Zephyr has half-shifted, his teeth pointed and sharp, his entire face morphing into that of his wolf.

He looks terrifying, his eyes flashing from black to red and his shoulders hunching forward as his wolf tries to force a shift.

Avery is barely holding back a shift, her claws digging into her palms as she tries to ground herself. She's counting backwards from twenty-four, and praying to the Moon Goddess as quickly as she can, crossing her fingers that her words are heard before anything bad can begin.

Alphas who have scented Lilith before have stood up, looking outraged by the appearance by the rogue in their court.

"Lilith Addison, thank you for presenting yourself to the court," one of the Councilmen booms and the growling almost drowns him out.

The atmosphere is tense, and everyone who isn't growling or holding back growls are looking at each other in confusion.

Katya, Scott, Mike, and another Alpha who Avery only barely recognises are restraining him, holding on as tight as they can.

Zephyr is almost breaking out of their hold, and Avery glances between Lilith and Zephyr in horror.

Alpha wolves take rejection as needed, but they don't handle abandonment well.

Zephyr's wolf wasn't only protecting Zephyr, but their son as well.

Emmett was at the forefront of Zephyr's mind, and when it came down to it if it was between protecting a child or a mate, children won almost every time.

Shit, he's going to kill her, Sonya hisses, and Avery titters.

He won't, she's his mate, Avery argues, but her lack of conviction shines through her phone.

That hasn't stopped others, Sonya grimly reminds her.

"I refuse to let her be questioned by the court," Zephyr grits out, his voice completely different to how it usually is.

He's usually soft-spoken, his authority carrying through his gentle tones.

He sounds gravelly and blood-thirsty now.

You would be too if somebody ran out on you and your kid, Sonya mutters.

I know, I just think he sounds scary right now, Avery snaps, returning to counting down.

Sit back down, people are staring at us, Sonya urges, and Avery warily pays heed to her wolf's words, looking over at Zephyr as she does.

This wasn't her fight, but she had no issues with jumping into it if need be.

"Alpha Addison, with all due respect, that isn't your choice. She volunteered," a member of the table responds calmly, but the tremor in his voice is audible for everyone to hear.

He's terrified of the much larger Alpha who looks ready to rip the head off anyone in his way.

He's had such an eventful day, Sonya comments wearily, looking at her friend sadly.

I hope he's okay, we should try to get a recess, Avery suggests, and Sonya doesn't disagree.

"Council, I would like to request a ten-minute recess," Avery calls, and the table looks at each other, and then back at her cautiously.

"Why?" One asks, and Avery raises an eyebrow.

"There might be a murder otherwise?" She mutters to herself, and Katya hears her, hiding her smirk.

"I need a break," she simply says into the microphone.

The Council murmurs to each other for a minute, and then one of them gives her a firm nod.

"That's okay, but it'll be ten minutes and ten minutes only, are we clear?" He snaps, and Avery nods quickly.

The Council pours into the chambers, taking Lilith with them.

Avery rushes over to where Zephyr is still being held back, standing about a meter away as she watches his neck veins bulge.

Her eyes widen a little, and she shakes her head at Katya.

Katya releases Zephyr's shoulder, stepping away from him.

"Zeph, if we let you go slowly, will you revert to human form?" Avery asks, keeping her tone polite and crisp.

Zephyr snarls, shaking Scott off his arm.

Scott winces and steps back, arms aloft in the air to show he means peace.

Zephyr shakes Mike off, too, and glares at the remaining Alpha until he too releases him.

Avery holds her breath, ready to tackle her friend to the ground the second anything starts.

Zephyr closes his eyes, hiding the eerie red orbs from the world. Slowly, the fur that sprouted from his neck and shoulders recedes, as does the snout that forced it's way to the surface. His teeth return to a more human-looking set, although they remain slightly pointed.

His return to human form is a lot slower than usual due to him having to reign in his temper and take control of his extremely volatile wolf. Avery could practically feel the concentration and effort that it took for him to regain control - angered wolves, especially angered wolves who can force a shift, are sometimes almost impossible to handle.

"You need to calm down before you get fined. If you can't calm down, get the hell out of here," Avery snarls, squaring up to him.

"She's here. I have had people searching everywhere for her, and she shows up at your hearing," he growls, tugging at his hair.

"Okay, you know she's alive," Avery barks, and Zephyr scowls.

"But she isn't with me," he hisses, turning his back on them.

Avery can feel his anger; it's coming off him in waves.

Some of the watching Alphas hurry out of the arena, not wanting to get involved in anything that might happen next.

Zephyr sinks back into his seat, clenching his fists and forcing himself to breathe.

"Walk it off," Avery grunts, walking back towards her seat.

Zephyr gets up and walks out of the room, Mike tailing him just in case.

Avery rests her head on the table, and Scott walks over to her, rubbing her back.

"It'll be okay," he nods grimly, and a throat clears.

They both swivel their heads to where the noise came from, and they spot Roman at the same time.

He looks remarkably awkward, which makes Avery feel a little happiness, even if it's cruel.

He deserves all the misery in the world, in her opinion.

For a peacemaking Alpha, he's caused a lot of drama over the past couple of months.

He's had his pack attack rogues at random, completely unprovoked.

The most recent attack was brutal. Avery's ally found the dead wolves and reported to her immediately, initially expecting the attacked to have been vampires. When it was discovered it wasn't; Roman had been reported to the Council for abuse of power.

Those rogues hadn't harmed anyone and had stayed in the middle of unclaimed land.

It was an unsanctioned attack, and there had been no report or plan submitted to the Rogue Committee, which Avery sat on.

It had earned Roman some scorn from other Alphas - nobody liked rogues, but they were human too, and most Alphas respected them as long as they stayed away from their packs.

And even then, with the newer peace treaties, if the rogues were polite and patient, they would be peacefully detained until an Alpha or Beta could question them.

There had been no reason for the attack.

Avery and a lot of her allies had been particularly critical of this, and she suspected news had reached him about their disgust - which is why she couldn't believe that he had been allowed testify - with anyone else, it would have been a conflict of interest.

"What do you want?" Avery asks, making her tone pleasant and holding her tone.

Her question sounds more like a conversational piece than an accusation or insult.

We have gotten so good at being nice, Sonya scoffs.

"I want to apologise," he mutters, staring at Scott, who stands behind Avery like her own personal security guard.

I wonder who would win if they fought, Sonya muses, and Avery considers it before Sonya cuts her off, shirtless.

Avery blinks, not expecting her wolf to be so horny during such an important event.

She shouldn't be surprised, realistically, Sonya was always horny.

"Apologise for what?" Avery asks blankly, watching him like a hawk.

The vein in his neck is throbbing, the tips of his ears are red, and his fingers are tapping against his formal pants.

He's nervous.

"For testifying against you," he sighs, and Avery shrugs.

"I don't really care if you did or not, your testimony won't have much of an impact on my sentence or title," she responds calmly, and she can see him rile up a little bit.

He was so calm when we first met him, what happened to that man?, Sonya sighs mournfully.

It was an act; he hasn't been that calm since that day, Avery snarls.

I wanted him to be one of the good ones, Sonya whispers, shutting off the link herself and retreating into Avery's mind.

Avery's heart aches for her wolf more than it does for herself.

She can manage on her own, she's very independent - her friends and herself are enough for her, but her wolf needs companionship. Sonya is alone, and she feels the need for romantic attachment.

Sonya had naturally grown attached to Booker - they spent a lot of time together, and since their humans were entangled, they had become close.

Sonya had found it hard to attach to anyone else.

She had little interest in seeing Scott's wolf again, even if they were friendly - she wasn't looking for a friend. Hayden's wolf was still mourning over his mate, and she respected him too much to try and poke that line.

It felt like everyone was leaving her - York was leaving to travel, Louisa has her own pack, and the others had to go back and run their packs.

Having Lunas around had comforted her and helped with the loneliness because they distracted her.

Working on the centre had been a distraction, a project to entertain her and stop her thinking of what was happening in her life - she didn't have to focus on the reality of her situation, and she didn't want to.

Avery is spiralling while Roman continues to talk, and she has no idea what he's saying.

We have five minutes, Sonya whispers, and Avery abruptly shakes her head.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she states, and Scott lays a hand on her shoulder.

Avery jerks away, her eyes flashing.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asks quietly, and she shakes her head, hurrying off.

Roman was stopped in his tracks, in the middle of his apology when Avery ran off.

"Talk to her after, if she's still alive," Scott mutters to him, and then returns to his own seat, looking around the room nervously.

Roman grits his teeth and sits down.

Avery hurries down the stone corridors, one hand over her stomach and one over her mouth.

She bursts into the bathroom, shouldering the door open and nearly knocking a woman over.

As soon as she enters, it goes silent, and all of the eyes are on her.

She gets a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she knows the conversation was about her as she rushes into a stall.

Alpha Lexus locks eyes with her and spots the mild panic in then, and hurries after her.

As Avery throws herself to her knees, Lexus quickly scoops back the woman's hair, keeping it out of the toilet.

Avery empties her stomach and coughs up all of the bile in her system, rubbing her forehead as she does.

"You're alright, just breathe," Alpha Lexus soothes, her southern accent reminding Avery of one of her cousin's mum's.

"Out," Alpha Lexus barks, turning around to the women crowding around the stall.

As soon as the word leaves Lexus' mouth, the women scamper out of the room as if a gun had been fired.

Alpha Lexus Steele was terrifying, even if there was a coup in her own pack.

"Is that all of it?" She whispers to Avery, and Avery nods and then shakes her head, coughing up more pale liquid.

"Okay, you have three minutes sweetheart, you can do it," she murmurs, rubbing her back gently and helping her sit up.

Her beady eyes and honey blond curls don't reveal the reptilian nature she hides, and Avery gives her a weak smile as she passes her a water bottle.

They were allies, and they held respect for each other - Avery undoubtedly would have done the same for her if it was her in the same position.

"Is it pregnancy?" Lexus asks, and Avery rolls her eyes.

"I keep getting asked that," she breathes after spitting out some water after rinsing her mouth.

"Is it?" Lexus repeats in her drawl, raising a perfectly pencilled eyebrow.

"No, it couldn't be," she chuckles, slowly standing up and holding the wall.

"Don't let them intimidate you, even if they have one of your closest friends," Lexus comments as they walk back to the sink area.

Lexus leans forward and preens at herself, running a finger under her eyelashes to remove nonexistent smudges.

"Well, it's just Lilith, and then I'm free," she mutters, fixing her own hair and straightening her blazer.

"You have a minute and a half," Lexus comments, turning to the taller woman and staring at her critically.

"Walk with your shoulders back when we walk back in and keep sipping your water. I'll have somebody drop some crackers up to you. You need to eat," she sniffs, linking with her and pulling her out of the bathroom.

Avery lets it happen, not finding the energy to question it or fight against this woman.

"How do you feel now?" Lexus asks, glancing at Avery as she practically marches the woman down the hallways.

"Good, better now that I threw up," she sighs, hurrying along beside the smaller woman.

Lexus is yanking her along now, and Avery is finding it tough to believe the short woman can move so quickly in such tall heels.

"That's always the way, we'll have to make sure you stay hydrated so that you can finish this godforsaken trial today and we can all go home," Lexus grumbles, throwing the doors of the auditorium open.

"Off you go, dear," she murmurs lowly, nudging Avery down the stairs as she slips into her own seat.

Nearly all of the Alphas are back now, and the Council is getting comfortable as she walks towards her seat, clutching her bottle of water.

Scott frowns as she walks past his seat.

He can see how pale she is, and he furrows his brow as he makes eye contact with her.

He quirks his eyebrow, and she shakes her head, rolling her eyes dramatically so that he can definitely see it.

Avery nods slowly to herself as she wanders to her seat, her red-polished nails tapping against the plastic of her bottle as she lowers herself into the chair again.

She'd actually rather sit on the floor at this point, but she doubts that would be allowed.