The day passes by in the blink of an eye, and Avery is surprised by how much she enjoys herself.

Roman hasn't brought up her random and awkwardly-timed shift, which she's thankful for, because she doesn't know what she would say to him in the slightest.

She is dragged off by the women she met the other night to have lunch with them, which turns into a long gossip session about some of the warriors, who are apparently a very kinky bunch.

Avery raised a brow hearing this information and made a mental note of it while trying not to laugh, and she noticed Carolyn was struggling to keep a straight face as well, while one girl described her midnight adventure with one.

The food is good, and the people are welcoming and kind, so Avery relaxed in their company, letting herself loose and laughing with them.

"We heard you have the hots for our Alpha," a middle-aged woman Avery vaguely recognises smirks, and they all lean closer to her again.

Avery laughs nervously, and Carolyn sits back in her chair with a wide grin on her face, letting her friend endure the torture.

"I'm only here for four more days, so nothing will happen," Avery rushes out, raising her hands in the air.

"You didn't deny it," a young woman sing-songs, making kissing noises in Avery's direction.

"You all enjoy torturing me, don't you?" Avery sighs, rolling her eyes dramatically and throwing herself back in her camp chair.

The chair falls over backwards, and everyone bursts out laughing, including Avery, who's legs are over her head.

Some of the men hurry over to help everyone up - some women fell off their seats from laughing - and then they're shooed away with dirty looks, as the women keep chuckling.

"So you're actually gonna go when the week is up?" Carolyn asks quietly once the laughter subsides, and some of the ladies look remarkably sad.

"I mean, yeah. I have duties at home, and I can't stay here," she shrugs, running a hand through her wavy hair absent-mindedly.

"I mean, we do need a Luna," one woman mutters to her friend, who elbows her aggressively.

Avery catches these words, and quickly looks over to the girl, her brows furrowed as the woman looks like she wants the floor to open up and swallow her.

"You guys have a Luna," Avery responds evenly, and a ripple goes through the small crowd of women, some looking very disapproving of the topic being discussed.

"Supposedly," one young woman murmurs with a roll of her eyes to her friend, who gives her an eye roll back.

"What happened to her?" Avery asks curiously, and Carolyn looks uneasy.

Before anybody can speak, Carolyn stands up, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"We can't talk about it," she says sternly, and Avery raises an eyebrow and drops her jaw as she looks at her friend.

"He has us under a command not to speak about it," Carolyn murmurs softly, an apologetic look on her face, "I have to monitor the conversation since I'm here. Anyone who talks about it could get thrown into the cells for a week."

Avery raises her other brow in shock, shaking her head.

"That seems a bit extreme," she responds quietly, looking around to make sure she can't see Roman.

"That's our Alpha for you," Carolyn sighs before she walks away to join her mate and child.

Avery shakes her head, nodding to the remaining women, before wandering back over to where she started the day.

Roman returns soon after she does, shirtless and covered in a light dusting of sand, which she notices instantly because she's openly staring at his pecs and abs.

"Going into the water?" He asks with a laugh, watching her observe him with humour in his eyes.

"I might," she shrugs quickly pulling off her sundress and flicking her sunglasses up onto the top of her head.

"I'll meet you there," he chuckles, shaking his head as he walks towards the water, his strides long and powerful.

Avery sighs, debating just staying where she is.

After a few minutes, though, she gets up, and walks towards the water, very conscious that people are staring at her.

Some of the teenagers are returning from school, so more people litter the beach as Avery forces herself to keep her movements even and purposeful.

She reaches the water quickly, and wades in cautiously, trying not to shriek as the cold water climbs her body and splashes her face.

"You look hot," Roman comments and Avery stares at him incredulously.

"It's a good thing that you're here, then," he adds, before he dunks her under the water.

She pops back up like a child on a trampoline, and she tackles him backwards into the water, her hands on his chest as he slowly rises back up.

"Well, now it's a competition," he smirks devilishly, and she squeals, before taking off in a paddle away from him, kicking as hard as she can.

He grabs her leg and pulls her towards him, her shrieks echoing around the area.

She can hear people laughing, no doubt at them because they're acting like children.

Avery tries to shake his hand off but fails, and she ends up less than a foot away from him.

He wraps his hands around her waist, and she stares at him cautiously, her eyes wide and her well aware that his pack is littered across the beach, and many eyes are probably on them.

It seems he thinks the same thing, as he indicates for her to hold her breath.

She does, and as soon as she inhales deeply, he dives under the water and brings her with him.

Avery is startled by the cold water hitting her face again, and she opens her eyes after a moment, to find him right in front of her.

He winks at her, before pressing a kiss to her lips and swimming away.

Swim after him, you dumb bitch, Sonya screams, her encouragement convincing Avery to hurry after him, her legs tired of kicking but her arms suddenly feeling re-energised.

She catches up with him, and wraps her arms around his shoulders from behind, her hands pressing against his chest and gently roving over it, as she wraps her legs around him as well as she can underwater.

She kisses along his neck for a moment before she has to go up for air, gasping when she reaches the surface.

Once she catches her breath and takes a deep gulp of air, she goes back under, where Roman has beaten her to.

He pulls her by her legs closer to him, and she automatically wraps her legs around him again, indulging in a deep kiss again.

He runs his hands along her legs - or tries to, the water makes it a bit harder - and gently nips her lip, kissing along her neck and sucking.

Avery suddenly remembers the lovebite he left yesterday and slaps at his chest to get off, shaking her head in a scolding manner.

What was he, a fourteen-year-old boy?

He smirks against her neck, and kisses her jaw, her forehead, and then her lips again, before swimming towards the surface gracefully.

Why did he stop?, Avery asks Sonya, a little bothered and pretty annoyed as she herself rises towards the surface, a scowl on her face.

Where did Miss Innocence go from yesterday?, Sonya cackles, if I were you, I'd be more worried about the two hickeys on your neck. You barely hid the one from yesterday, and now you have a second one to manage.

Avery winces as she realises her wolf is right, and once she gets to the beach, she snatches up her towel and wraps in around her body, from the neck down like a cape.

Carolyn takes one look at her and laughs, to which Avery responds with a cheerful, "screw you."

"It's not me that you want to screw," Carolyn shouts after her, and Avery shoots her a look that could kill as she walks away.