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 number of photographs and pictures hanging up.Drawings by kids, family photographs, and many photos of the Lancaster family line the walls, making her raise a brow.It's like they're compensating for something with this big show of affection and unity, Avery grumbles to Sonya, and the wolf tends to agree.Avery keeps turning the corners, sticking to the bland scent as much as she could.Every wolf has some sort of scent signature - everyone says she smells like fresh cookies, which is pretty particular. York smells like lavender to her, and her parents smell like cinnamon and cocoa. But she can't figure out what Roman's is, which puzzles her - it would be a lot easier if it were unique - or even legible.She starts vaguely recognising where she is, her body flooding with pride at her little victory.Her lace comes undone, and she scowls, bending down to re-tie it.Out of nowhere, footsteps are heard and then moans.Avery whips her head around, her lips pursed. What kind of packhouse wasn't soundproofed?Shaking her head, she gets back up and freezes when she hears a very dramatic and loud, "Oh Roman!"Trying not to laugh, she fails, bursting into giggles as she walks away with her hand over her mouth.The footsteps can be heard again, and a ruffled Roman appears at one of the doors, looking frazzled and defensive."Oh. It's you," he mutters, "the gym is in the basement."Avery is still giggling, and gives him a thumbs-up, dissolving into peals of laughter.The shrill exclamation of pleasure was so dramatic; she can't help but continue to laugh.Finding the stairs, she hops down them, still giggling to herself.Sonya is shaking her head and rolling her eyes, scolding Avery for being so childish, but Avery ignores her.Going down the numerous flights of stairs, Avery observes her surroundings, the packhouse appearing as a bustling hub of activity, with people milling around everywhere.People stare at her curiously before going back to what they were doing.She realises she's emitting some of her dominance, and she reigns it in quickly - if she's training teenagers, she wants them to think they can win so that she can twist their undoubtedly cocky attitudes."Gym?" She quickly asks one lady, who points her to a door, which leads to stairs.Bouncing down the steps, she pulls open the first door at the bottom of the stairs, being greeted with steam and cries of "Get out!"Avery quickly steps out and tries the middle door, which leads her to a huge gym, complete with any sort of training equipment she could think of. She notes the presence of a cage on the left side of the room, and a ring on the right side, with the middle clear of any equipment.A rack of knives, blades, and instruments of torture sits in front of her, making her raise an eyebrow - she's shocked that this pack just leaves their weapons out like this. In her pack, everything is locked away until sanctioned or scheduled training. If teenagers are fighting, there always needs to be an adult present, for safety and protection reasons.Avery walks up to the rack, running her fingers along the tails of a whip in curiosity.She does this to a few more of the instruments, before hearing some hasty footsteps enter the room.She turns around to see about fifty teenagers sitting on the ground, staring at her in awe. The footsteps came from about ten males who entered the room, all of whom look guilty for disturbing her trance and concentration."Sorry," some of them mumble, and she shrugs, eyeing the ones seated on the floor."Hello, I'm Deputy Alpha Wilcott from Rapid Rock, but you already know that if you're here," Avery announces, putting her shoulders back, and placing her hands behind her back."Today, we'll be doing some combat training. I think we'll start in the cage," she muses and sees a hand raise."Sorry, Deputy Alpha Wilcott, but Alpha Lancaster doesn't allow us to practice in the cage until we're sixteen," one girl whispers, looking particularly scared of Avery's reaction."Well, that's where Alpha Lancaster-" She almost sneers his name, completely unimpressed with his training practices, "is wrong. We train our pups in the cage from nine years of age, or as soon as they shift if that is before nine."Shocked awe descends on the crowd, with rapid whispers being exchanged by some children."Whenever you're all ready, I'll be in the cage," she sighs, walking to the cage with ease.She opens the door, and swings herself up into it, the door being almost five feet off the ground."I want a challenger and a referee. Volunteer or I'll pick myself," she almost snarls, looking down at the scared faces below her.Pulling off her sweatshirt, she flings it out of the cage, stretching out her arms.The girl who informed her about the age restrictions of this packs' cage volunteers to be referee and Avery nods in approval. She seems to be a quiet girl, but Avery knows that the shy wolves are usually the most observant, and make brilliant trackers - she'll be excellent at keeping score and observing.One final boy walks out of the changing rooms, with six younger boys hurrying in front of him. The last boy is in no rush, looking extremely unimpressed.He spots Avery in the cage, and his eyes flash black, the light reflecting off them.This one is older than the others, and a wicked smile grows on his face as somebody mind links him the details."I volunteer as a challenger," he smirks, and the others clear a path for him up to the cage, some looking hesitant and concerned.Avery observes him, and the cocky way in which he walks."I accept," she responds, walking to the other side of the cage, watching as he gets closer to the cage and starts to swing himself into it.Cocky and stupid. Just the type she likes to beat.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
She doesn't remember most of the walk up to her room, because she was doing her best to contain her temper.She wishes she hadn't given out about the kids, in front of the kids - but she can't go back and stop herself now.They all seemed to brighten up when she complimented all of them, which is a thing she likes to do in her training sessions. Kids don't achieve their potential if they get shouted at all the time with no positive reinforcement.Stripping off her workout gear, she remembers she left her sweatshirt in the gym.Cursing herself, she writes it down on a post-it note - she'll get it after her shower.Snatching a towel from the wardrobe, and her shower products, she stomps into her bathroom, letting a screech of frustration out while the water heats up.She really couldn't believe how under-trained those kids were. Every pack does things differently, but she could beat the future Chief Warrior with minimal effort, and mild bruising.Closing the bathroom door, and locking i
Once the main course is finished, there's a short break between dinner and dessert.A number of mothers approach Avery, one or two concerned about her training tactics, another few asking her to keep an eye on their children.One even tells her her son's allergy, which confuses her - they're training, not eating nuts. Avery is polite throughout all of the encounters, even with the one where an entitled mother says her son should get extra training."Excuse me miss," Avery begins calmly, "your son is clearly embarrassed by you showing him up like this. I am giving up my personal time to train all of these children, and I owe you none of it."The mother tries to find something to scream about, but Avery sits in silence, staring at her. After two minutes of the lady staring at her, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, she walks back to her seat in silence. "My Chief Warrior would like to book an hour of your time tomorrow to organise a schedule for the week you're here, if you w
By the time she gets through some of her files and sends them on to York, two hours have flown by, and it's almost half eight.With a start and slight horror, Avery jumps up, remembering she was supposed to meet Roman half an hour ago.Slipping her feet into trainers, she hurries down the stairs, only realising when she's almost at the gym that she forgot to put on her sweatshirt or pyjama top.The tank top will have to do until she gets her sweatshirt.Knocking on the door of the gym, she quickly walks in, being greeted with the sound of fists hitting a punching bag with a significant amount of ferocity and anger.She raises a brow, skirting around to the cage to see if she can find her sweatshirt without being noticed.She wants to have a serious conversation, and that won't happen if this alpha is staring at her chest the entire time.A throat clears as she bends over to pick up her sweatshirt."You're late. And can you give me that?" Roman calls across the room, making Avery look
Avery finds herself back in her room with no recollection of walking back to it.Sonya is baffled, sitting silently while Avery's mind is blank."It was a good kiss for me not kissing back," she mutters out loud, laying on her bed.She puts Roman's sweatshirt down beside her, not sure what to do with it - she took it because she didn't know where to put it if she didn't.Sniffing at the hoodie, she still can't find a scent on it; it's as though Roman uses a scent-blocker.Laying there for a few minutes, Sonya starts getting restless, forcing Avery to get up.Can we go for a run?, Sonya pleads, and Avery silently consents, walking down the stairs to the main door."Hey, Avery," a voice shouts, and she spins around to see Carolyn floating out of a room she hasn't been in yet, a glass of wine in her hand."Do you want to come drink with us? Please say yes!" The coffee-skinned woman beams, bouncing over to her with surprisingly steady feet."I was gonna go on a run-" Avery starts, but Car
Breakfast is silent the next morning.The hall is emptier than the previous night, only residents or workers of the house eating and chatting.All of the women are smiling and smirking, nudging each other and looking up at Avery, who sits at the front of the room with scarlet-coloured cheeks.She looks around nervously, her eyes landing on Roman, before they quickly flit away, acting like she never looked in his direction.Carolyn nudges her with a smirk, winking at her in between shovelling oatmeal into Michelle's mouth.Avery scowls at her, feeling the nervous tension around her.She doesn't care who knows about their kiss; she isn't shy about stuff like that. She doesn't give a second glance to rumours and mutters in the corners of the halls.Her fear stems from his reaction. Because Goddess knows in this pack who would tell him, and he might think she's been telling everybody.And she hasn't! She told the ladies last night, and that's it.Yeah, so everybody knows, Sonya snorts, ro