This is what they mean by the mate bond, she thinks ruefully.Yes, it is, we're magnetised to him, Sonya says dreamily in response.Avery wanders over to where he's sitting, sliding into the uncomfortable seat beside him and taking his hand nervously."What's wrong?" He asks, glancing at her in concern."I'm just nervous one of the kids will get hurt," she mumbles, running a hand through her hair as she looks around at all of the spectators.The youngest children start off the fighting, with girls going before boys.The first rounds fly by, and Avery digs her nails into Roman every time one of her kids take a blow in the ring, her teeth drawing blood from her lips more than once."Relax, they're okay," he whispers, cringing a little.Right after he utters those words, one of the children take a particularly vicious hit and slams into the ground, making Avery leap up from her seat and race over to the barrier."Michael," she roars, and the referee blows his whistle aggressively."Non-a
The excitement in the air is infectious as Avery enters the room, a grin on her face.As soon as she enters, the teenagers release a roar, startling the nearby packs into moving away.Avery has to stop herself from snorting out loud at the sudden fleeing of the nearby people, and she barely has a chance to think about the entire thing before her pack engulfs her into a humungous group hug.They all start talking at once, and Avery can't focus on any voices, deciding to shush them and suggest that they take turns so that everyone is heard."Are we all happy?" She beams, and they all hoot, the trophies being lifted aloft and wiggled about, the light beams catching the shiny metal and reflecting around the room in rainbows."I'm so beyond proud of you all," she grins, shaking her head in disbelief as she looks at each and every face that surrounds her.The facial expressions on the teenagers range from simply satisfied to gleeful, all of them chattering to each other excitedly as they sh
"Well, you're perfectly sane. I didn't - well, we didn't - want to tell anybody yet, but I suppose you don't count. So, surprise!" She grins excitedly, grabbing his hand and squeezing it energetically.He shakes her off, using both of his hands to massage his temples, and he shakes his head."You've done some crazy shit in the time that I've known you, but I think this tops it off," he groans, leaning against the brick wall behind him as he glances up and down the alleyway to make sure that nobody is listening in on their conversation.Avery frowns, trying not to get upset that one of her closest friends isn't supporting her.He doesn't know Roman is our mate, Sonya roars suddenly, and Avery's eyes widen."I forgot to tell you something else, too," she starts nervously, and he releases an anguished groan."If you're pregnant, Avery, I will eat glass," he whines, staring at her in mild fear."No, no, I'm definitely not pregnant," she snorts, rolling her eyes at him with a chuckle."Wel
Why did you groan out loud, idiot?, Sonya whines, preparing herself for the onslaught of entitlement.Avery releases some of her dominance subtly, glancing around to see if it affects Alpha Carlton at all.He winces slightly, and she has to look away to hide the smirk growing on her face.In theory, all Alphas are at the same level of power and dominance.In practice, the ones who put work into mastering their craft and being good Alphas, as well as training consistently, are usually much more powerful.Alpha Carlton is a spoiled brat, a few years younger than Avery, and decades behind in social practice."Would you stop doing that?" He growls after a minute, and Avery stifles her giggle."Stop doing what?" She asks, glancing at him and noticing his clenched jaw."Releasing your power," he snarls, his eyes flashing at her.She grins and bats her eyelashes in confusion."I have no idea what you're talking about," she sighs, brushing him off as she folds her arms and faces the door."I
"Yeah, I did, I'm not being responsible for getting them all back to their rooms later," she chuckles, glancing out the window."Do you know how many people are going home tonight?" Roman calls from the bathroom, turning the water back on."I think a few Alphas are, but I'm not sure," she responds, laying the makeup she's using for the dinner dance out on the dresser."Oh, I thought everyone would stay for the dinner," he shouts, and she nods to herself."Some of the Alphas are really annoyed that they didn't rank too well, I'd say they're running home with their tails tucked between their legs," she sighs, and she reaches into her suitcase to find her hair products.Do you want to join me in here?, Roman links her, and Avery raises her eyebrows, trying not to laugh.No thanks, I don't want to get my hair wet, she snorts, quickly replying to some of the emails while she waits for him to get out of the shower.As soon as he opens the bathroom door, she breezes by him, clutching towels
She lays the white plastic down on the counter, brushing the strand of hair that fell into her face away from her eyes."They're all positive," she murmurs, looking over her shoulder to a very pale Roman."I think I'm going to be sick," he whispers, sinking down against the cupboards."Don't lean against the wood, you'll get blood on it," she snaps, washing her hands in the kitchen sink.He absentmindedly reaches around to his back and begins unclipping his chest plate, staring at the pregnancy tests on the kitchen island.Avery slaps his hands away and unclips his armour for him, gritting her teeth."Stupid," she growls, and he looks up in alarm, raising his eyebrows in confusion."What did I do?" He asks, slowly hauling himself up from the ground."Not you, me," she sighs, shaking her head miserably."What are you talking about, you crazy girl?" He furrows his brows, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him gently."I've constantly been shifting, and I just foug
It feels like everyone Avery has ever known is staring up at her intently.She can feel sweat building up on the back of her neck, and she tugs gently at the silk scarf hanging around her neck as she glances up at Roman."You're probably wondering why we called this pack meeting," Roman begins, and looks down at Avery.He raises an eyebrow at her.Are you going to continue, or do I have to keep talking?, he asks urgently, and Avery has to hold back a smile.She likes knowing that he's just as nervous as she is, because he doesn't usually express much emotion, especially in front of either of their packs.Both packs together?Forget it.I might faint if I try to talk, she responds, and she isn't lying.Sonya has gone radio silent out of absolute fear, and Avery herself feels ridiculously light-headed.You can face down packs of rogues and vampires, but a speech makes you crap yourself? Really?, Avery grumbles to a slightly miffed Sonya.Those rogues aren't expecting me to make a speech
Her left hand rests on her bump as she brushes through her hair with her right, exhaustion apparent on her face as she fixes herself for her meetings.Putting the brush down onto the dressing table, she slowly hauls herself up from her stool, wincing as her back aches at the sudden movement.Roman can hear movement from where he is in the bathroom, and he quickly hurries out, his eyes widening as he spots his very pregnant mate moving around."Ave, I told you to call me!" He scolds, and she scowls at him, slapping his hand off her arm."I'm not an invalid, I'm just pregnant," she scoffs, waddling around the room to find a hat."Yes, very pregnant," he reminds her with a frown, grabbing a tan wool hat for her.It matches the only coat she wants to wear nowadays, so he figures that she can't be too upset at his pairing of the two.She stares at it for a moment, taking it off him gently and cramming it onto her head roughly, glancing at the time."I can drive you if you give me two minut