Part 74

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 worry," she laughs, opening her laptop and crossing her legs.

Mitch and Hayden exchange a raised eyebrow and a grin, both delighted to see their Alpha so happy.

They had grudgingly accepted Roman after he took them both to the side and explained his intentions to them, even though they didn't need him to.

They didn't care what he said, they only cared about how he treated Avery, and neither of them had any issue with kicking his ass if he hurt her.

"Where's Kathleen?" Avery asks with pursed lips, trying to hold back her frown and scowl.

"She felt a little sick this morning, so I made her stay in bed. The baby is growing a whole bunch right now; she needs a lot of rest," Mitch sighs, looking slightly stressed for a minute.

"You know you have paternity leave and all of that, right?" Avery asks, looking up from her laptop to make eye contact with him.

He opens his mouth and then nods, blinking in realisation.

"You can take some of it before the baby arrives if you need to, I can't imagine how stressful it is," she comments, and Hayden releases a breathy laugh.

"Take the time, man, there's nothing better than spending time with your mate and bonding with the pup before it's born," he grins, his eyes going slightly misty. He's obviously thinking about his mate, and Avery feels her heart squeeze a little for him.

"I might take a week or two. I need to get the nursery ready, Kathleen hasn't even looked at anything for it yet," he mumbles, more to himself than the other two.

Of course she hasn't, she doesn't care, Sonya growls, her mothering instinct rearing its head in defence of her poor, clueless Beta.

"You can take all the time you need, you could even reduce your hours to part-time, and we can get one of the Generals to step in," Avery nods thoughtfully, returning to her laptop screen.

"The Gregory pack has requested a meeting with you next week, they don't care if it's virtual or in-person," Hayden sighs, rolling his eyes as he looks at Avery.

Avery groans aloud, shaking her head.

"What do they want this time?" She sighs, refraining from rubbing her temples - she has a full face of makeup on, and she's not about to destroy it for possibly the weakest pack on the continent.

"I think they want assistance. Honestly, at this point, they should just get rid of the pack and cut their losses," Hayden mutters, grimacing slightly.

"I don't know why they haven't handed it over to somebody else. The Gregory family clearly hate the level of responsibility and work that it requires to run a pack. They can barely stay afloat from month to month," Avery shrugs, shaking her head, "I'll see what Roman says because there could be an internal issue that he knows about."

"Yeah, do ask him. If it is an internal issue, then we don't touch the pack at all, because we don't need anyone accusing us of helping cause a fight or, Goddess forbid a war," Mitchell pipes up, running a hand through his hair with a frown sitting on his face.

"Is there anything else that happened in the last hour?" Avery asks both of them, and Mitchell grimaces.

"Your sister called and told you to check your email. Apparently, she sent you a link to the social media page she created for baby Bronwyn. You never followed the account, and she felt a little sad about it," he sighs, and Avery raises her eyebrows, instantly clicking into her email.

She finds the email in question and clicks the link, unable to stop the 'aww' that leaves her mouth.

"Guys, I'm sending you this link, she's so chubby," Avery coos,  forwarding the account to the two men.

"Fucking hell, that's a fat baby," Hayden gasps, and Mitchell releases an exclamation of happiness.

"She's not fat, she's just well-fed," Avery corrects him while hiding a grin.

"Is that the blanket Toby and I gave her?" Hayden asks, peering at the fourth photo posted.

Avery glances at it and nods, "apparently it's one of her favourites."

"I don't know how babies have favourites, they can't speak," Mitchell complains, and Avery grins.

"You're just jealous because there are no pictures with the bunny you got her," she laughs, shaking her head at her Beta's dramatics.

"Oh, zip it," Mitchell comes back with, hiding his own smile as he looks down at his laptop.

"Was there anything else other than Louisa and the Gregory issue?" Avery asks, going through each of the posts and liking each of them as she gazes at her niece in adoration.

"Katya phoned to thank you for the flowers. The doctor who is caring for Mrs Steele rang to say she was asking to see you," Hayden informs her, and Avery grimaces.

"Okay, we'll do that first before we go to see Zephyr and the baby," she mumbles to herself, and the phone suddenly rings.

The three look at each other, and then Avery immediately snatches the handheld receiver up before either of the other two can.

The two men curse under their breaths, returning to their work.

On a day where they have no real goal, the competition to answer the phone first is lethal.

"Alpha Wilcott speaking," she greets chirpily, and the person on the line clears their throat.

"Alpha Lancaster has landed, Alpha Wilcott," the man informs her, and Avery has to hold herself back from squealing.

She clears her own throat and thanks the man before leaping up, grabbing her phone.

"He's here, I'll be back to say goodbye before we head over to Moonstone," she excitedly blabbers, hurrying out of the room as she waves to the two men.

"Aww, our baby is in love," Mitchell snorts, and Hayden grins, shaking his head.

"I heard that," Avery roars over her shoulder, laughing to herself as she hurries out of the packhouse and clambers into her car, her heart almost beating out of her chest.

She feels a little nauseous because of how nervous and excited she is.

She hasn't seen him in person in two weeks, because they were both ridiculously busy in the last fourteen days, but she was over the moon with his impromptu trip today.

Driving to the airfield as fast as she legally can, she pulls onto the tarmac as she spots a tall man leaving the jet on the field.

Avery squeals to herself, jumping out of the car and walking as quickly as she can in her heels to him.

He spots her coming, and Roman wraps his arms around her as soon as she's in arms reach, squeezing her tightly and spinning as he holds her.

When he puts her down, he kisses the top of her head, holding her against him for a minute before releasing her.

"Hello, sweetheart, are you alright?" He grins, taking a second to appreciate her as he nudges her backwards a little.

"You look gorgeous," he compliments, and her cheeks go a little red.

It's harder to see her blush under her makeup, and he tries not to smile at the fact he can still make her blush through what he suspects is a few layers of different products.

"I'm good," she stutters slightly, surprising them both when she practically tackles him with another hug.

"Is everything okay?" He asks, slightly concerned by her sudden affection.

"Yeah, I just missed you," she mumbles, making sure not to press her face against his shirt - she doesn't want to leave makeup on it.

"I missed you, too," he whispers, bending down to eye level with her, and gently pressing a kiss against her lips.

They pull away after a few seconds because neither of them are big on public displays of affection - Avery usually finds them rather disgusting, and Roman thinks that it's silly to have to display love in public to show that you like the person.

"How are Carolyn and Ryan and Michelle?" She asks as she pulls him gently towards her car by the hand.

"They're good, Michelle said to say hello for her. We can call them later so you can say it to her," he laughs, "she didn't believe me last time that you said hello."

"Of course she didn't," Avery giggles, shaking her head as she thinks of the sassy four-year-old.

"How's the pack doing?" Roman asks as he slips into the passenger seat, strapping himself in as he glances around the tarmac to make sure that everything is in place.

"The Gregory pack have requested a meeting from me, so we think they want aid or assistance. Lexus Steele is demanding our presence-" he cuts her off with a gentle kiss, shaking his head.

He runs his finger over her bottom lip gently, a small smile on his face.

"No, how's the pack doing? I don't care about business," he whispers to her, and she blinks at him.

"Uh, the pack is good. The building projects are going really well. The centre is fully up and running now. We sorted out the teacher pay dispute without a strike or even much of an argument on Friday," she lists, beginning to drive towards the hospital.

"That's really good to hear; I was wondering how the teacher thing would go. How's the Kathleen situation, and what was that you mentioned about Mrs Steele?" He asks, watching her drive for a minute before looking back at the road.

"The Kathleen situation got worse. She talked to me last night, and she accidentally exposed herself. It looks like she's been cheating since the start of their relationship," she states glumly, sighing sadly for Mitch, "she doesn't want to tell him. She didn't even come into work this morning, apparently she's sick."

"Of course she doesn't want to tell him, she's a coward. She cheated because she didn't want to end the relationship and find someone who could fulfil her needs. The excuse that he wasn't there enough isn't good enough, he's been home, like, five months now and she still cheated," he scoffs, shaking his head, "she's only staying with him because she likes the security he provides."

"Thank Goddess that you weren't there last night, that's very blunt," she laughs weakly, shaking her head.

"Lexus just asked to see us, I don't know why, but it's probably a good idea to do that first," she adds, pulling into the hospital parking lot.

"Is Mitch okay?" Roman asks with a frown.

He quite likes the quiet man, he was protective of Avery and didn't budge just because Roman has a title.

"He still has no idea. I'm going to tell her today that she has a week before I tell him," Avery sighs, shaking her head in mild dismay.

"It's so grim," Roman comments as they exit the car.

"Where is she being held? The psych ward, I'd hope," he snorts, sliding his hand into Avery's as they walk towards the entrance.

"No, she refused that. She's in a private room on the long-term care floor," she grumbles, walking straight over to the elevator as she nods to the nurses.

"Good luck, Alpha Wilcott, she's in a really bad mood this morning," a short nurse warns her, getting into the elevator with them.

"Why? Did something happen?" Avery sighs, and the nurse shakes her head.

"I think the reality of the situation hit her. We sedated her last night because she tried to throw herself out of a window," the nurse explains, and Avery nods slowly.

"Okay, thank you," she responds, and she and Roman exit on the ninth floor.

"This will be interesting," Roman sighs, and Avery leads him to the room she placed Lexus in the day before.

Avery knocks on the door, and a cheery southern drawl calls them in.

"Hello, Avery, hello, Roman," Lexus Steele greets, sitting up from her bed, making sure her silk robe is tied tightly enough.

"Hello, Lexus, is everything alright?" Avery asks, greeting the woman with a quick hug before she cautiously steps back.

"Roman Lancaster, you look just like your daddy," she comments, squinting at Roman.

Roman chuckles awkwardly and accepts the hug that Lexus forces on him.

"Hello, Alpha Steele," he greets, and she scoffs.

"I'm not the Alpha no longer, didn't you hear? My idiot of a son took that from me too," she grumbles, pacing the room with her arms folded, "apparently, taking my husband and my business wasn't enough for him."

Avery holds back her flinch, but Sonya can't hold back her cringe.

They hate getting involved in family drama because it never ends well for anybody.

"I spoke with your son yesterday, and he says he took over because you wouldn't pass the title down to him," Roman carefully states, taking a seat in one of the chairs by the window.

"He's twenty-five! In my day, nobody was given the title until they were at least thirty!" The woman exclaims, shaking her head, "He doesn't have a brain in that head of his! The pack is going to go to ruin, I can guarantee it."

Avery raises an eyebrow, surprised by the level of passion the woman shows.

Lexus is notoriously private, even though she finds out everybody else's personal details.

Marie always said that the woman had a poison dipped tongue, and that she gave female Alphas a lousy reputation. Richard had found her barely tolerable, but they had been allies too.

"Regardless, you have to hand down your title once you hit a certain age," Roman says gently, resting a hand on Lexus' bicep.

She shakes him off, shooting him a stern look.

"Is this the reason for your throwing up?" Lexus asks Avery, her eyes darting to Roman again.

Avery holds back a giggle, shaking her head.

"No, I think I had food poisoning that day," she grins, watching the two of them interact.

"None of the men have to hand down their titles. I'm past menopause, I'm more stable than any of those old bags," Lexus suddenly spits in Roman's direction.

Avery has to hold back a laugh at Roman's shocked face.

He hadn't been expecting that response, and his face made that clear.

"That is true. There is a lot of sexist discrimination across the board, but in order to have that changed, we need to enforce the same rules for everyone," Roman explains, "I have visited four packs this week and informed their very male Alphas that it's time to pass on their titles."

Lexus grudgingly nods and then claps her hands suddenly.

"Thank you for coming to see me today, Avery. I was wondering if you could arrange for somebody to do my nails?" She requests, and Avery raises her eyebrows, slowly nodding.

"Of course, is it a manicure you're looking for?" Avery asks, and the woman nods stiffly, merely saying "and nude polish."

"I'll have that sorted out, but you might be waiting until tomorrow," she warns the older woman, who rolls her eyes.

"I'll get my hair and nails done at the same time, I don't care," she scoffs, and Avery releases a little laugh.

"That's the right attitude," she manages to get out, glancing at Roman.

"I suppose you two have somewhere to be," Lexus sniffs, watching the two younger Alphas.

"Unfortunately we do, we need to get over to Moonstone Mountain," Avery says apologetically, and Lexus shrugs.

"Enjoy that, I hope the old man doesn't try to present you as a human sacrifice as he tried with my husband years ago," she grumbles, picking up her iPad and clicking onto Netflix.

She doesn't say anything else or look up, so Roman and Avery glance at each other, deciding it's probably their queue to leave.

"It was lovely to speak to you, Alpha Steele," Roman smiles at the older woman, who stares back at him blankly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lexus," Avery nods, and the woman looks at her.

"You better bring a manicurist or a bottle of nude polish, I'm so desperate that even you'll do," she grumbles, and Avery hides a smile.

"I've got you, don't worry," she finishes the conversation by closing the door gently, exhaling heavily as soon as they're a few feet away.

"Does she just hate men?" Roman asks, rolling his eyes slightly as they walk back towards the elevator.

"No, she just hates not getting her way. She's happy that the same law applied to her is being applied to the men, though," Avery nods.

Roman stares at her in confusion, raising his eyebrows.

"How do you know?" He asks curiously, and Avery chuckles to herself as they step into the elevator.

"I can just tell," she responds, leaving him more confused.

"Did you have breakfast?" She asks, and he shakes his head.

"I got onto the jet and slept," he laughs, playing with her fingers gently.

"We'll go to the packhouse and eat before we go. Hayden and Mitchell wanted to say hello, and I have pictures of Bronwyn to show you," she grins, and Roman lets out a little coo.

"That baby is the cutest thing I've ever met," he sighs, shaking his head as he remembers the little doll throwing up all over his favourite black t-shirt.

The drive to the packhouse is quick, and as soon as they get out of the car, they're surrounded by children.

"Shouldn't you lot be in school?" Avery asks suspiciously, and one of them shakes his head quickly.

"No, we have a late start today," he explains, and the kids all start chattering again, grinning at the two Alphas.

"Hello, how are you, Alpha Roman?" A little boy asks formally, and Roman grins at him, barely able to resist telling him how adorable he is.

"I'm doing really well. How are you?" He asks, kneeling down to be at eye-level with the young boy.

"I'm good, I got a one-hundred on my math test yesterday," the boy jabbers excitedly, and he grabs Roman's hand and pulls him towards the dining hall.

Avery follows along, an amused expression resting on her face.

The children of her pack love having Roman around, because he played baseball with them for three hours one of the first times he visited. That had created a lasting impression that the usually strict and tightly-laced Alpha was 'fun'.

Since then, she had been inundated with questions about when Roman will visit again.

The last time he visited her pack, they had a lake day with the pack, and the two of them had been roped into doing watersports with the kids.

Avery loved seeing him so carefree, and they had gone on a jetski as the sun was setting.

Sonya had loved it. Apparently, Booker felt the same.

Roman glances over his shoulder to make sure that Avery is following behind them.

She's a few feet behind him, being led along by a pig-tailed little girl who is patiently explaining why Avery needs to buy her a dolphin.

Avery locks eyes with him and grins at him, glancing down at the little girl as she tugs on Avery's hand to get her full attention.

Avery quickly apologises to the girl with a massive grin on her face, glancing up at Roman.

She winks at him, and he feels his lips tug upwards automatically, his face being forced into a smile as he gazes over his shoulder at her.

"Do you love our Alpha?" One of the kids asks curiously, his bookbag falling off his shoulders as he trails along behind Roman.

Avery doesn't hear the question, and Roman is sure of it as he glances around and spots her a few meters behind, bent down and conversing with a few of the younger kids.

"Why do you ask? Aren't you a little young to be asking about love?" Roman retorts, a grin on his lips as they enter the dining hall.

He nods to some of the Generals who are scattered around the room, and they grudgingly nod in his direction, moving out of his way.

It isn't out of respect though, and he knows it - it's to try and avoid being sucked into the large gaggle of children surrounding him.

"Well, my mom always tells me about how she loves my dad, and then whenever she lets me watch the Disney movies, they're all in love," he explains, and Roman raises an eyebrow.

"Not all of them. Elsa from Frozen and Moana from Moana don't need to love anyone," Roman points out, feeling slightly smug.

His endless amounts of babysitting Michelle and being forced to endure countless re-runs of the same five movies is finally coming in handy, even if he never expected it to - the looks on the kids' faces makes it worth it, and he tries not to laugh out loud at them.

They didn't expect that one, Booker snorts.

Well, would anyone?, Roman asks his wolf playfully, forcing himself not to laugh.

"My mom says that adults who watch Disney are sad and have no life," the kid stubbornly fires back, and Roman lets out a disbelieving laugh.

"Well, you can tell your mom that she's missing out on some of the best movies ever made," he winks, standing back up from behind bent over to their height.

Avery has managed to escape the clutches of the dolphin-loving little girl after she explained to her that it would be really cruel to get a dolphin and keep in in a tank or the lake, because that wouldn't be it's home. The child finally understood when Avery explained that it would be like her being forced to live in a cage.

The two of them sit down on a bench, taking a breather for a second before they go and fight for their breakfast.

"Are you okay? That seemed intense for you," Avery laughs, and Roman sighs dramatically.

"The slander that was just thrown at my favourite Disney movies is not okay. What are you teaching these children? I demand to see the school curriculum," he grins, nudging her playfully.

"Okay, let's get you fed now so that we can hit the road by ten," Avery states determinedly, and Roman raises an eyebrow but follows her lead, letting her walk him into the kitchen by the hand.

As soon as they enter the kitchen, some of the women exclaim in delight at seeing Roman again.

Avery grins and silently moves out of the way so that they can hug him or shake his hand while she snatches two empty plates and begins to pile food onto them.

She knows exactly what he likes for breakfast now, and she's a little shocked as she manages to fill his entire plate from memory alone, without even having to look at him for reference or double-checking.

He chats with some of the women, and Avery appreciates how much effort he puts into getting along with her pack.

She does the same, of course, but it really surprises her how determined he is to get to know each and every person this time around.

Once he finishes his brief chat with the final woman, he walks over to Avery and kisses the top of her head, his eyes landing on the plates in her hands.

"Oh, you got my food for me," he frowns, furrowing his brows.

"Why, is that a problem?" She asks, and he shakes his head quickly.

"No, it just feels so domestic," he laughs, walking out of the kitchen holding her hand.

He gestures to her to sit down first, and while she's getting settled into her place, he grabs a teenager that he knows is on kitchen duty this week.

"Could you grab me two glasses of orange juice? Without the pulp, please," he whispers, slipping the kid a ten-dollar note discreetly.

The kid grins and nods, hurrying off to the kitchen and returning in under a minute.

In the time it takes for the juice to be put into Roman's hands, Avery has gotten herself comfortable and started a conversation with Hayden, who appeared across from them.

"Here's your juice," Roman nods, passing her one of the glasses.

"When did you get that?" She asks, furrowing her brows.

She didn't see him going anywhere, and he awkwardly avoids her gaze.

"Again? You asked Kevin?" She groans, slapping his shoulder lightly.

"I pay him! He just had to grab two glasses, he's literally on kitchen duty," Roman complains, and Avery shakes her head at him.

"Kitchen duty, yes. Waiter duty, no," she scolds, and the boy in question appears behind them.

"Alpha, I really don't mind. He's a great tipper," he grins, scampering off before Avery can respond or even react to the reply.

Roman raises an eyebrow, sending a smile to Hayden and then tucking into his food.

"How was your flight?" Hayden asks politely, his eyes switching between Roman and Avery so fast that he looks a bit like a bobble-head toy.

"I slept for most of it; I was awake until really late last night working on files," Roman yawns, causing both Avery and Hayden to yawn in unison.

They both glare at him with watery eyes, eating away at their breakfasts in relative silence.

"How is Toby doing with school?" Roman asks curiously, spooning some fruit into his mouth after he finishes.

Hayden grins and clasps his hands tightly.

"He's doing really well. He's learning really quickly, and the teachers say his missed school year really shouldn't impact him after the next few months," he explains, "I couldn't be more proud of anyone."

Roman's lips quirk up, and he glances at Avery, who resembles a squirrel because of the way she stuffed her cheeks with her food.

"Anything interesting happening for the Generals or the warriors?" Roman asks, and Hayden sighs dramatically.

"The Trials. I can't believe they got pushed back, but we have everyone ready now. It'll be interesting to see who leads them this year because apparently we have some decent competition," Hayden laughs, shaking his head.

"Roman's kids actually stand a chance this year," Avery comments, shrugging her shoulders as she looks up from her plate for a moment.

"Yeah, and that's all thanks to you. They forced different people to train them each week, and they still complain that whoever they tricked into training isn't as good as you," Roman groans, rubbing his face roughly.

Just like Roman had been stolen from Avery whenever he visited her pack, Avery had been taken whenever she visited his lands.

The teenagers begged her to train them for even half an hour, and she dutifully obeyed, putting them through their paces.

She was proud of them - they had improved by leaps and bounds since the first time she worked with them, and they were proud of themselves, too.

The kids had been terrified that they would embarrass themselves as soon as they had gotten into the ring for the Trials. Now, since they had been put onto a relatively consistent training schedule, they knew they could at least survive a few rounds rather than simply be laid out by one punch.

"They're no competition for my guys," Hayden boasts, flicking his hair back from his face.

"Well, we'll have to see about that when they're all in the arena in a week," Roman grins, sticking his tongue out playfully at Hayden.

"Mommy said that's rude," a child roars, pointing at Roman's tongue.

Roman flushes and glances around the room, hoping nobody else saw him mock Hayden or stick his tongue out. It was slightly unbecoming of an Alpha.

"Your mommy is right. I shouldn't have done that," Roman apologises to the child, and Avery has to hold back her giggles.

He's so serious, Hayden snorts through the mindlink as he and Avery exchange looks.

He'd be such a good dad, Sonya mutters dreamily.

Keep your legs closed. We don't need a child right now, Avery warns her wolf.

You totally agree, you just don't want to say he looks hot, Sonya taunts her, and Avery sighs aloud, tuning her wolf out.

"We should probably head to your office to grab the files," Roman whispers to Avery, and she reluctantly nods, stuffing the last half of her waffle into her mouth and standing up.

She grabs Roman's empty plate from in front of him and stacks it with hers, doing the same with the glasses before she walks towards the kitchen while chewing.

He watches her in bemusement, shaking her head and turning back to Hayden.

"How are things going with you two?" Hayden asks around a mouthful of oatmeal, his eyes wide as he stares at Roman.

"I don't want to jinx it, but I think everything is going well," Roman admits nervously, "we didn't go about it right last time, but the second time is the charm according to all of the Elders."

Hayden peers closely at Roman, snorting quietly when he notices that the man is blushing.

"Gosh, you really do like her," he comments, shaking his head with a grin on his face.

"Shut up," Roman grunts, standing up from his seat and aiming a well-placed slap at Hayden's head.

"No violence boys," Avery chirps, grabbing Roman's arm as she walks by and pulling him along with her.

"Are we going to say hello to Mitch?" He asks, and Avery nods.

"Hayden must have just dropped Toby to school and then come back here to eat before actually settling into his workday," she mutters to herself, figuring out the timeline of the day.

"I need to bring my laptop, a few Alphas emailed me reports of rogue sightings the other day, and we need to cross-reference them with the database and check if any of them have warrants out," Avery sighs, running a hand through her curls.

"Don't do that, you'll mess them up," he gently reprimands, taking her hand out of her hair and interlacing their fingers.

"They're going to get messed up when we run to Moonstone anyway," she laughs, shaking her head at him as they reach her office.

Knocking gently, Avery walks in first, her smile dropping when her eyes land on Kathleen.

"Hey Mitch, we're just here to grab the files before we head out. Have there been any calls?" Avery asks as she walks to her desk, completely ignoring her friend.

Roman leans against the door frame, folding his arms and observing Kathleen.

The woman is standing in the corner, looking slightly crazed, and Booker perks up at the sight of her flashing eyes.

"No, there haven't been," Mitchell murmurs, seeming rather tense.

"Did something happen?" Avery asks, packing her satchel without looking up.

"You could say that," Mitchell gasps, slumping forward onto his desk.

In a split second, Kathleen is airborne and launching herself in Avery's direction.

Roman reacts in the way he was always taught to - stop the fight first, and ask questions later.

He slams his fist into the back of Kathleen's skull, making sure she doesn't hit the ground too hard.

Avery slowly turns around, and her eyes widen in horror as she takes in the sight in front of her.

"What the actual fuck just happened?" She whispers, walking over to Mitch as fast as she can.

She spots a knife sticking out of his shoulder, and she rips it out of his body without any hesitation as soon as she notices that it isn't silver.

"Are you okay?" She asks, and he winces.

"Her wolf blocked mine, and then she stabbed me," he barely manages to make his words audible as his face looks like a picture of devastation.

"What happened to her?" He asks, slowly getting to his feet with the help of his desk.

"I did that," Roman volunteers awkwardly, scratching his neck as they all look at the crumpled body on the floor.

"She tried to attack Avery when she wasn't looking," he hurriedly defends, and Avery's mouth opens to form a perfect circle.

"Get her out of here," Mitchell mutters, walking towards the door with his shoulders slumped.

"Did she tell you?" Avery whispers, and Mitchell coughs, clenching his jaw.

"About which one?" He asks, gritting his teeth as he turns around.

"I was just told that my mate - my wife, the love of my life - has been cheating on me for nine years," he chokes out, his eyes pooling with tears.

Roman winces, hurrying over to Mitchell and forcing him into a bear hug.

Mitchell's arms stay down by his sides, and Avery can't tell if the hug is out of sympathy, or if it's to act as a restraint.

"I know some of the men. They were under my command," Mitchell adds, his face wiped of all emotion.

The only sign that he has any upset over the situation is the tears pooling in his eyes as he looks around the room.

"I know you knew. I don't blame you for not telling me, I just learned that my mate can be extremely manipulative," he murmurs, and he lets his body sag against Roman.

"I'm going to take the day off. I want you to go to Moonstone Mountain still, you have to organise the treaties and the database stuff," he says blankly, "by the time you get back, I'll have separation papers ready for filing. I would appreciate it if you signed them as soon as I gave them to you. I don't want her in my house right now."

Avery nods quickly, hurrying over to the pair of them.

"Please don't do anything stupid," she whispers into his ear as she grips his hand tightly.

"She isn't worth doing anything stupid over," he mumbles, and Avery bites her lip.

"Do you want to put a stay on the papers? Even if we leave it a week, you could change your mind. Once we break the bond, nothing can get it back," Avery warns him, and he shrugs.

It's so strange to her to see her usually relatively happy Beta so lifeless. His face is so pale that he almost resembles her, and his eyes are red. Apart from his red eyes, he looks like a zombie.

"Avery, I love and respect you as if you were my sister, and you know that. But I'm sure. There is no coming back from this; I can't look at her. I'm going to have her mother come and pack her bags, I'm not going to be the idiotic husband any longer," he says quietly, looking her dead in the eyes.

"I understand," she whispers, and Roman releases his hold on Mitch so that she can pull him into a hug.

"Do you want to come with us, you could see baby Emmett?" She suggests weakly, and he shakes his head grimly.

"Honestly, I don't think I should be around anybody right now. Especially not a baby, they can sense auras - I'm so miserable that it would affect the little tike," he sighs, stepping out of the hug.

"Besides, I don't want to be around babies right now. I just found out the one that she is carrying might not even be mine," he murmurs, and Avery's eyes widen.

"She said it definitely was yours once it didn't have fangs," she points out, and Mitch shakes his head.

"She lied about that, too, there were three men in that week alone - including the vampire she told you about," he mutters, and Avery's heart drops even further for him.

I'm going to put his wolf into a sleep for the rest of the day, he's suffering a lot right now, Sonya murmurs, and Avery gives her the nod of consent.

"Sonya's going to numb your wolf," Avery gently informs him, and Mitchell nods blankly.

"That's probably for the best, he isn't dealing with what's happening very well," he mutters, and he slowly leaves the room.

"Fucking hell," Roman whispers, sending an alarmed glance in Avery's direction.

A groan distracts them both, and they look to the heap on the floor.

Avery stares at her in disdain, mindlinking one of the Generals to come and get her.

"We're going to have to drive to Moonstone if that's okay. I need to sort out all of the paperwork to have her removed as my Beta Female," Avery sighs, and Roman nods grimly.

"I'll tell one of the drivers," he offers, and she shakes her head, tapping her skull.

"He's getting the car ready now," she responds, and the two of them continue staring at Kathleen.

I was gonna make this even longer (think around the 10,000 word mark), but I decided 6000 words gave you a lot to unpack.

I wasn't planning on having Kathleen tell Mitch in this chapter, but now that I did, it works with a plot I was trying to connect!

I think there might be a sequel of this book, to be honest - I'm not ready to finish with these guys yet!!

Thank you to everyone who likes/comments - I really appreciate each and every single one of them!!

Comments and messages are always open for questions or concerns! Hope you're all having a great day!

- Aoife :) xx