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 from the bathroom.

There's no response, and Avery slams the door irritably.

The maid is standing outside waiting, and when she sees only Avery emerge, her eyes widen.

"Where is the Alpha?" The woman asks frantically, and Avery raises a brow.

"He's taking a shower, you can wait for him," she smiles, nodding to her, "I know my way down, and I have plans to meet people."

The maid looks torn and bites down on her lips roughly.

"I can't leave either of you unattended," she cries out, and Avery furrows her brows.

"No, it's okay. Don't worry, I'll absolutely take any blame at all. I'm really hungry, and he isn't yet," Avery firmly states, squeezing the lady's hands, before walking down the stairs.

She feels terrible that the maid can't follow the instructions she was given, but she doesn't want to wait for Roman.

Something she said obviously bothered him, so she wants to give him time to figure out what he wants to say.

Avery carefully descends the last few stairs, her heels making it a little hard with her lack of balance.

Releasing a sigh when she reaches the ground, she clip-clops into the dining area, her eyes roving around the room, before landing on her brother.

She strolls over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and squeezing tightly.

"Hey, Ave," York grins, patting her hands, "did you get my text?"

"I did, and I don't understand it, so I would appreciate some context," Avery grumbles, and a throat clears.

"Zephyr!" Avery exclaims, quickly embracing him before her eyes land on the girl standing beside him.

She's average height, with tan skin and electric blue hair.

"Is this her?!" Avery grins, and Zephyr nods with a wide smile.

Before Zephyr can say anything, the girl pushes in front of him.

"Lilith," she smirks, putting her hand out.

Avery yanks her into a hug immediately, a beaming smile on her face.

"It's so good to meet you!" Avery gushes, and the woman is as still as a rock, not making any effort to reciprocate the hug until the last moment when she lightly and awkwardly pats Avery on the back.

"Yeah, you too," Lilith mumbles, looking surprised. She's caught off guard by the affection and surprise her arrival caused, and she takes in the tall blonde in front of her, who looks like a child on Christmas.

"Your name is so evil, I love it," she grins, sitting down in the chair beside her brother and father.

"Avery, stop insulting Zephyr's new mate," Richard says without looking up from his newspaper, his glasses sliding down his nose.

Roman in his glasses, Sonya mumbles dreamily, before going off into her snooze again.

"I'm not insulting her, Dad, it's a compliment!" Avery groans, before turning back to Zephyr and Lilith.

"Zepith," she announces out of the blue, and they all stare at her, before she giggles.

"Your couple name," she elaborates, and Lilith rolls her eyes, while Zephyr smiles slightly.

"What's yours and Roman's then?" York smirks, and Avery glares at him.

"What about her and Alpha Lancaster?" Richard asks, and Avery kicks York aggressively under the table.

You absolute ass, she mindlinks to him, sending a barrage of curses and insults his way.

"Nothing, Dad. Don't worry about it," Avery hurriedly gets out, before she hears an exclamation of realisation.

"You're the one the tall guy was talking about!" Lilith beams, clapping her hands.

Zephyr snorts, shaking his head.

"The tall one is Roman Lancaster," Zephyr whispers softly, and Lilith flushes a little bit, rubbing her neck where her mark is.

Avery's eyes zone in on the area, and she can't stop a smile crawling onto her face.

The fact they've marked each other - she notices a matching one on Zephyr's neck - means they've fully accepted each other, and that makes Avery feel overwhelming happiness for her friend.

"Sorry, I'm not familiar with a lot of the Alphas from the other coasts yet, I only really interacted with the ones around your pack," Lilith mumbles, looking a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, he's easily forgettable," Avery shrugs breezily, and York raises a brow.

"Where is Mr Forgettable this morning?" He asks, sipping his tea and looking around.

"He isn't happy with me, so I left him sulking in the bathroom," she sighs, leaning back so that one of the servers can place her breakfast in front of her.

"What did you do this time?" York cackles, giving her his full attention.

"I had drinks with Mer, and I have no idea after that," she grumbles and then turns to Lilith excitedly.

"You have to meet Meredith later! She's the Luna of the McConaghy pack, and anything your pack goes to, she'll usually be there! It'll be good for you to know some other Lunas, and it would make me really happy to know you have some good people there for you in case you need something, and Zephyr isn't around," Avery nods firmly, and Lilith runs a hand through her short blue hair.

"That would be really nice, I'd appreciate it," the woman nods hesitantly, and Zephyr smiles at his mate, kissing her on the forehead and stroking her cheek gently.