Four

Anger, a very familiar emotion, was coursing through her veins.

She was seething.

She knew people didn't like what she was, but to worry for children around her? She wasn't a rogue, she was deputy Alpha.

Running along the border, her grey wolf darting in and out of trees, it's powerful paws pounding on the ground. Her wolf took over as soon as she left the orphanage, overpowering her human side.

She was fine with it. Avery knew her wolf wasn't stupid, and she could fight better than most males. Nothing scared her, except maybe her mother, if she figured out Avery ripped another dress shifting.

Her wolf comes to a sudden halt, her nose pressed to the forest floor as she starts sniffing.

What the fuck are you doing?, Avery asks, and she gets growled at. Lovely. Even her wolf doesn't want to deal with her.

There's somebody else here, her wolf snarls, inching forward slowly.

Following the scent eagerly, her wolf pads silently and slowly along, squinting her eyes at something in the distance, continuing her slow pace.

Avery can't distinguish the scent from the forest, but she supposes that's what her wolf is useful for.

Something is moving in the distance. It is staying low, but she can see a tail or something. So that rules out a rabbit or a squirrel, it's much too large to be a squirrel.

Her wolf is totally ignoring her now, intent on hunting and attacking this creature, whether or not it poses a threat to her. It could hurt somebody else, and she isn't going to let that happen when she could stop it.

Her wolf's moral compass is a bit more tilted than hers, she supposes.

But, it is very rare that her wolf gains full control. Usually, it's equally split, if not completely in Avery's hands what they do.

Her wolf is about two meters from the other wolf when she decides to spring, much to Avery's alarm.

Sonya - her wolf - lands on the other wolf's back, digging her claws and teeth in mercilessly.

What Sonya did not anticipate, but Avery expected, is that this wolf is considerably large, and starts trying to buck off Sonya.

Avery mentally rolls her eyes, watching this happen as an observer, as Sonya buckles down and wraps her hind legs around the other wolf's midriff.

The other wolf freezes, it's white coat rustling in the gentle wind, before throwing itself backwards into a tree.

Sonya, as expected, bears the brunt of the impact, and suddenly shifts, leaving Avery sitting naked against a tree, very confused and in a fair amount of pain.

The other wolf lets out a breath of air that sounds like a snort, before shifting back.

Avery suddenly realises her position, and quickly covers herself up, scuttling behind a tree and cursing the day she was ever born.

She isn't shy, or modest to any degree. She just has no idea who the hell is on the other side of that tree, and she doesn't plan to find out if she can avoid it.

She tries shifting, but her wolf isn't responding, apparently taking the pain on herself.

Avery curses her as well, letting her anger flow through their bond.

Somebody clears their throat on the other side of the tree, and then chuckles.

"Are you planning on coming out any time, miss? You did attack me first," a deep-voiced man laughs, and Avery scowls, clenching her jaw, but doing some calming breaths before responding.

"If you leave, I'll come out," she responds, staring up at the trees to see if there's any clothing bags. She spots one, and peeks around the tree to see where the man is. He's facing the opposite way, seeming to do the same.

Avery bites her lip, and gets ready to run and jump for the bag, knowing it'll be a little harder without her wolf supporting her.

Counting back from three, Avery fires herself at the bag, snatching it from the branches it's balanced on, only to land beside a very tall, very naked man.

"Fuck sake," she growls, glaring at the man, not a shred of fear in her eyes.

"Fuck sake indeed," he grins, staring her up and down with a happy smile on his face.

She clenches her jaw again, trying not to grind her teeth - her dentist would murder her if she ruined the teeth he spent so long fixing after her last fight.

Avery begins to walk away, gripping the bag between her hands, moving quickly in order to put some distance between her and this male.

He clears his throat, and she glances back, only to see him red-faced and rubbing his neck.

"How is the view from behind even better?" He mutters, and she hears him.

Taking it as a bit of a compliment, she adds a bit of a swing to her step, opening the bag and slipping on a t-shirt while she walks.

Unfortunately, this seems to be one of the bags for the younger teenagers, so she has to add the shorts that are in it, as well. She truly doesn't want to flash anybody on purpose - that guy was an accident.

She can hear footsteps behind her, and she raises a brow, still trying to figure out who this guy is. She has never seen him before - she knows this because he is so unbelievably hot, and she would definitely remember his face.

An arm is thrown around her shoulders, and she elbows him away from her, walking even faster to get away from him.

"So, cupcake, do you think you can show me where the Alpha house is?" He asks with a grin, and she holds back from rolling her eyes, slipping her feet into the water shoes in the bag - she's asked the border patrol to pick up her boots from earlier on their rounds, she had only just gotten them broken in, and even Sonya had the respect to let her take them off before shifting.

"Sure, I suppose that's on my way," she sighs, slamming the almost empty bag into his chest, and increasing her pace yet again. "So why are you here?" She inquires, using the five minute fast-walk to get information.

She still can't get a pack scent off this male, and he doesn't belong to hers - she would have noticed.

"I have a meeting with the Alpha. Or, more accurately, the old Alpha," he states nonchalantly, and Avery furrows her brow, trying to mindlink York.

She didn't set up this meeting, and she sets up all the meetings.

"What's your name?" She asks, memorising his face. She suddenly realises he's still naked, and grunts, "put some damn clothes on."

"Well, sweetheart, I'm Roman, and I'd like to ask a question, too," he smirks, not trying to be patronising or anything, which surprises her, "do I have an effect on you? Is that why you want me to put some clothes on?"

She leaps away from him, staring at him in mild disgust.

"Trust me, I wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last man on earth," she responds bluntly, watching him out of the corner of her eye, while he hops into the final pair of shorts.

Unfortunately for him, they're very obviously shorts for a teenage girl. Definitely not made to fit a very tall, very muscular man.

"Who said anything about sleeping?" He winks, but the shorts are too much for Avery - she can't even look him in the eyes without laughing.

The remaining few minutes of the walk is done in silence, with Avery occasionally bursting into peels of laughter as he has to frequently fix the shorts to contain himself.

"You could switch shorts with me, I have to see the Alpha of this pack," he grumbles, and she turns to look at him with a big smile.

"I think he'll really love you like this," before skipping up the driveway to where her father and brother are waiting, looking very surprised to see her.

York is so shocked, that he doesn't even notice Roman behind her.

"How are you now?" York asks quietly, his eyes scanning his sister to make sure she's in one piece and at least physically okay.

Avery communicates with him with her eyes, and he shuts up, staring at her suspiciously, all while Richard stares behind her, his eyes taking in Roman.

"Alpha Lancaster," he manages to get out, still looking very confused.

"Honey," Richard greets his daughter, pulling her into his side.

"Alpha Lancaster?" Avery snorts, at the same time Roman says "Honey?" in a mocking tone.

"Oh. So they've met," York laughs, disappearing into the house to gossip with his mum, leaving Richard to handle the Alpha and the daughter.