Avery slams the door to her office open, storming across the room.

"Where the fuck is your mate?" She snarls, lifting the woman out of her seat, and slamming her against the wall.

One of the picture frames on the walls falls and shatters as the force of Avery's movements make the room shake.

Beta Jared runs into the room, his eyes widening as he takes in the scene.

"Alpha, you can't do this," he nervously whispers, and Avery turns to him, her canines down, her eyes flashing, and her claws out.

She's partially shifted, and her appearance makes Jared shrink back.

"Get out," she screams, and he quickly backs out, closing the door behind him and instantly linking for guards to stand outside the room.

"Where is your mate," Avery roars, slamming Freya against the wall again.

The woman stares at her with tears in her eyes, her lip trembling, and her entire body vibrating with fear.

"Elijah Preston," Avery growls, lowering her tone and forcing herself to be calmer.

It's one of the biggest challenges she's ever faced - all she wants to do is rip this woman to shreds until she gets the answers she wants, but she can't kill her yet.

"I don't know," the woman whispers, petrified.

"We know you do, and we know he's responsible for the attack on Alpha York Wilcott, and previous attacks on a young boy, and Alpha Scott Petty," Avery hisses, one of her hands moving to the woman's throat.

"I am giving you one last chance to tell me what you know before I begin torturing you," she spits, and the woman opens and closes her mouth multiple times, her body shaking so much that her hands are hitting against the wall every few seconds.

"He's not my mate," the woman gasps, her eyes filling with tears.

Avery pauses, her eyebrows raising.

They didn't see anything about that in the files.

Avery loosens her grip, but keeps a firm hold on the woman - it could be a ruse.

"If you don't tell me everything you know, I will Command you," Avery says evenly, and the woman nods as best she can, which isn't very much due to the hand around her neck.

"I will, I promise, just please let me down," she whimpers, and Avery gradually loosens her hold again, setting the woman back on the ground.

Avery walks to her desk chair, and sits down, indicating for the woman to sit opposite her.

Her icy blue eyes never leave the woman's figure, as she shakes and stumbles her way into the armchair.

"Start talking, Freya. We won't harm your little boy, but we need information to establish if we need to protect him," Avery adds, having let Sonya loose for a moment.

I hate going through peoples heads, her wolf grumbles, but hers is just scared.

Scared of what?, Avery questions, she knows she'll be protected.

You guessed right, Sonya responds, she's terrified something will happen to her little boy.

Freya breathes a sigh of relief, and straightens up a little bit, clearing her throat.

"Water?" Avery asks, proceeding to fling a bottle towards the other woman calmly.

"I'm going to record what you say next because other Alphas and packs are in danger from this man," Avery slowly states, before pressing on a tape recorder and a microphone on her phone.

Freya inhales slowly, sipping her water before closing her eyes and calming herself down as best she can.

When she opens her eyes, they're flashing slightly, and Avery is on edge.

The woman reaches for her handbag, and Avery stares her in the eyes while she moves around.

"I'm just getting my phone, I have texts to prove I'm not lying," she whispers, and Avery nods as the device appears.

"Why would we think you were lying?" Avery questions, and Freya sighs, massaging her temples.

"The story is pretty unbelievable to me, and I was there," she murmurs, shaking her head.

"Begin, when you're ready. There are no guards in here as a courtesy and a sign of trust. I expect you not to try anything that could harm either of us, and I expect the full truth," Avery announces, sitting back in her seat.

"I met Elijah when I was seventeen," Freya starts nervously, fiddling with her fingers and looking hugely out of her depth.

From what Sonya found, Avery knows this woman is a total introvert. She works in the orphanage as a cleaner, and she helps at the pack library on the weekends. She continually works to provide for her son, and Avery knows she won't let anything happen to the boy.

As soon as Freya was brought in, Avery had ordered a protection detail follow the woman's son - she won't let children be harmed, regardless of their parents' actions.

"Okay, where did you meet him?" Avery asks softly, leaning forward in her seat to rest her forearms on her desk.

"I went to look at a university. I wanted to be a physicist," she mumbles, her face tight and her jaw clenched.

"He was a professor. He was really nice to me, and nobody was really nice to me in this pack," the mousy woman mutters, and Avery raises a brow.

This girl was two years younger than her, and Avery could safely say she had never seen her before in her life.

"Were you born into this pack, Freya?" Avery asks curiously, and the woman shakes her head.

"My parents were from Moonstone Mountain, but they disagreed with policies, and we moved when I was young," she whispers, and Avery nods thoughtfully.

"Yes, that makes more sense, you don't look native to this pack," Avery murmurs, furrowing her brows.

Freya had pale skin, like Avery, but she had medium brown hair and amber eyes which were shocking to look at.

The majority of Rapid Rock had dark or at least tan skin, with darker hair and grey or brown eyes. The Alpha family stood out, as did the transfers generally.

Most people were convinced there was some vampire in the Alpha family bloodline, and it made more sense to Avery than anything else.

"What happened when you went to the university? Did Elijah Preston do anything to you?" Avery asks gently, standing up out of her seat and walking around her desk to sit beside the woman, who looks rather shell-shocked.

"He flirted a little, I guess. He would have been one of my advisers if I had gone to university," she mumbles, and Avery grits her teeth.

"When did he first rape you?" Avery asks, keeping the anger out of her tone.'

"That weekend, but I didn't think it was rape until I got home. I couldn't say anything then, it would have ruined my family," she whispers, and Avery inhales deeply.

"Okay. And did you see him again after that?" Avery questions, and the woman nods.

"When? I need times and dates, if you have them," she asks, furrowing her brows and pursing her lips.

"January 4th, two weeks after my eighteenth birthday. He came to the school to give a talk," Freya responds, her face pale.

Avery stands up, pacing a little.

That man was in her pack.

"Okay, you were eighteen, so I was twenty. I would have been at university. I'm so sorry this happened to you on our territory," Avery grimaces, sitting down again and taking the woman's hand gently.

"It kept going for so long. I thought he was going to kill me; I just begged him to end it so it would stop," Freya says faintly, her eyes locked on the clock behind Avery.

"He raped me for three hours when he was here, and when he finally left, he told me I should be thankful for the gift he gave me," she whispers, her eyes filling with tears.

"And what was the gift?" Avery asks quietly, squeezing Freya's hand.

"He got me pregnant and left me in the forest. Trackers found me the next day in a pool of my own blood," she whispers.

Avery tenses, standing up slowly.

"Let me find the file," Avery murmurs, opening her laptop and typing rapidly.

"There won't be one. They didn't investigate, I don't think they wanted to know," she continues, staring out the window now.

"Did you meet with my father, or a doctor, or anybody?" Avery presses, continuing to type, but splitting her attention between her laptop and her victim.

"I saw the pack doctor, I think she was the Luna," Freya mumbles, "the other pack doctor tried, but I screamed when he came into the room, and I couldn't stop screaming. I was terrified he'd try hurt me too."

Avery nods slowly, changing her search keywords.

"I've found your file, Freya, is it alright if I read it?" Avery asks softly, and Freya nods vacantly.

"It details all of my wounds, including the cuts her left on my stomach. He marked and branded me with a knife, just to remind me that I was his," she continues, her fingers absently tracing a word on her stomach.

Avery reads through the file, her eyebrows raising slowly before she mindlinks her mother.

Mum, I'm sorry to bother you, but this is important. Do you remember Freya Arthur? She was a rape victim from almost eight years ago, Avery probes, and her mother cuts her off.

Found in the woods? Yes, I remember her. That poor girl, why are you asking?, Marie responds, sounding busy.

She was raped by the same man who poisoned York, Avery replies gravely, and she can hear Marie tense.

Her mother curses, and then vanishes again, cutting off the link as quickly as Avery had started it.

"What happened after you found out you were pregnant?" Avery asks, furrowing her brows.

"I met my mate," Freya laughs humorlessly, shaking her head.

"He rejected me when he realised I was pregnant. He didn't even stay around to file the papers or ask why I hadn't waited. He rejected me, humiliated me, and ran away," she continues, and for the first time in the whole conversation, Avery can hear anger in her tone.

"Who was your mate?" Avery asks, and Freya shakes your head.

"Out of respect for his privacy, Alpha, I can't tell you that," she grimaces, and turns her head back to looking out of the window, her jaw clenched and her eyes full of tears.

Avery nods slowly, raising a brow slightly, and running through a list of the officials who had mates that weren't bonded to them.

"What happened during your pregnancy apart from that?" She asks softly.

"I finished high school, and as soon as I got a job, my parents kicked me out. I told them the baby was my mates; I couldn't handle them knowing what had happened to me," Freya murmurs.

Avery's heart clenches for the woman, and she can feel her wolf comforting Freya's.

"Did you ever receive counselling?" Avery queries, and Freya shakes her head.

"No. I couldn't risk anybody finding out and taking Sam from me," Freya responds fiercely, and it's Avery's turn to shake her head rapidly.

"No, he wouldn't be taken. They would just offer support, trust me," Avery cajoles, going back to sitting beside Freya.

"They can't offer support for his constant texting," Freya whispers, her eyes welling up again.

"What do you mean?" Avery asks cautiously, leaning forward a little.

"He texts every day, sometimes twice or three times a day. He never stops, no matter how many times I change my phone number. He threatens to take Sam from me every week, no matter what I do," she wails, squeezing Avery's hands as tightly as she can.

"He can't do that; trust me. Do you want me to bring Sam here?" Avery proposes, and Freya nods shakily.

"Don't bring him yet, I need a minute to compose myself if you don't mind," she whispers, and Avery nods again.

"Of course, you take your time. Do you know where he is right now?" Avery probes and Freya shakes her head.

"No, but I can try to find out. We can say Sam is sick. I can get him here. He doesn't care about me, but he loves Sam," Freya hurriedly gets out, her entire body shaking.

"Freya, I will not put you in that position. I can call him, and you do not have to be involved at all. But first, I need to make sure you haven't lied about anything, is that okay?" She asks gently, and Freya nods, squeezing her eyes shut.

Sonya inhales deeply before she begins checking Freya's memory for any discrepancies or parts she left out.

After a minute or two of silence, Avery is given a thumbs-up by Sonya, and Avery clears her throat.

"Okay, I'll organise protective custody and a safe house for you right now," Avery decides, leaning over to get her laptop.

"Is Sam safe?" Freya asks, nibbling her lips in worry.

"He's been with guards this entire time. I wasn't going to let anything happen to him, regardless of what you knew," Avery sighs, patting the woman's hand.