have managed to evade those lycans," Ryker told me, hands jerking out of the pockets of his coats, eyes trained on me. "Especially Hannes. His anger towards you murdering his aunt might have been terrific."

I tilted my head. "You think so?"

Ryker paused for a moment, but then shrugged a broad shoulder. "He certainly wouldn't have been giddy and happy about what you did," He rubbed his palms together, appearing cold despite the lit fireplace merely a few feet away.

"I can promise you though, Olivia," His voice dropped, becoming low as he crouched so that his eye-level was at the same height as mine. "I can promise you that we people here are nothing like the cruel lycans you have interacted with throughout your life. We look out for each other here, and you have my word that no harm shall be inflicted onto you from any person in this community, as long as you follow the council's orders, and they are certainly not anything difficult orders to comply with either," His hands reached forward to gently tap my lap, eyes sincere and a sparse smile on his lips. "We won't betray you or put you in harms way like Anabelle did."

My eyes stung further, but not from tiredness as I searched his face. I blinked several times, mustering a smile of gratitude as I covered his large hand with my own. "Thank you." I said, my voice strained with emotions.

Ryker nodded, straightening from his position. "Get some rest. Helda will likely come over tomorrow sometime. I better leave before Elizabeth starts to worry." He gave a strange salute with his hand towards me before he left.

And that night, I slept soundly with no worry plaguing my mind.

*******

Two weeks passed slowly, and I spent most of the time in bed, endured small examinations with Emily, ate meals which Elizabeth graciously prepared and spent time with her family, who would often visit late in the evening after training.

My strength grew, and I was able to travel to an open, snow-covered field where many women and men stood, arms behind backs as they listened intently to the command of a woman.

"Olivia."

I turned from where I stood beside a wilting tree, pivoting to face Eric. He was in that uniform again, and my eyes briefly drifted over the badges before I looked to his face again. His eyes were shining, light brown hair lifting in the strong cold wind as he too looked me over, blatantly so.

"How have you been?" Eric asked, taking my arm, which caught me by surprise, and leading me towards a bench. "Emily said that you should be well enough to join the others in training."

My eyes went to the men and women who began to form several long lines, some stretching and others talking quietly amongst themselves until a sharp yell demanded that they begin to jog.

"I'm better. And yes, I think I should be able to partake soon enough," I murmured, lowering myself to the bench once I pushed off a handful of snow. Eric too sat beside me, but kept his eyes latched to the many people around us.

For a long while, we simply sat, just observing what took place around us, until Eric spoke again.

"I've been told of your relationship with the Alpha of the Wildeland Pack," Eric's eyes rested on me, and I immediately felt as if heavy boulders were being placed upon my shoulders at his sudden scrutiny. "I would ask if you developed a liking to him, but I'm assuming not since you are here."

I said nothing, just watched him blankly; he and I both knew he was right.

"There is a strong chance that Hannes is still searching for you, and if, by the smallest chance, that he manages to find this community, you must be trained well enough to escape him," Eric shifted from the bench, slowly standing. "You start training in five days and will have to meet me by the Council House at dawn."

My eyebrows puckered. "You will be training me?"

Eric's lips lifted in a half smile. "You and a couple others," With a small gesture towards the crowd, he took a step back. "I need to get to work. I'll be seeing you."

And without another word he left, striding purposefully towards the men and women. I remained seated on the bench, not ready to return back into the house just yet.

My thoughts went to Hannes and my environment became a blur. I had barely thought of the Alpha throughout the two weeks I'd been in Corozal, and when I did, I distracted myself. I couldn't help the trickle of fear that arose at the possibility of being found by him and I had no doubt in mind that if he wasn't angry because of what I had done to his beloved aunt, he would certainly be angry that I had left him and his pack.

Swallowing a bitter taste in my mouth, I inhaled deeply, stiffening under the touch of a hand against my shoulder, only relaxing when I realized it was Elizabeth's. She smiled slowly at me, and I knew she had seen my body's reaction, but didn't comment on it. She joined me on the bench and folded her arms.

I stared at her in confusion; Elizabeth would not be training today or tomorrow, and I had thought that she may have wanted to spend her free time resting.

"I was thinking that I show you how to make a couple meals this afternoon," Elizabeth offered, smile still remaining on her face. I nodded gratefully and eagerly; I needed to learn to provide for myself and not depend on her to make my meals.

And so I followed her into my house, and for the remainder of the day, read some recipes which she had scribbled down upon several different papers and under her watchful gaze, successfully made a simple meal; spaghetti and meatballs.

It tasted absolutely horrible, which Elizabeth didn't hold back in saying, but I knew that in time I'd improve in the cooking area.

After Elizabeth left, I heated up some leftovers that she'd made the day before, re-read the recipes and checked to see if the fridge held the ingredients needed to make the meals, which, fortunately for me, they did.

As I ate the meat lasagna, listening to the howling of the wind as evening descended, elbows propped up on the counter, my eyes darted to my wrist and caught sight of a small scar there. My thoughts went to Yanneek when that happened; he had many scars on his arms as a result of lycans' cruel actions.

My stomach churned as I worried for him and I couldn't help but wonder if he had regretted his decision to stay. He had been very wary of the lycans in Hannes pack, so his final choice had confused me deeply.

My fork clattered loudly against the plate when I finished my meal, and I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyelids as I attempted to redirect my thoughts to what I wanted to do the next day, which wasn't much. Clean the house, take a walk around the community, return back to the home and attempt to make that spaghetti again. I shuddered at the memory of its taste.

After washing away the dishes, I decided that I would be sleeping in the living room tonight. After showering, I found a bizarre, yet intriguing fantasy book from a bookshelf near the oddly placed sink in the living room, and settled into the couch, slinging a blanket over my body.

A sense of contentment fell over me as I read, feeling warm and comfortable, which I have often felt since I have been in the house.

My dreams usually consisted of many peaceful things, but when but when I fell asleep this time after reading, in my dream I saw blazing honey-colored eyes.

💕