My eyes found Hannes' again. He watched silently, arms folded behind his back, expression carefully vacant of any emotion as he refused to allow me to comprehend what he thought of my hesitance to answer.

My choice….

I felt Athena's skirt brush my pants as she walked by me to stand at her son's side, squaring her shoulders and inhaling deeply as she looked at me.

My mind swirled as I quietly contemplated. Leaving this pack and venturing more into the deep woods could leave me vulnerable to danger. But I was still very much wary of staying in Wildeland.

I could feel the Elders' penetrating stares on me as my lips parted and closed as I eventually made my decision. An ache began to form on my head, and I lifted a hand, to rub at my temple, but jolted at the sound of Hannes' speaking.

"Perhaps we should give her another day to t-"

"No." I cut him off, shaking my head sharply as I averted my gaze to his once more. His blank expression had slipped, and I could see the concern for me on his face. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and his thick eyebrows furrowed as he watched me.

"No?" He echoed, voice gruff.

I nodded, exhaling quietly and faced Bronwyn. "I don't need another day to make a decision. I will stay here in this pack."

Bronwyn's face tightened and she straightened on her tree stump. "Then you accept Hannes as your mate then?" She demanded, her fingers grasping the staff tightly.

The side of my face burned as I felt his stare. My tongue ran over my lower lip, and I shifted on my feet, toes curling and uncurling in my socks and boots as I finally shrugged a shoulder and murmured,

"Mhm."

Amusement flickered in Declan's orange eyes, and he clasped his hands together as he stood. My eyes briefly lowered to the flames near his feet, and I inwardly cringed at his nearness to it. I was expecting his cloak to catch on fire from how close he was to the strong flames.

"Tonight we shall view this footage you speak of, Athena." Declan said, nodding his head at the woman. "Perhaps after dinner in Hannes' home?"

Declan's gaze moved behind me as he inquired, and I too turned to look, only to stumble forward slightly at the Alpha's close proximity. His piercing eyes skirted up and down my face, as he lowered his head briefly in agreement with the Elder.

Hannes' nostrils flared, eyes dipping to stare upon my lips before he addressed Bronwyn, who I hadn't realized had stood and begun to shuffle towards the cave's mouth.

"Will you be joining us, Bron?"

She scoffed as if it were a stupid question. "I will." She patted a hand against her stomach. "I have never been one to turn away the possibility of consuming food."

Hannes' lips curled in a half smile, and his warm fingers completely encircled my wrist, and I felt them drift back and forth over the skin there as he began asking Athena if she would be needing any help with the preparation of food.

"Of course. Some of your lovely cooks could help me with that," Athena said, her voice light and airy, almost whimsical. "And maybe you too, Olivia?"

I jerked my gaze to her, finally pulling my attention away from Hannes' slow touches against my skin. "I'm not very good at cooking." I admitted, and she laughed softly.

"I will guide you." Athena said, her smile blinding. "You may find that I will be guiding you a lot in this pack."

I tilted my head, but she turned before I could say anything else, walking steadily towards the mouth of the cave and for a short while, Hannes and I were the only ones left inside of it.

"Will I regret my decision?" I asked the Alpha, who had yet to stop stroking my skin. My body shuddered and I slowly tugged to free my wrist, as it was becoming difficult to concentrate with his caresses.

"No." Hannes firmly spoke, allowing me to pull my hand away. His honey eyes were darker than usual when I looked at them, and they surveyed me with an intensity that made my entire body warm until I began walking to leave the cave.

I could hear his heavy footsteps behind me, following, and I lowered my gaze to the snow as I walked, silently thinking of the promise I'd made to myself as a young child regarding lycans after I had been imprisoned,

Do not be so quick to trust.

**********

The blade of the knife sliced smoothly through an onion repeatedly and rapidly, and it's strong scent filled the room, along with the various spices and seasonings.

I watched from the doorway as Athena and several other cooks bustled around the kitchen, gathering the necessary ingredients for the dinner they were to prepare.

My fingers curled around the doorframe when Athena looked over her shoulder, easily spotting me despite the five other bustling persons walking back and forth before her in the kitchen. White teeth gleamed as she smiled widely, and I frowned at the glimpse of fangs.

"Come on Olivia. I won't work you too hard." Athena's voice carried over the noises of the kitchen, the sizzling of pans and words being exchanged.

An apron was wrapped around Athena's waist, and her twists were pulled away from her face as she sauntered over to me, urging me to take her hand when all I did was stare.

I hesitated to move as eyes swung our way, but did allow her to guide me to where she'd been working. I looked over the now sliced onions, and then the peppers that I knew would need to be cut.

"Here you go." She slid a knife to me, and I wrapped my fingers around the handle. Using my free hand, I held the bell pepper in place, on top of a chopping board, and began to slice.

Athena stayed by my side throughout this time, and I felt sweat trickle down my neck as she watched my every act.

Although Athena had shown no outward hostility towards me, her mere presence made me nervous. Her aura was one which could be overwhelming and intimidating, and I had an inkling that although she could be very sweet, she could also be extremely unpredictably dangerous.

"Did you do much cooking in Corozal?"

The knife snapped noisily against the chopping board and I hissed under my breath as I saw the strange way in which I sliced the pepper. I peeked up briefly to Athena as I answered,

"I did some cooking, yes. But I was not very good." I focused back on my task as she hummed softly, wiping her hands against the apron as she continued to observe me.

"I was a horrible cook when I was younger too."

I paused, and my lips curled downwards into a frown. "I didn't say I'm a horrible cook," I muttered, whilst Athena giggled, waving a hand for me to stop my slicing.

I watched silently as she swiped the chopped peppers into a bowl with the onions, and handed it off to a cook. The man made his way to one of the three frying pans on a large stove, and tossed the contents of the bowl into one of them.

Immediately more sizzling noises erupted in the room, and Athena intertwined her fingers as she inhaled and exhaled loudly.

"Those noises remind me of when my mother would cook some stir fried vegetables for my father. It was his favorite way to eat them." She glanced across to me when I said nothing, and continued speaking, "Hannes as a child disliked them being made that way though. I think he still does."

I nodded, moving to wash my hands in the kitchen sink, trying to rid my fingers from any traces of the pepper. I watched as water trickled down my palm and dripped down my wrist, which Hannes had held in the cave.

"Is there a particular meal that you like, Olivia?" Athena asked. Immediately memories flooded my mind, and my hands under the outpour of water shook momentarily until I quickly shut it off.

"My mother used to make delicious meat pies," I told Athena, when I eventually found my voice. I refused to look at her as I struggled to keep on speaking, suddenly becoming overwhelmed with many emotions.

My eyes blinked rapidly and I cleared my throat after a heartbeat of silence, continuing softly. "She didn't make them often, but when she did, they were always good."

I flinched at the feeling of Athena's hand on my lower back, her hand simply resting there, as if she somehow knew what I was feeling, and was attempting to show a form of comfort.

Athena moved further into the kitchen, after flames arose in a frying pan and a cook scuttered backwards in surprise. I dragged a chair out from where it had been tucked in a corner, easing myself upon it whilst Athena managed to get the flames under control.

She was quick on her feet, and didn't break a sweat as she bustled in between cooks, helping them prepare whatever was needed, before circling back around to me, whilst wiping her hands against a napkin.

"Perhaps one day we should make that pie you spoke of. Meat pie, right?" She asked, already beginning to become distracted by what was going on in the kitchen.

"Yes." I responded, and she quickly nodded, settling her hands on her hips after disposing of the napkin.

"Now, how about you help me fry some fish?"

*********

Three hours later, after dinner was eaten, I was led into an office. The room was large and extremely spacious. Several couches were inside, as well as library stands.

A fireplace lit up the room, but lights were quickly switched on, which only brightened up the entire area further. A large desk and several large chairs around it was situated near big windows.

I chose to stand behind the chairs whilst the Elders and Hannes made themselves comfortable as they sat on them. Athena was leaning over the desk, fingers tapping over a keyboard and eyes casted on the laptop screen. I began to tremble slightly as I mentally prepared myself for what I was soon to witness in that footage.

As if somehow sensing my complex emotions, Hannes looked at me, and with a tilt of his head, gestured that I join the others and himself at the desk. I remained in place however, inhaling shakily as sound suddenly emitted from the laptop.

Blood arose in my mouth as I bit hard on my tongue and my eyes narrowed upon the screen.

The footage, to my surprise, was in color, and all I could see at first were a large circle of men and women, evidently surrounding someone. The footage changed briefly, and I could see a different angle of what was occuring.

I watched as the elders simultaneously leaned forward in their large chairs, peering hard at the screen. On the video, a figure was standing still whilst others ran, simply watching as the persons slaughtered the large lycan who I assumed to be Hannes' father.

"Anabelle." A whispered croak came from Bronwyn, and she hissed as she leaned forward further, until she was pressed hard against the desk. "Why didn't she try to stop them?"

No one had an answer, so silence was all that she received.

I looked at Hannes, noticing the way his body was terribly stiff in the chair, suddenly blackened eyes fixated upon the screen. He didn't move, and it didn't look as if he was breathing either as he witnessed his aunt stand by and watch his father slowly become overpowered by the many humans.

Horrifying screams and howls erupted abruptly from the laptop when the scene changed again, to other lycans battling humans, and Athena leapt forward abruptly, a nail poking the screen repeatedly. "Look there, Olivia. Come." Athena tossed her head to me, and urged me forward desperately. "Is that not you?"

I did as she bid, and walked to her side, hearing Hannes' scrape his chair backwards against the wooden floor as he stood.

I barely paid any attention to him as Athena paused the footage, and my blood seemed to roar in my ears as I took in the sight of my younger self, being held in my mother's arms, my father's hand on the middle of her back.

The horror and fear written on all of our faces made my stomach twist, and my emotions began to get the best of me.

My eyes were squeezed shut in the image, and my arms were wrapped tightly around my mother's neck. I still remembered the strong scent of fire and death, and the smell of my mother's sweat and the fast pace of her heartbeats when I'd rested my head against her chest.

"Yes." I murmured, dragging my eyes away from the screen after confirming to Athena that it was I.

"The resemblance is obvious." Helmitch almost begrudgingly admitted.

"How old were you?" Declan asked me. I cleared my throat, my hand lifting to run my fingers against my chest.

"Eight." I curtly responded, chest aching painfully. I bit the inside of my cheeks, my world momentarily blurring as tears arose, but I fought them back desperately.

Athena replayed the footage again, and I watched as it was shown of my parents and myself running away from the murder of Hannes' father, and then the way Anabelle's head followed us as she watched us leave.

My world swayed and I wiped under my eyes, sucking in a deep breath, jerking at Hannes' touch against my arm. I avoided looking at him as he spoke, asking if I'd like to sit. His hands cupped my cheeks when I said nothing, and I finally shook my head roughly.

"No. No." I pushed his hands away, and made my way to the door of the office. I could hear Bronwyn ask that the footage be replayed again which Hannes bitingly objected to.

However, I had no intention of watching the video again, and my parents' innocence had been proven.

Whether the Elders viewed the act of me murdering Anabelle as the wrong or right thing to do, did not matter to me. It was done, and I had no regrets.