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

Sweeping into her office, Avery makes sure her dress doesn't get caught in the door as it closes.Hayden playfully wolf whistles, and Mitchell shouts for her to do a twirl.Avery bashfully obeys, doing a little spin and a mock curtsy."What time is Roman landing at?" Hayden asks with a wide grin on his face, putting the file in his hands down."I think we have half an hour until he gets here," she beams, taking a seat behind her desk and gently pushing her curled hair behind her shoulders."What are your plans today? You were supposed to be going to Moonstone Mountain today, but I'm guessing that's been changed?" Mitchell asks, and Avery shakes her head."No, he has business there too, so while he deals with his business, I'm going to spend time with baby Emmett," she grins, and Hayden lets out a low whistle."You shouldn't wear that dress for taking care of a baby, they're grubby little creatures," he warns, and she grins wider."I have a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in my bag, don't

The car ride to Zephyr's is mostly quiet.Avery's day has been turned upside down, and she has a lot of paperwork to deal with before they even get to Moonstone Mountain.Her heart aches for Mitchell, but a selfish part of her can't believe Kathleen revealed herself on one of the only days Avery isn't on packlands."He'll be okay, Ave, don't worry," Roman mutters, glancing up from his own laptop to take a look at Avery.Her face is screwed up in a mixture of stress and disgust, and he gets out of his seat."Do you want to talk right now, or do you want some silence?" He asks softly, and Avery sighs."I want a hug," she mutters, and he engulfs her in his arms, patting her back lightly."Is there anything that I can do?" He asks, and she shrugs."I don't think so. Filling in these approval forms is literally killing me," she mumbles, pushing her hair back."Okay, then I'll do it," he suggests, gently prying the forms and the necessary file away from her."I need to do it, I'm the Alpha,

"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

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