My eyes fleetingly followed the movement of the door as it opened, and I smiled brightly up at the man who stood behind it; Yanneek. His expression was grim as he looked upon me, Willow and then Jeremiah.

Yanneek sighed heavily before stepping aside, gesturing with his head that we enter his home.

Immediately I took notice of the strong scent of soup, and my eyes landed on several steaming bowls on a kitchen table, which Helda stood beside.

"Good day," She called to me, lifting a small spoon and dipping it into one of the bowls. My gaze went to Yanneek who stood stiffly and almost awkwardly in his living room, his eyes darting between Willow and Jeremiah, who stood close by me.

"Good day to you too," I greeted Helda, walking to her and peering down at the bowls. Brown liquid filled them to the brim and I saw several small potatoes and sliced carrots resting in it. Helda immediately dropped her spoon and pushed one of the bowls towards me.

"Yanneek made soup for everyone. Would you like a bowl?"

My eyes drifted back to Yanneek, who sat down in an armchair with a huff, eyes trained on his fireplace as he attempted to appear as if he wasn't listening in to our conversation. I placed a hand against my stomach and gave Helda an apologetic smile.

"I'm going to have to decline. I had something to eat before I left my home."

I turned to face Yanneek, noticing the tension near the corners of his lip as he frowned. He was silent as I approached him, and didn't look at me until I stood before him. His eyes travelled up the dark attire I'd chosen to wear, before resting on my face. His lips twitched when I spoke quietly,

"Hello, Yanneek."

Yanneek grunted, "Olivia."

My eyes travelled around the living room, to the bare walls before settling on a sofa opposite Yanneek. I sat down on it, and the man before me held my gaze until Jeremiah crossed between us, walking to stand on one end of the sofa whilst Willow stood at the other.

Yanneek's hand pulled at his beard, and he watched as Helda too joined us in the living room, her bowl of soup in hand. She sat beside me, and her and I exchanged a smile.

Since talking to me at the gun range, Helda had visited my home twice throughout the days that had followed, staying for dinner that I'd prepared or watching television.

I'd been over by her house once, and she'd asked if I'd like to travel with her to a nearby supermarket, the one which I had gone to with Athena. Helda and I planned to go there shortly after having a discussion with Yanneek, who currently partially behaved as if he didn't want to speak with us at all.

"Helda explained to me about why you've been so...distant." I said, deciding not to beat around the bush or make small talk. Yanneek pulled at his beard with several fingers, his blank eyes resting on Helda and then myself, saying nothing. I sighed through my teeth in frustration, but forced myself to smile as I pushed on,

"She basically said that you have become disappointed in me not spending more time with you and her, and that you've come to the conclusion that I want nothing to do with either of you." I tilted my head when Yanneek straightened in his chair, eyes still remaining on me. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he watched me.

I resisted frowning at his suddenly thoughtful gaze, and silently wished that he spoke to me of what was clearly bothering him.

I glanced at Helda, and I saw that she too was studying Yanneek; a flare of irritation grew in her eyes but eased when I spoke again,

"Helda also mentioned that you can't understand why I've chosen to interact with the lycans in Wildeland, because of what a lot of their species have done and continue to do."

I saw Jeremiah stiffen in the corner of my eye, but I refocused on Yanneek when he finally spoke, voice careful and slow,

"There are some...thoughts and fears that I have that I need to work on personally. Like yourself, I have had terrible, painful experiences because of lycans and I am very wary of them, even the lycans in this pack. What I said to Helda, regarding lycans, was out of surprise, for the most part. I know what you went through, and seeing you become closer to lycans has shocked me."

I swallowed, pleased that he was beginning to open up. I leaned forward, matching his posture as I spoke gently, "It has been a struggle for me at times to trust lycans, Yanneek, and like you said yourself, that distrust stems from the gruesome things I've witnessed and experienced because of lycans. But I've come to realize that the people in Wildeland, well, most of them anyway, and the ones I have chosen to interact with, have no ill-intentions towards me or any human. These lycans are not the ones that had made my life or your life hell, and are ruining lives and livelihoods of humans elsewhere, but I do understand your extreme cautiousness and wariness. I too had felt this way towards all of the lycans in Wildeland. I left the pack a few months ago mainly because of that, remember?"

Yanneek's nod was slow, and he never once broke eye-contact with me. There was a sheen in his eyes, as if he was holding back tears, and I reached a hand out, resting it over his own, fingers running over his scars. There was a lot of trauma that he had, that I had, because of lycans' actions, and working through and overcoming it entirely would not be easy. I squeezed his hand and cleared my throat, eyes blinking rapidly as I fought back tears as well.

"I think..." Yanneek's voice was gruff, and it cracked. He paused to swallow as he looked down at my hand still resting over his own. "Like I said, it's something that I'm working on. I understand that not all lycans are the same, but I still can become very uncomfortable in their presence."

His voice was final; he didn't want me to push on that topic. I removed my hand and straightened, slapping my thighs, forcing a small grin and squinting at him playfully, "Now, what's with this thing about me not spending enough time with you and Helda, hmm?"

Yanneek's cheeks darkened. "Erm," His eyes darted to Willow and Jeremiah, who were remaining silent. When I glanced up at Willow, I found her already watching me, but she jerked her gaze away to stare at the man seated before me.

"Basically what Helda told you is how I'd felt. You were spending a lot of time around lycans and seemed to have forgotten about us. Jealousy and such arose." Yanneek looked at Willow who shifted on her feet and then looked back at me. "I think both of us could have made more effort into speaking with each other."

I nodded. "True."

He blinked, as if taken aback by me agreeing, but then looked at his knees. "Becoming jealous was a bit unusually petty of me, though." His lips quirked and he glanced at Helda. "Being petty is more so her thing."

Helda rolled her eyes as she lifted her spoon to her mouth, slurping up soup loudly. I smiled and the tension which seemed to have been in the room disappeared as I told him and Helda that I'd never meant to hurt or neglect our friendship. We spoke further for twenty minutes and I waited until there was a pause before inquiring,

"So, we're good then?" I asked, resting back on the sofa and staring at Yanneek expectantly. "Anything more you'd like to speak about?"

Yanneek grinned. "I'll pass by your house and tell you if there is more I want to talk to you about, even if that female lycan friend of yours is there and glares at me like she's doing right now."

I looked to Willow, who was indeed glaring at him. I sent her a baffled look but stood, saying goodbye to Yanneek. Helda followed suit but added,

"I'm going to the supermarket with Olivia," Helda told Yanneek whilst I waited in the doorway. "Is there anything you want?"

He must have shaken his head, because seconds later Helda joined me outside. She heaved a jacket up her shoulders as we began walking to the vehicle parked nearby.

My eyes went to my house, thoughts going to Hannes who had left the pack early in the morning. He will be staying in the Mallum pack which was at least an hour away for three days. My fingers lifted to touch the mark on my neck, smiling as memories came to mind as I carried on walking.

I then watched, mildly amused as Frederick, Elle and Henri seemed to appear from behind trees or around corners. Helda slowed her pace and stared at them in bewilderment, before looking ahead at the car.

"How is everyone going to fit?" She hissed to me when I placed a hand on the car's door. When I opened it, the interior revealed that there was plenty of room for everyone to fit in comfortably, and I immediately slid across, sitting close to the window. The car was Hannes', and I'd asked to use it before he left, well, for Jeremiah to use it, to drive us to the supermarket.

As I settled into the seat, I felt Helda sit beside me, heard Frederick attempt to flirt with her before being bluntly shot down, and then I tried to listen as Elle and Willow discussed something out of ear-range.

I straightened in the seat as Jeremiah eventually started the car when everyone was inside, and I felt the weight of a pistol in my coat's deep pocket press into the side of my stomach.

**********

I watched as Helda lifted a small bag of potatoes into her half-full trolley before moving further down the aisle. The cashier, who was human, was watching by where she stood, behind the cash register.

Her graying hair was piled upon her head, and her fingers were tapping along the surface of the counter she stood behind. Green long earrings decorated her ears, and her pink sweater looked adorable. She smiled politely when she saw that I was staring and I looked away, re-focusing on Helda.

The money Helda had to purchase the goods had been given to her by the beta, Elijah, early this morning. Hannes and Elijah had been the ones to arrange money being given to the former prisoners living in Wildeland and lycans in the pack as well.

I trailed along behind Helda, eyeing a small packet containing candy, lifting it up in contemplation, but looked at Helda when she questioned,

"Do you think I should bother to buy this?" Helda asked me, lifting up some frozen chips. "I could just use the potatoes to make the chips instead, but the frozen ones may just be easier to fry."

I glanced at the large packet of frozen chips, back at the potatoes resting in the corner of the trolley, and opened my mouth to respond to her, when I caught sight of Skylar.

She was sitting on a chair on her porch, eyes closed and head tilted down towards where I suspected her hands to rest on her lap. Her long dark hair fell past her shoulders and would every now and then whip around her face with each strong breeze. A long silver necklace was hung around her neck, and it too drifted back and forth because of the strong wind.

I glanced back at Helda, to respond to her question, but she'd already made her mind up and had taken the frozen chips.

"I strongly dislike shopping." Willow muttered this grumpily to me as she walked past, and I laughed quietly, turning back to the candy packet in hand.

Half an hour later, the warriors and myself began packing the grocery bags into the trunk of the vehicle. Helda was babbling to me about her excitement of making creamed potatoes and barbequed chicken. She'd begun to invite me over to her house for dinner, but a long, shrill, and sharp whistle pierced the air, silencing her.

All of us whipped around, startled, and I watched as Skylar lowered two of her fingers from her lips. Using those same fingers, she pointed to her right, and we all followed the direction she gestured that we look towards.

My head slowly turned, and my stomach seemed to drop to my knees at the sight of approaching, unfamiliar lycans, a primal, dangerous look which I'd seen many times as a child and even throughout prison in their eyes.