After slathering on a layer of concealer, Avery examines herself in the mirror."That's as good as it'll get," she mutters, and glances at her phone, noticing a text from York."Ugh," she mutters, glancing at the bathroom door, and rolling her eyes before she hops into a sky blue silk slip dress.Leaving her hair down in its waves from the day before, she adds a small pair of stud earrings into her lobes, and two rings in her second and third piercings.Popping her heels on, she grabs her purse, loading it with anything she could need for the day.Sonya growls as she comes back to life, the pain in Avery's head gone.Thank you, Avery chirps, grabbing a dark grey blazer to throw over her dress if she gets chilly.I hope you fall down a flight of stairs. Actually, I hope you don't, because I'll have to fix that too, Sonya grumbles, going back to ignoring Avery."Roman, I'm going down for breakfast," Avery shouts, before she stomps out of the room, keeping her ears sharp for any noise fr
Avery is half asleep, but in her defence, so is Lilith.The two women are leaning against each other, their heads resting on one another'."Have you ever seen your one so peaceful?" Roman asks in amusement, shaking his head at Avery as he pulls out his laptop and gets ready for the second half of the conference to begin."She's gorgeous," Zephyr sighs dreamily, holding Lilith's hand loosely."Are you happy?" Roman quietly questions, his eyes not leaving Avery's face."Happier than I've ever been in my life," Zephyr whispers, leaning in and kissing Lilith.Lilith jolts awake and slaps Zephyr across the face.Her jolting awake makes Avery bolt up, and now both women are alert and looking very pissed off."What the hell?" Avery groans, sitting back down and rubbing her face.She remembers she has makeup on, and then whips her hands away from her face, cursing everyone and everything she's ever known."Why did you do that?" Lilith whines, looking miserable."He was trying to be cute," Rom
Avery and Lilith are quickly moved to an office just off the dining hall, Council members hurrying them along.Alpha Petty is dragged with them, and Zephyr and Roman follow quickly, being turned away at the door.The three stand awkwardly in the office, Avery's hands covered in blood.She tries not to retch when she notices, and Lilith snatches a bottle of water off the desk, pouring it over her hands to get rid of some of the blood."You weren't as freaked when you did this to my face," Scott mumbles, and Avery glares at him."That boy was just a kid, and he was going to kill himself. He's innocent in all of this. You, however, were the opposite of innocent," she snaps, muttering her thanks to Lilith."So.. guilty?" Scott smirks, and Avery bares her teeth at him."Alpha Petty, you stay in your corner, and we'll stay in ours," Lilith announces, pulling Avery back to behind the desk, where she sits her down and stands behind her."At least you didn't get blood on your dress," Lilith s
The silence is a little awkward, but it's also very calm.The two pairs are sitting comfortable, Avery having moved her chair to lean against Roman's legs, her head against his abdomen."What's your name?" Avery asks the girl beside Scott.He shoots her a slight look, and Avery shrugs."I'm assuming I'm going to see her again, so I don't see a problem with being friendly. It's you I have the issue with, not her," Avery yawns, looking bored at having to explain herself."Kali," she almost whispers back."Like the goddess of destruction?" Avery asks with a hint of humour in her voice.Roman nudges her, shooting her a stern look."Yes, you're familiar?" The girl asks quietly, her voice slightly accented."I know a little bit of every culture and language, it's a beautiful name," Avery nods, feeling uneasy."So you two.. screwed?" Kali manages to get out, and Scott and Avery exchange a regretful look."Yes," both nod and Kali simply nods back, before going back to being silent."It was a
"It's like he's a nun," Avery whines, and Lilith looks up from painting her nails in the corner of the room."Maybe he just respects you?" She suggests, rolling her eyes and picking the silver nail polish back up."Maybe you should make the first move?" Meredith grumbles, plucking her brows in the mirror. "I make the first move with everything, it's his turn," Avery grunts, pulling herself back up onto the bed with a lot of effort, from where she was half slumped onto the ground."Mike is the least spontaneous person I've ever met if we're complaining about mates," Meredith moans, dropping her tweezers in a huff."Zephyr is afraid to tell me anything important in case it scares me," Lilith comments, a brief look of irritation crossing her face before it returns to its neutral expression."And Roman isn't my mate," Avery scowls, and the other two share a look."That just means you aren't obliged to deal with him," Meredith shrugs, watching her best friend flop around like a slug on a
The beginning of the night is spent in the most relaxing way Avery could think of.She has a bubble bath when she gets back to her room, and she reads some files that were slid her way by various Alphas."Avery?" Roman calls, knocking on the bathroom door."Shit," Avery mutters, groping around the tub for a towel."Yeah, I'm in here," she calls back, her voice higher than usual as she desperately looks for something to conserve her modesty with.She finally grasps one of the towels off the rail a meter away, and stands up out of the bath, wrapping herself in the towel tightly.Roman walks in just as she finishes covering herself, and she stares at him in silence, raising a brow when he just stares back."You needed me?" She sighs, leaning against the wall, some of her hair coming out of its topknot and falling into her face.She blows at the hair, trying to keep it out of her eyes."I was just wondering if you were hungry, or if you wanted to go for a run," he scratches his neck awkwa
Avery is dragged to an empty room by Mike and Meredith, who tuck her in and stay for a few minutes until she falls asleep."I really don't like this," Meredith murmurs, and Mike nods silently, wrapping his arm around her waist."I'll ring York and tell him he'll have to take her home tomorrow, I can't watch her go to Lancaster's pack and be on her own like this," Mike whispers to Meredith, kissing her hair silently.They watch over Avery for a few more minutes, the atmosphere in the room heavy.When they eventually leave, they close the door quietly.Meredith runs a hand through her dark hair in worry and sighs reluctantly."If you tell York, I'll go and get her bags from Roman's room?" She suggests, and Mike nods firmly."If he goes near you, scream," he scowls, hugging his mate before they depart.Meredith walks slowly to where Avery stayed, her journey feeling like a death march.She knows fully well that Avery's misery isn't entirely down to Roman, but she also knows that a part o
Avery wakes up the next morning to somebody banging on her bedroom door.Well, it isn't her bedroom, and she doesn't know how she got to this room, but she's fully clothed and tucked in like a burrito, so she knows one of the girls probably put her to bed.She has a slight headache, made worse by the banging on the door, but she doesn't move."Where is he?" She croaks out loud, and Sonya sighs dramatically.He isn't here, you dumb bitch, she responds, and Avery furrows her brows.Where is he, then?, she asks, her tone a little sad.I don't know, probably his room? It's 6 am, I imagine he's still asleep, Sonya grumbles, and she can picture her wolf flinging herself back onto the ground.Why are we not in his room?, Avery asks, and as she asks, she remembers their almost argument, and her walking out.That's why, Sonya chirps helpfully, now please answer the door, or I'll shift and scare them away.Avery reluctantly climbs out of her warm burrito, a scowl on her face as the cold air of