"Lilith Addison, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" The head of the Council roars, and Lilith sits up straight.Avery's blood is boiling, and Zephyr is sitting near the door in case he needs to be removed from the room quickly."Of course," Lilith announces, her eyes scanning the courtroom blankly.Her demeanour is detached, and she has no emotion in her face at all.She doesn't look at Zephyr or Avery.Just because she's here doesn't mean she's going to say anything bad about us, Sonya reminds her.If the Council have their way, they'll get her to blame us for her kidnapping and injuries, Avery responds to her wolf, her eyes flashing as she watches the woman on the stand twirl her hair.What kind of mother could abandon their pup?, Sonya ponders sadly, miserable at the mere thought of abandoning a child.We don't know what's happening in her life; it could be for his own protection, Avery warns her wolf.She might be annoyed at Lilith, but sh
The room is silent as Avery gapes at the Mating Panel in shock."You have to be kidding," Roman interjects after neither of them speaks for a few minutes."No, we wouldn't kid about this sort of thing," one of the men on the panel interrupts, his face a picture of horror."Having a mate is a good thing," the panel's head declares, scowling at Avery and Roman.Avery is pale in the face, and her eyes seem wider than usual as she stares around the room."What the fuck," she whispers to herself.Sonya is yipping, confused between being thrilled over the concept that she does have a mate, and also being miserable that it's Roman."I don't want a mate," Avery clears her throat, looking at the woman in charge sternly."You don't get to refuse what the Goddess has given you, please don't be so disrespectful of her divine wishes and decisions," the woman snaps, clearly on the verge of losing her temper at the two Alpha's unusual reactions."She is the one who had us declared mateless," Avery g
"Okay, to me, Alpha Wilcott smells like freshly baked cookies - she's sweet, but she also smells like smoke. Alpha Lancaster smells like the forest, earthy and like wet mud," the scientist explains enthusiastically, and Avery raises an eyebrow.Did he just imply that we smell like burnt cookies?, Sonya snarls, and Avery isn't sure how to respond to her wolf."Okay," Roman unsurely shrugs to the scientist."Mates usually find each other by touch and scent, right?" The man asks first, and when everyone nods slowly, he grins and continues, "Unfortunates find their mates by finding out who doesn't have a scent."Avery stares at the man, furrowing her brows."So because I can't find Alpha Lancaster's scent, he's my mate?" She asks with a sigh, trying not to roll her eyes.This doesn't seem very reliable to her at all."Yes," the man beams."We don't feel the typical sparks when we touch," Roman butts in, folding his arms as he glances at Avery quickly."That's the beauty of Unfortunate pai
A nice top and jeans, or a pretty dress?, Sonya ponders, and Avery sighs.I don't know, Kathleen would say wear a dress though, Avery comments, and Sonya groans.We didn't bring a nice dress, we only have the weird dark green one, Sonya scoffs, and Avery runs a hand through her hair."So, you and Lancaster again, huh?" York asks, sweeping into the room and flinging himself onto his sister's bed."How did you get in here?" Avery asks, staring at her case."I have a room key, duh," he laughs, rolling his eyes as he squints at her suitcase."Everyone downstairs is wearing dresses, you should really hurry up," York sing-songs, and Avery lobs her high heel at him."Get out, I have to get dressed," she mutters, and York sighs dramatically."Sissy, you will miss me so much when I go away. Don't act like you don't love my constant presence," he rolls his eyes, standing up and walking over the where Avery is standing beside the desk her suitcase lays open on.He scoops up the silky green dress
"He decided to take her out to one of the restaurants on the waterfront, apparently it's their anniversary," he mutters, turning away from Avery to face Scott.Avery refrains from rolling her eyes, gritting her teeth as she inhales slowly at her brother's irritated response.It isn't any of his business, Sonya grumbles.Avery sniffs to herself, shaking her head and sitting up straight.A hand lands on her shoulder, and she freezes for a moment, turning around slowly to see who it is."Hey," Roman nods, and Avery grins at him.She isn't sure if she wants a mate, and she doesn't know if he wants a mate, but there's no point in being spiteful or rude now that she knows they have some sort of bond together - it's not like he could have forced the bond, and he was equally shocked when the were told the news."Take a seat, get comfortable," she smiles, and he nods slowly, giving her a confused smile as he sits beside her."Okay, I know we didn't end things well last time, and I know I could
Hayden raises an eyebrow and nods to Mitchell, sending daggers his way.Mitchell rapidly shakes his head, pursing his lips and pointing aggressively at Hayden."You do it," he mouths, jutting his chin forward as he scowls.I'm not doing it, you prick, Hayden declares through their mindlink, slyly flashing him the middle finger.You are the Gamma, as your Beta, I'm ordering you to do it, Mitchell instantly replies, folding his arms smugly, and waiting for Hayden to react to the response.You aren't actually commanding me, so I'm not doing it. Ask York or Kathleen to do it; she won't kill either of them, Hayden complains, throwing his arms up silently.The two men glance furtively at Avery, who is reclining in her seat with her eyes closed.They know she isn't asleep, she scared the crap out of them all a few minutes earlier when she had joined in on a conversation and debate suddenly. Her breathing is level, and Hayden is convinced she's napping - Mitch assumes she's meditating.Mitche
The aftermath of the trial had led to a lot of chaos for the Council to deal with.York had quickly left the newly-named Wilcott pack to go travelling, and most of the pack supported him on his decision - a lot of people suspected it was his last chance to find a mate in his last four months before turning twenty-two.Avery thought he was lucky - he had escaped just before the shit hit the fan.Her pack was peaceful, but everywhere outside her land seemed to have gone up in flames.Zephyr's pack experienced another revolt, one so bad that Avery had to send in some of her pack warriors to help them regain control and democracy.Scott's pack had another wave of vampire attacks, and he had lost around thirty pack members to the fanged rats.Lexus Steele had been removed from power and almost killed. Avery had granted her asylum in her pack, as the woman had looked out for her a number of times in the past, and because she didn't think the woman had anyone else to turn to - her mate was d
She walks by Mitch and Kathleen, nodding to Mitch and sending Kathleen a hard look as she heads towards the kitchen.Kathleen grits her teeth and turns away, not happy with her friend's disapproval as she cradles her ever-growing bump.Avery strolls into the dining room, smiling at some of the kids who are bouncing around still."Have you eaten yet?" Roman asks, and Avery rolls her eyes as she pushes the kitchen door open.As she does, all of the men and women in there grin and greet her loudly, scaring the crap out of her."No, I'm about to," she says into the phone, nodding and smiling to everyone in the kitchen as she heads to the pot sitting on the stove.Dinner is always cooked in two batches, one in the evening, and one in the middle of the night for the guards and night workers.She scoops some of the stew into a bowl, balancing it precariously between her arm and midriff.One of the women spots her doing this and frowns, taking it off her and shaking her head."You tell me whe