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."You're not as clever as you two think you are," Marie smirks, laughing a little as she observes her son hiding in the kitchen with her."What do you mean?" York hisses, shushing her as they peek out the kitchen door and watch Richard walk into one of the conference rooms with Avery and Roman, the former looking smug, and the latter still looking a bit lost."So where are your guards, oh all-mighty Alpha Lancaster?" Avery grins, throwing herself into one of the spinning chairs around the table.Richard clears his throat, sending a silent message to his daughter to behave, and she shuts her mouth and sits up properly. Her dad is rarely serious with her, so she knows to zip it and pay attention.She still doesn't appreciate that she's been left entirely in the dark about whatever is about to happen. Richard throws a set of clothes at Roman, and he catches them with an appreciative look on his face, walking into the bathroom to change, and emerging in under a minute, the dress pants and
The silence is deafening for a moment or two, and then Alpha Roman stands up, nodding his head."Alpha Wilcott, if you could get that paperwork done, I'll have it approved within the hour," he says quietly, putting his hand out for a hand shake.York shakes it firmly, nodding also."I'll get it done and sent over," he responds in a similarly soft and gentle tone, standing up from where he was sitting.Avery watches this exchange, standing up too."I can be on your territory tomorrow," she states stiffly, "thank you."Roman lets out a laugh, shaking his head."Don't be silly, Wilcott. I'll wait for you, my guards are almost here. I would have been with them, but I got out to stretch my legs, and then got attacked by someone," he teases gently, trying to get a smile out of her. She gives him a small smile, drinking the rest of her water before putting the glass into the sink."I'll need an hour maybe to pack, if that's okay," she says, and then shakes her head like a dog with water in
The journey is quiet and long, without much chatter in the vehicle.Avery gets restless after sleeping upright for seven hours, and her phone only amuses her for so long, until she turns to Roman."So, how much longer is it going to be until we arrive?" She finally blurts out, her voice breaking the silence, and giving the driver in the front a bit of a fright.Roman looks up from the files he has open in front of him, and observes her with a mild smile on his face."Your brother warned me you don't do well with long car journeys. It should only be another few hours, we're crossing through pack territories instead of the highways," he chuckles, pushing a pair of glasses back up his nose.I like those, Sonya chirps up in Avery's mind, giving her a bit of a fright too - so the little bitch had decided to come back. Avery liked the glasses too, but she wasn't going to tell him that - his ego seemed big enough."How long is a few hours? I need to go to the bathroom," Avery frowns, crossi
Roman eyes both women carefully.Avery looks slightly amused, keeping her gaze fixed on the woman, looking straight through Roman.Amelia is seething, snarls leaving her mouth.Roman sighs, shaking his head at them both."Mother, being an Unfortunate isn't a terrible thing," he reprimands, before turning to Avery, "you need to work on your temper."Avery knows she does, so she stays quiet, instead opting to take a seat, watching Amelia like one would watch a tiger."How dare you defend her!" Amelia gasps, before storming out of the room in a huff."I'm very sorry about her," Roman states, before walking back to his desk, "since my father died, she has been prone to mood swings."Avery nods in understanding, "I heard about his death. We couldn't attend due to a rogue attack. My father always speaks of yours highly."With all of this being said, the two sit in silence for a moment."So, what's your favourite colour?" Roman asks, pulling out a ring binder with various coloured pages scat
It was a minor miracle that she had a set of workout gear that matched.She had a lot of half sets with her, but none matched, bar the bubblegum pink set she had put on.Dousing herself in sunscreen, she eats some of the pretzels she got on their journey to here, rubbing her face to try wake herself up.Securing her bun with an extra hair tie, she laces her trainers on, and throws a sweatshirt over her sports bra - she isn't sure where these guys prefer to train, and if it's indoors, she'll probably be cold.Grabbing her phone, and securing it in the pocket of her leggings, she bounces out of her room, trying to figure out where the gym is.Sonya snarls at her, and Avery rolls her eyes, tapping into her sense of smell to find her way downstairs. She manages to catch Alpha Roman's scent, and decides to follow it - he was the one who brought her up through this maze, so he should lead her out of it.Following the trail intensely, she sticks to one side of the wall, noting the immense nu
As the kid advances, her referee clambers up into her post, waving at Avery frantically to beckon her over.Avery walks over to the girl, leaning down so that she can speak with ease."Hello Deputy Alpha, thank you for allowing me to take this position. His name is Marcus, he's 17, and he is training under the Chief Warrior to take his place soon," the girl whispers and then pauses, looking around as if trying to remember something. "And my name is Kate," she adds after a moment in the same hushed tone, giving Avery a small, nervous smile."Thank you, Kate," Avery gives her a toothy grin before turning around and walking to her corner, watching this Marcus boy.He looks devious, and Avery takes an instant dislike to him. He whips off his shirt and throws it out of the door of the cage as she did with her sweatshirt."Um, no killing, no maiming, no weaponry attacks in this fight. Each round will last four minutes, and there will be three rounds, and whoever can pin the other for more
Marcus jumps up and grabs onto the ceiling too, his long frame making it easy for him.He aims a kick at her midriff, which she blocks quickly. While she blocks that kick, he projects himself at her like a missile, using his weight to knock her to the ground."Bastard," she hisses as he kicks her in the side while she's on the ground.Grabbing one of his feet, she rolls and pulls him down, too, before leaping off of the ground, and giving him a hard kick to the side also.Well, one became four, but she stops after six, not wanting to be too unfair.Marcus struggles to get up, and Avery makes a note of this information.She quickly puts him into a chokehold, sitting down behind him as he hits and claws at her arms.She loosens her hold enough for him to be able to breathe a little easier, but she maintains her control on him.The whistle blows again, and Kate looks mildly baffled."The score remains One-Zero. There is no clear winner of this round," she declares, waiting for the pair t
"Go," Avery shouts, turning on some upbeat pop music.She walks along the lines of sparring teenagers, her eyes watching sharply for any mistakes, with Kate beside her."What should she have done there instead of punch?" Avery murmurs to her, pointing at a pair of girls."Kick, and then get out of the arm-span area of the opponent?" Kate suggests, and Avery nods in approval.Once they get to the end, they stop and turn to overlook the hall."Get two knives," Avery orders, then pauses, "actually, get four."Kate doesn't question it, quickly hurrying off the collect the four knives from the rack. She gets four hunting knives, long and light to carry.Once Kate comes back, Avery takes two knives and stares at her."Try to attack me. I won't harm you, but try to attack me," she says to the shy girl, and Kate takes a step back, shaking her head."If you're gonna be a tracker, your best defence is weaponry," Avery quickly adds, seeing the girl twitch - she knew that would be the teenager's