Avery had thrown herself into her work.

Baby Emmett had been moved home after a month in intensive care, Lilith and Zephyr's relationship barely hanging on.

The rogues had continued patrolling around Avery's pack, everyone still on the lookout for Kali.

Scott and Avery were in contact every day, and he was heartbroken.

He had no idea she was involved, that much was apparent even before the Council interrogated him with truth serums.

Avery felt huge pity for him.

He had been dealt a terrible hand for him, and Avery had rekindled their friendship in an attempt to show her support.

Hayden and Avery had also grown close, bonding over their relatives being in similar medical states.

Louisa had gone home almost immediately after Lilith had been found.

Apparently, she was shaken by the discovery, and she wanted to spend time with her mate before their pup came.

Avery permitted her leaving, and ended her prison sentence as long as she went to counselling.

Xavier was making her go every day, so Avery let her do whatever else she wanted.

York still had made no improvements, and it annoyed Avery.

She had interrogated Elijah Preston every week for the last two months.

There was no news or leads in anything.

Close to giving up, Avery slams her laptop closed and grits her teeth.

Kathleen looks up from her desk, as does Mitchell, her mate.

"Everything okay?" Her new Beta asks, furrowing his brows.

"Absolutely fine," Avery grumbles, standing up from her seat.

"Where are you going, Ave?" Kathleen asks nervously, biting her lip as she exchanges a look with her mate.

"I'm going to go by the centre, and then I'm going to go by the orphanage," she sighs, running a hand through her hair.

"Drive, it's really warm," Mitchell advises, standing up from his seat and retrieving Avery's blazer for her.

He passes it to her over the desk and gives her a look.

"I'm fine, Mitchell, seriously," she snaps, buttoning her blazer on and storming out of the room in a cloud of frustration.

"She didn't mean to snap," Kathleen says quietly, rubbing her mate's back gently.

Mitchell leans down and kisses his mate on the lips, giving her a small smile.

"I know, she's just upset," he whispers, returning to sitting back down and pulling his laptop closer to him.

The two sit in the room in silence, typing away on their computers, occasionally chatting about the work they're doing.

Avery leans against the wall as soon as she left her office.

She rubs her face and holds her stomach, feeling nauseous as she exits the warm room.

Taking a deep breath, she shakes it off and then walks out of the packhouse, squinting as the sun hits her eyes.

It's midday, and it's the warmest day in weeks, and she instantly regrets leaving.

She gets into her car, blasting the air conditioning as fast as she can.

She feels hollow, and she has no idea what to do - everything has gone downhill, and nothing is coming together.

Before she pulls out of the driveway, she takes a deep breath and dials Scott's number, letting the phone connect to her car.

"Hey Ave, are you okay?" Scott asks as soon as he answers, confused by the abrupt call.

They usually phone in the evening, their scheduled calls keeping them both some degree of sane.

"I'm on my way to visit the centre, I just needed company," Avery sighs, her distress evident in her tone.

"What's wrong?" Scott questions immediately, sounding concerned.

He's sitting in his office, which he cleaned for the first time in years, staring at his laptop screen blankly.

The call came at the perfect time for him - he was contemplating shifting into his wolf and going to hide in the forests for a while.

"I feel so useless," she whispers, pulling onto the highway.

"It isn't your fault," he reprimands, and Avery releases a humourless laugh/

"She was my charge, it was my fault," she grimaces, and Scott shakes his head defiantly.

"No, she came to your pack in order to be protected from her own pack," he reprimands, "Zephyr doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself. How were you supposed to know this was going to happen?"

Avery listens to the words Scott has said almost daily for the last two months.

She doesn't believe them, and she's completely detached from reality.

"Okay," she simply says, focusing on the road.

"Avery, don't block me out," Scott warns angrily, standing up from his chair and pacing in front of his desk.

"Do you want me to come down there for a few days?" He asks, and Avery considers it.

"If you're not busy, we could both use the time off," she admits truthfully, rubbing her eyes with one hand.

"Isn't that the truth," he mutters, sitting back down.

"I'll get the plane ready. We're getting nowhere up here, so I may as well come down there again," he sighs, and she nods.

"I'll make sure the cabin is cleaned," she responds.

"The same one as last month?" He asks, and she nods absently before realising he can't see her.

"Yeah, or we can just stay in mine if you want to be plagued with calls," she snorts, and he lets out a small laugh.

"I just want silence," he whispers, and Avery stays silent too.

There's nothing to be said, so she doesn't say anything for a minute.

"Okay, I'll call you later," she finally says, pulling into the parking lot of the partially-constructed centre.

"Right, I'll see you tomorrow. Try not to screw that rogue again before I get there," he lightly teases before hanging up.

Avery chuckles to herself for a minute at his dig, and then lets her face fall back to its neutral expression.

Avery gets out of her car and locks it, walking over to where she can see the site manager from her vehicle.

She cracks her fingers and folds her arms once she arrives in front of him, waiting for him to look up from his plans.

He does after a minute once he feels a shadow blocking the sun.

"Oh, Alpha," he mutters, looking back down at his plans with a grimace on his face.

"Yes, hello," she grumbles, scowling slightly.

The construction manager and Avery aren't fans of each other.

He doesn't like that she places such emphasis on protective structures, he thinks that it's outdated and useless.

She dislikes his disregard of her suggestions, and she's convinced he has an issue with her being a female - York was also serious about protection and security, and this man never had a problem with him.

Every time they had a meeting, Avery prepared to be in a terrible mood for the rest of the day.

"How are we getting on?" She asks politely, keeping her tone even and calm.

She's so tempted to rip his head off for the disrespect and disregard he treated her with the previous week, but she won't. She has more ethical ways to run her business than killing a rude man - if she didn't, she'd have a lot of bodies on her hands.

"Fine," the man says stiffly.

"When do you expect to be done?" Avery questions, giving him a minute to think about his answer.

"Maybe a month. Maybe less," he mutters, and Avery nods slowly.

"Okay, thank you," she sighs, "does that include the interior being built?"

"Yes. All interior structures will be completed, and alarm systems will be done when the plumbing is done," he replies with certainty.

Avery claps her hands and nods.

That was all she needed.

"Excellent, let me know when that's being done, and then I'll send in interior designers," she cheers, "thank you for your hard work!"

Her enthusiastic exclamation of appreciation makes the man raise his eyebrows.

He stiffly nods to her, and Avery walks back to her car.

I don't know how his mate lives with him, Sonya snarls, and Avery sighs.

It's women in power, I could have him by his balls in seconds, and he knows it, Avery smirks.

He could use his manners, Sonya protests.

That would be the reasonable thing, Avery reminds her, smirking as she cuts off the link and gets into her car.

She unlocks her phone and rings one of her maids, buckling in her seat belt.

"Hey Cynthia, is it possible for the cabin to be scrubbed by tomorrow?" She asks, and the maid sighs down the phone line.

"Yes, Alpha, what time do you need it to be done for?" The woman asks grumpily.

"Four," Avery grins cheekily, and Cynthia goes off rambling in French for a moment.

"It'll be done, goodbye," Cynthia says, hanging up abruptly.

Avery chuckles to herself, putting the address for the orphanage into her maps app.

The centre was on the outskirts of the pack, hidden from the main area. She did this on purpose, and she had it located beside a human-owned shopping mall.

Nobody would know who went into the centre, as it could also be accessed through the mall - or, it would be able to when it was completely finished.

Privacy had been one of the factors Avery had been most concerned about when she was working with Freya to organise the construction of this service.

Freya had agreed, and between them, they had figured out the service being located a little further from the pack's central business district.

There were buses that frequently ran to it, and it was easy enough to get to.

This is the stuff she excelled at - she's good at projects, she takes things and fixes them.

Avery fixes her lipstick and then begins driving, her phone instructing her on where to go.

She dutifully listens, and she arrives at the orphanage soon after, stepping out and being drawn into her aunt's arms almost immediately.

"Hello, Ave, how are you today?" Faye cheers and Avery shrugs, plastering a smile onto her face.

"I'm okay, I'm here to do the welfare checks and look at the expenses," she sighs, and Faye scowls.

"You should have somebody to do that for you," she scolds, and Avery rolls her eyes.

"Who do you suggest? Everyone else is busy; York is in his coma still, in case you forgot," Avery grumbles, walking herself into the house.

Faye follows her, watching as her niece manoeuvre around the few toddlers who are gathered in the hallway to greet their visitor.

"Is everyone at school today?" Avery asks over her shoulder, walking into the office with Faye close behind her.

"Yes, nobody even has a sniffle today," Faye sighs, shaking her head.

Avery raises a brow at her aunt.

"Seriously? Maybe they could sense I'd be coming today," she laughs, shaking her head too.

Avery sits at the desk her aunt usually resides at, and Faye lays a binder in front of her.

"I'll bring you some tea, dear," Faye nods, and Avery shakes her head.

"No, water would be better, I feel a bit sick," Avery admits, and Faye scowls at her.

"It's dehydration, I'll bet. It's so warm out, and you don't take care of yourself! I tell you every day to drink water, but you don't, and then this happens - I'll be telling your mother," Faye scolds, and Avery feels like an overgrown child.

"Okay," Avery sighs, watching as her aunt stomps out of the office.

She gazes at the expense reports and groans aloud, regretting everything.

One of the toddlers wanders in and clambers onto her lap, sucking his thumb as he gets comfortable.

"Hello," Avery greets gently, and the child who couldn't be more than two stays quiet and continues staring at her.

"Are you going to help me do my work?" She asks, and the child nods enthusiastically, continuing to suck his thumb.

Avery shrugs to herself and wraps an arm around the child's waist, holding him tightly to make sure that he doesn't topple off the chair.

She reads over the accounts, finding no issue with any of the figures presented, and so, not raising any issues.

The child makes some noises of dissatisfaction, so Avery bounces her knee, letting the child fly and land while giggling.

"Here's your water, Ave - oh, you found Milo," Faye smiles gently, placing the water beside her.

"More like he found me," Avery chuckles, and the child widens his eyes, resting his head in the crook of Avery's neck.

"Do you want me to take him out of here?" Faye asks, and Avery shakes her head.

"He's okay, he's just keeping me company - aren't you, little man?" She grins, gently tickling the little boy.

He bursts into a fit of giggles before calming down and wrapping his arms around her neck.

Avery lets the little boy cuddle up to her, and Faye leaves after nodding to her niece.

He doesn't speak, Faye informs her after she walks out of the room.

What do you mean?, Avery asks, glancing at the little boy before she returns to her papers.

His eyes are drooping as he watches what she's doing, and she can tell he's about to fall asleep.

Nobody has ever heard him speak. We've had him here for most of his life, Faye explains, and Avery furrows her brows.

How old is he?, she asks curiously.

He's almost three, but he's so small that nobody would know it, Faye sighs, and Avery can feel her aunt's concern and sadness through the link.

Where was he found?, Avery asks, Could you send me his file?

Faye sends her a visual of Milo's file, and Avery is slightly horrified.

He was dumped just outside the boundary and found by night patrol in December.

It was lucky he hadn't frozen to death, Sonya comments, her protective side emerging in full force.

I don't know how he didn't there was snow on the ground that December and he only had a blanket, according to this, Avery exclaims.

She looks down at the little boy who has fallen fast asleep on her lap, his arms remaining gently around her neck.

Nothing was wrong with the boy when he was found, and he is apparently entirely healthy, and has been since he was found.

"Who left you in the forest, huh?" Avery murmurs, lightly kissing his forehead.

Avery flips her hair back again, running through the last of the accounts before she finishes up.

Standing up slowly, she scoops Milo into her arms, walking slowly towards the kitchen.

"Avery," Faye begins, and Avery hisses at her to be quiet.

"What?" Faye whispers, turning around and noticing the boy in her niece's arms.

"Oh," she softly exclaims, walking over to them.

"I need to finish making the kids their snacks, could you hold him for another minute?" Faye pleads, and Avery shrugs as much as she can without disturbing the young boy.

"That's fine," she nods, walking over to one of the chairs by the kitchen table.

She slips into the chair and looks down at the little boy, resting him over her shoulder, patting his back lightly.

"He doesn't normally get so comfortable with people," Faye notes, and Avery raises a brow, looking down at the boy again.

"Well, my hugs are better than yours, maybe he could sense that," she teases, and Faye rolls her eyes dramatically.

"Don't give yourself such good reviews, you're not that amazing," Faye snorts, shaking her head at Avery.

"Excuse you!" Avery exclaims in mock outrage, whisper-shouting at her aunt across the room.

Faye smirks, a twinkle in her eye as she sticks her tongue out at Avery.

She continues cutting the fruit in front of her into shapes, glancing at her niece every few minutes.

Avery has one hand supporting the boy and holding him in place, and one using her phone.

She's replying to emails and organising phone calls when Milo begins to stir, making soft noises and looking at Avery with wide eyes.

"Hello, honey," she smiles, and the boy gives her a toothy smile, some of his hair falling into his eyes.

"Okay, snacks are ready. Milo, do you want to get everyone else?" Faye asks, looking at the pair out of the corner of her eyes.

Milo shakes his head, looking at the ground and putting his thumb back into his mouth.

Avery gently pulls it out, shaking her head at him and pulling a face.

Milo giggles at her face, and Faye rolls her eyes, going to the doorway.

"Kids," she roars, and all of the toddlers and young children in the house thunder down the stairs and in from the toy room.

All of the kids skid to a stop as they arrive in the kitchen, and Faye hands them each a bowl of fruit.

They scatter off to different corners of the kitchen and the attached dining hall to eat in peace or with their friends.

Milo picks at his fruit, and Avery notices this with a frown.

"If you eat your fruit, you'll get big and strong," she suggests, and he nibbles a little more on a strawberry.

They continue like this for a few more minutes until Avery's cellphone rings, startling the happy atmosphere.

Avery manages to pull it out of her back pocket with some shifting on her chair.

"Yeah, Mitchell?" She asks after checking the contact I.D., glancing down at Milo as she waits for her Beta to speak.

"Preston just started talking," Mitchell announces, and Avery bolts upwards, startling Milo and almost making him drop his fruit.

"Okay, I'll go over there right now," Avery nods rapidly, hanging up on him and putting Milo onto her seat gently.

As soon as she puts him down, he starts crying, whimpering at the loss of heat and contact.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I need to go do some work," she whispers, kissing his forehead gently.

Faye watches with a frown, scooping Milo up into her arms.

He continues to cry, staring at Avery with teary eyes.

Avery tries to stop herself getting irritated, and she takes Milo out of her aunt's arms.

"I have to go do some work," she says sternly, "I have to go help some people, okay? I can come back later if you'd like."

Milo considers this quietly, looking up at her shyly.

His tears dried up almost as soon as Avery took him back, and he reluctantly nods, wrapping his arms around her.

Avery presumes his attachment is because of the power she gives off.

Children find it comforting, they like being protected and her energy is protective.

Avery gently hugs him back before passing him to Faye.

"Be good," she murmurs as she passes them, nodding to Faye.

He really likes you, Faye comments over the link.

Well, if he likes me so much, maybe I should consider taking him, Avery jokingly says, and Faye's mood turns serious.

Maybe you should, Faye responds.

Avery raises her eyebrows, blinking in astonishment as she gets into her car and driving to the prison service.