"If you had been killed, I would have dragged you back to life and then murdered you myself," he hisses, speeding up to walk past her.He sends Zephyr a text to tell him they're going to run the rest of the way to his territory, and as he sends it, Avery clears her throat behind him.He pockets his phone and turns around, his eyebrows rising and his jaw dropping slightly as his eyes land on a very naked Avery.She grins, and then immediately shifts, nudging the bag of her clothes on the forest floor with his nose.He stoops down to pick up the back, and she shakes her head, a wolfish grin on her face.He puts the bag down and unbuttons his shirt, folding it and then putting it into the bag.He slowly strips off, Avery sitting in front of him with her legs crossed, her ears perked up to listen for any invaders.Once he finishes packing the bag, he bends down over her, securely fastening their clothes to her back.She stands up and waits for him to shift, Sonya impatiently waiting for h
"Can you imagine if we had a baby?" Roman asks dreamily, speaking more to himself than her.We? Excuse me? It would be us having the baby, Sonya argues irritably."Sonya doesn't like your phrasing," Avery comments lazily, glancing over at him with a hand shading her eyes."Fine. Can you imagine a child we created?" He rephrases with a grin, his whole body turned sideways and facing her.His tan is going to be so uneven, Sonya comments."It would be so dominant it would be ridiculous," Avery responds, and Roman releases a puff of air.His grin has turned to a bit of a frown, and Avery quickly sits up on her chair, furrowing her brows."I'm not saying I don't want a kid," she explains hurriedly, "I just tend to think on the negative end of things, you know that.""I still think a child is a good thing, so I don't appreciate you trashing our metaphorical demon spawn," he retorts, his tone half teasing and half hurt.Aw, we fucked up, Sonya groans."You haven't even marked me yet, why are
"I don't tell you how much I appreciate you," she murmurs, gazing up at him."I don't mind that," he shrugs, and she shakes her head."No, you deserve to know how great you are. I value you so much as a person, and I appreciate your loyalty and care much more than you'll ever know," she begins nervously, "when something happens, you're the first person I want to tell. I can't seem to spend enough time with you, and even when I'm with you, I miss you, because I know you'll be going soon."Her confession is made in a small voice, and she looks over his shoulder at a tree to avoid his eyes.Before he can open his mouth, she continues."I love you," she blurts out, clapping a hand over her mouth.What the fuck did you just say, Sonya screams.It just came out, Avery roars back, panicking immediately.Take it back! Hit him on the head, make him forget!, Sonya screeches, her eyes as wide as possible."Shit," Avery mutters under her breath, staring at Roman, who looks ready to faint.His fac
The rest of the weekend had been a little awkward.The sparks had begun, and Avery jolted every time Roman touched her, even if it was just a brush off as he walked by.Roman was falling hard and fast, and the four days together only solidified that.Nobody had caught on yet, and Avery had no idea how.The lie they had created was that their wolves had imprinted on each other. Although it caused some raised eyebrows, since imprinting wasn't really done in modern times, her parents had simply accepted it, nodding along with the excuse if anyone questioned it in front of them.Light, silky scarves had been Avery's go-to accessory to hide her mark.It was the middle of summer, so she couldn't exactly start wearing polo-neck jumpers.Roman had it easy - he just wore collared shirts whenever they had to go and be around people."That was fun," Avery grumbles, yanking her scarf from around her neck and flinging it onto the bed as she itches."Stop scratching, you'll make it worse," Roman re
The evening was disastrous.It seemed like every fighter Avery had trained had stage-fright for a while, and some of them had even refused to fight the next day.Avery had ordered a tonne of pizza and ice cream to calm them down, even though the Generals didn't exactly approve of her methods, one of them going as far as to call it a 'bribe'.Sure enough, after they all had some carbs, they calmed down, and Avery had gotten them to talk about why they were afraid of fighting the following day.Some were afraid of disappointing their parents, and for those kids, Avery organised phone calls home to the families, with the parents under strict instructions to only be encouraging about the event taking place.Some were terrified they'd just do terribly, and Avery told them there was no shame in not winning. Her words did nothing to help, so Avery enlisted the help of some of the counsellors who were supplied by the Council, who organised the Trials with the help of some of the Senior Alphas
It's totally empty, and Avery wanders down the well-lit hallway towards the floor's kitchen.Once she arrives, her eyes land on Scott and Mike.She gives them both a genuine grin, jumping up onto one of the counters near them."Hey, guys," she beams, swinging her legs happily, "I hope I'm not interrupting.""You're not," Scott says with a frown on his face as he stares at her.His eyes are on her neck, and her own eyes shoot open as she realises that she doesn't have her mark fully covered.Fluffing her hair in an attempt to make it less visible, she looks around the small kitchen, stopping on Mike."How are you?" She asks with a cough, glancing at Scott to see him still staring intently at her throat."I'm pretty good, I'm missing Meredith," Mike says with a sigh, running a hand through his short black hair as he leans against the sink, a bottle of beer in his hand as he gazes over at Scott."You're looking at her like she's going to vanish, take a chill pill," Mike groans, shaking h
.....and Avery yelps, wiggling out of his hold."You monster," she grumbles, closing the bathroom door in his face as she walks over to the sink.She brushes her teeth and washes her face in record time, taking a minute to pee and sort herself out.She's finally fully awake when she reopens the bathroom door, glancing over at Roman, who plopped himself onto the bed."Okay, how much time do we have?" She asks as she applies her moisturiser, digging through her suitcase."Fifteen minutes till breakfast," he nods, and she squeaks, pulling out a pair of leggings and a workout top.The judges can be called in to stop fights, and she has to be dressed for it."Hurry up!" She exclaims once she realises that he isn't making any move to get dressed."I was waiting until you were done in the bathroom!" He responds in a matching high-pitched voice, scuttling into the bathroom with his hands raised in innocence.As soon as the door shuts, Avery clambers into her clothes, brushing her hair while s
"I know you're all going to do amazing, even if you don't. Just take your time, and ask for a pause if you need one. I'll be there, watching every fight that you guys are in. I've even planned my bathroom breaks around the schedule, so I'm not missing any," she grins, and the last part gets some small laughs out of the kids."Thanks, Alpha," one of the girls nearest her smiles, and Avery grins at her, recognising her from the weaponry lessons she held a few weeks ago."Play to your strengths, whatever they may be. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't," Avery reminds them, patting a few of them on the shoulders before she leaves.She knows that some of them want to sit in silence, and the few who chatter when they get nervous are sitting together at the end of the table, keeping the conversation going at a mile a minute.She feels a small smile appear on her lips as she walks back to Roman and Scott, shaking her head as she goes.She slides into her seat as a plate appears in front