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 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

"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

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

The drive to the airport is relatively quiet, York occasionally groaning in pain in his seat.Avery shoots him worried looks, and when he catches on, he turns the other way, his back facing her and his head against the window.His new position seems to make things a lot worse, and he quickly flips back over, his hand flying out to scrabble for his water bottle desperately.Ezra, his wolf, is freaking out. He can't calm himself down, and all he can feel is his heart racing as sweat builds upon his brow and neck."Avery," he gasps, panting for air as his sister roars to the guards to stop the car.She quickly drags him out of the vehicle, ripping open his shirt and tilting his head back."Is this a panic attack or something else?" She asks, looking into his eyes as he starts convulsing.We don't know, Ezra links to Sonya, and she can hear the terror in his voice as he loses control of his body and stops responding to her.Avery curses under her breath, the guards all standing around her