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, rolling her eyes.

Avery ignores her, scowling, as she makes a mental note to let Sonya out for a run later.

She gets catty when she feels caged, and she doesn't need to shift randomly or while she's training the kids.

Actually, she muses, maybe she could bring the teenagers for a run today. That sounds a lot easier and much more relaxing for her than fighting or sparring.

Nodding to herself, she catches Roman's eye accidentally.

He stares at her, his eyes shifting from black to their usual dark - but distinguishable - colour.

Avery quickly looks down, turning to Carolyn.

"What do you think of me taking the teenagers for a run today? In their wolf forms?" She asks in between forcing cereal into her mouth.

Carolyn gives her a disgusted look, staring at her full mouth.

"You might have more manners in your wolf form," she grumbles, "I think it's a good idea, they don't really have regulated shifting. They just do it when they want, so a lot of them are at different levels."

Avery nods thoughtfully, making a mental note to ask Carolyn the important stuff instead of anyone else. She's technically the surrogate Luna, so any women with issues about anything would go to her over anybody else.

"Yeah, I might do that then. Where is the worst place to work out on this territory?" She questions, leaning forward to wipe a glob of oatmeal off Michelle's cheek absently.

"By the swamps," Carolyn nods, handing Avery the spoon for Michelle's breakfast with amusement, quickly eating her own.

Avery makes aeroplane noises as she feeds the little girl, who looks delighted with the unexpected attention.

Roman walks behind the two women, who don't seem to have noticed most of the hall has cleared out, with people quickly hurrying off to their jobs or school.

He coughs softly, and Carolyn glances up at him, before doing a double-take and widening her eyes a little, nudging Avery, who still has her full attention focused on the young girl she is feeding.

"Good morning, Alpha," Avery nods, shifting her jaw from one side to the other as she makes faces at Michelle to get her to eat the last spoonful of oatmeal in the bowl.

Roman's jaw twitches when she says Alpha, so he obviously hadn't forgotten about his instruction like she had tried to.

"I heard you want to train the pups over by the swamp," he starts hesitantly, "if you want to do that, I'll be coming with you. They're a big group, and the area is vast, it's easy to lose someone in there."

"That works fine for me," she shrugs, "When do they finish school?"

Roman looks surprised at first, but quickly lowers his brows and hardens his facial expression.

"Around three, I believe," he nods, and Carolyn coughs, "two."

"Tell them I want them to meet at the swamp area for three, then," Avery sighs, letting Michelle climb onto her lap.

"You look good with children," Roman smirks, walking away.

"What the fuck did he just say?" Avery growls, and Michelle giggles.

"You look good with children," she parrots, lisping a little bit on the final word.

Carolyn has to smother her laughter, lifting her daughter away from Avery and putting her onto her hip.

"What are your plans for the day?" She asks the irritated blonde, who sighs.

"I suppose some pack work. I might go for a run myself now before I do the training. I don't really know yet," she shrugs, "what time is lunch at?"

"One, and it's usually a pretty quiet affair. I'll be here, but we'll probably be the only two at this table - most of the others take their lunch in their office," Carolyn nods, taking Michelle's fingers out of her mouth.

"That's perfect, I'll see you later," Avery smiles at the woman who she's befriended, wandering off to her room.

Once she gets there, she spends a little time on her phone, online shopping until she realises she doesn't know the address of this packhouse. She sighs, giving up on that endeavour, deciding to go to her desk and get some work done.

The paperwork is monotonous and repetitive, and she spends ten minutes trying to decipher three lines of York's handwriting before she gives up and phones him.

"Hey sis," he laughs into the phone, typing away on his computer.

"What the fuck did you waffle about in your notes about the rogues on the eastern border?" She sighs, not in the humour for his eternal bubbliness.

"Send me a picture of it, I don't remember," he responds, sounding confused.

"How's Alpha Lancaster?" York asks while he gazes at the picture Avery just sent over.

"He's surly and annoying," she responds, gritting her teeth a little.

"He kissed you?" York smirks, and Avery lets out an outraged gasp.

"How did you know?" She groans, rubbing her face.

"I didn't, it was just a guess, but now I know," he chuckles, and he can hear her grumbling away to herself.

"Well, you keep it zipped. His mate is apparently dead," she begins, and York cuts her off.

"There's no way she's dead. We would have heard about it," he grumbles, and Avery nods enthusiastically, even though he can't see her.

"That's what I said!" She exclaims, sitting up properly in her seat.

"So, I wonder what the otherworldly Alpha Lancaster is hiding. I'll see what I can find out about the mate because that isn't sitting well with me," York states, sounding like the Alpha he is.

"Thank you. I'm gonna ask around here, but I'm a little hesitant to - someone could tell him I asked," she sighs, and York snorts.

"Well, then you can tell him I asked why he kissed you. You're my Deputy, and you're there for business, not a holiday," he rolls his eyes, hiding his happiness.

Marie, who's sitting in the room with him, shares a look with her son, both of their faces lighting up with excitement for their daughter and sister.

"God, you're all so dramatic," Avery grumbles, "I have to go. I have a lot to do before I go train the teenagers."

"Train the teenagers?" York exclaims curiously, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, they trust me to do that here. The teenagers actually asked me to themselves," Avery states smugly, and York looks worriedly at his mother.