“Terry?” Dolly called inquisitively and he jerked out of his nasty thoughts.
“What were you… what were you saying again?” he stuttered as he flapped his eyes and cleared his vision back to the present. His eyes glanced at everyone in the room and they all seemed to be wondering what he was thinking about that he suddenly zoned out after being asked a question.
“Are you all right, man?” Shem asked and he nodded.
“I’m fine. Dolly, what were you saying earlier? I’m sorry, I just zoned out a bit,” he stated trying to act all cool.
“I was saying you should be the first person to tell us about your first impression of Olive. I mean, when you first met her,” Dolly answered and he scratched his head.
“Oh, that. I… well, isn’t it awkward? You know, talking about it in front of Olive?” he asked.
Wayne looked at Olive and she waved it off.
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. I too would like to know,” she said and Wayne nodded.
“Let’s hear it, Terry,” he ordered and Terry cleared his throat.
“Well, I was one of the first two people to sight her coming towards the house. At first… heh,” he laughed.
“At first I thought she was pretty but I also pitied her because she was going to d-ie,” he added with a shrug.
“When we knocked her out, I thought she was a beauty without brains. I guess that was my first impression of her,” he concluded and shrugged again. He looked at Olive and thought she would be looking a little sad or disappointed but he saw her smiling.
“I remember now, you were one of those men who pointed a gun at me before knocking me out,” she said with a smile.
“I… yes. I was,” Terry replied awkwardly.
“Well, on to you Jericho. What was your first impression of her?” Dolly asked Jericho who was sipping champagne from his glass.
“Oh… My turn so soon?” he drawled with a pout.
“Stop being such a baby and answer the question,” Vanessa scolded him and he chuckled.
“I thought Olive was a waste of time as we all were expecting a battalion of cult members to come and attack us. I first saw her after she was knocked out and didn’t even want to be a part of it anymore. I was the one who reported to Alpha that it was just a weakling they sent and told him to let us deal with her instead of coming down,” Jericho stated.
“So you are saying that Wayne wanted to come over and see me from the beginning?” Olive asked.
“Ehm, no. He also thought a few skilled men would be the ones to come. So he was definitely going to show his face and kick some of their asses, right? But I had to tell him to hold his peace for now. That it was not worth it coming down quickly,” he answered.
“I feel bad for listening to you,” Wayne spoke up. Olive looked at him with furrowed brows.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because if I had come down to the house that moment and not wait until the next morning, then I would have met you earlier. And, maybe you would not have been so scared of me as you were that morning,” he answered while looking into her eyes.
“Awwn,” drawled Dolly and Vanessa much to attract an eye roll from Shem.
“I’m really sorry about that, Alpha. And also to Olive for viewing you as a weakling. You paid me back though. You left a fork in my hand,” Jericho lifted up his hand and there was a short laughter in the room.
“Okay, Jake… your first impression?” Dolly directed at Jake.
“I was not with them when she first arrived. I was with Alpha and we were out in the city to fool the people we thought would come. But when we came the next morning with Cynthia-” he looked at Olive for her reaction and she looked bored at the mention of Cynthia’s name.
“-I decided to take a look at the girl The Vrek Cult sent. When I first saw you, I… I saw you as pathetic and pitiable. I didn’t like you, to be honest. I also saw you as a waste of time just like Jericho did. So I… I let Cynthia do whatever she wanted to do,” he said with remorse.
“You gave the order to have her tortured by the woman she hated most?” Vanessa asked with a frown.
“I did not give the order to have her tortured. I only let her do whatever she wanted to do while I go talk with the Alpha about something else. I had no idea Cynthia was going to do that awful thing she did,” Jake defended himself.
“And what did you do after you found out Cynthia tortured her?” Vanessa questioned again.
“I… well… I…” Jake stuttered.
“He gave her a fist bump,” Jericho answered Vanessa’s question and he and Shem laughed much to the displeasure of Jake.
“Of course you did,” Vanessa said sarcastically with an eye roll.
“It’s fine, Vanessa. They were going to kill me, remember? I don’t expect him to feel sad that the person who tried to murder their beloved Alpha was tortured,” Olive said to Vanessa who just exhaled.
“All right. How about you Crusoe? Your first impression of Olive?”
Crusoe shrugged and gulped down his champagne.
“I thought she was an interesting and strong woman,” he answered casually. Olive peered her eyes at him but she was the only one who had that kind of reaction. The others somehow expected him to say something related to what he just said. Crusoe was very different from the rest of them. He was more of a rational thinker than a fighter.
“She looked scared at first and her heartbeat was all over the place. Which meant she was reluctant to undertake that mission. Which also meant she was being forced to do it. Also, she showed signs of guts when after being tortured by her nemesis, she still acted brave and ready to face whatever came her way. Thirdly, she made us think she was not going to retaliate or do anything else. Making us think she was weak and scared. But ended up smacking plates, pots and pans over our heads,” he explained and that last statement made the people laugh.
“Sure thing, I did not like the idea of her trying to assassinate Alpha Knight. But I didn’t think negative towards her,” he concluded.