The room is silent as Avery gapes at the Mating Panel in shock.

"You have to be kidding," Roman interjects after neither of them speaks for a few minutes.

"No, we wouldn't kid about this sort of thing," one of the men on the panel interrupts, his face a picture of horror.

"Having a mate is a good thing," the panel's head declares, scowling at Avery and Roman.

Avery is pale in the face, and her eyes seem wider than usual as she stares around the room.

"What the fuck," she whispers to herself.

Sonya is yipping, confused between being thrilled over the concept that she does have a mate, and also being miserable that it's Roman.

"I don't want a mate," Avery clears her throat, looking at the woman in charge sternly.

"You don't get to refuse what the Goddess has given you, please don't be so disrespectful of her divine wishes and decisions," the woman snaps, clearly on the verge of losing her temper at the two Alpha's unusual reactions.

"She is the one who had us declared mateless," Avery grits out, rising from her seat.

Roman rests a hand on her lower back, and she slaps it away, trying to control her temper.

Why is she telling us what we should be happy about?, Sonya snarls, and Avery can't answer her wolf.

"She is the one who made me lose my wolf for two years, and she is the reason I lost my position in the first place," Avery hisses, and the table shifts uncomfortably.

Nobody seems sure about what to do, and nobody is able to predict what Avery plans on doing.

These are usually joyous occasions, filled with happiness and excitement.

This panel instead has a tense atmosphere, and nobody is sure where to look.

Roman's face is entirely neutral, but Sonya can feel his wolf is a little upset at her declaration of not wanting him.

"Well, our research suggests you were never actually mateless," the woman sniffs, her previously good mood gone entirely.

"What research are you talking about?" Roman asks gruffly, scowling around the room.

"Well, it's private," the woman coughs, looking around at her coworkers nervously.

"Not if it involves us and countless other Unfortunates," Avery scoffs, taking a step back until she's standing beside Roman.

A united front means they have a higher chance of getting answers to what they want, she supposes.

"Well, I don't think I can explain it to you right now," the woman nervously shrugs, her confidence vanishing as the pungent scent of anger fills the room, exuding from the two Alphas in the centre of it.

"Then find somebody who can," Avery snarls, and the woman pales, nodding hurriedly.

She leans over to the man beside her and begins to murmur to him.

"Get the scientists in here right now," she hisses, and Avery raises an eyebrow.

Avery glances at Roman briefly while they wait on answers, and she realises that he's staring at her too.

She raises an eyebrow at him, and he raises one back, releasing a sigh as he runs his hand through his hair.

"This isn't how I saw this day going," he mutters, laughing weakly as he gazes down at her.

"I didn't expect you to testify against me and then be named as my alleged mate, so I suppose we both had surprising days, don't you think?" She whispers sarcastically, rolling her eyes and folding her arms as she faces away from him slightly, giving her full attention to the sweaty table.

All of them look at least a little bit frazzled now, clearly not having expected the atmosphere to turn tense so quickly - they likely expected the two Alphas to be absolutely over the moon at the thought of having somebody to love.

"Okay, the scientists should be here in a moment," the woman announces, clasping her hands and letting a satisfied expression descend onto her face.

"Tell your scientists to hurry up, because we have to get back to the court and Council," Roman retorts, his tone allowing irritation to slip in for the first time since the conversation started.

The woman nods hurriedly and looks to the man beside her as if he can solve every problem she has.

He takes out his phone and starts furiously typing on the screen - as a diversion tactic, as a distraction from the two eyes boring into his skull, or as a messenger to the scientists, Avery isn't exactly sure.

A minute later, the doors open, and Mitchell hurries in, looking more stressed than usual.

"Excuse me, Panel, I need Alpha Wilcott for a minute," he manages to get out, his brows furrowed and his hands clasped as he uses his most apologetic tone.

Before the panel can speak, Avery storms out, linking Mitchell on the way.

"I'll be back when the scientists are here," Avery announces, closing the door gently behind her.

Roman raises an eyebrow, surprised at the lack of protest by the Panel.

He stands still and observes the tables, his hands crossed behind his back, and his legs slightly spread.

The Panel shifts uncomfortably under his gaze, as he stares back at them, his eyes boring into each and every person present.

He isn't letting anything get by him. By the time he's done his first scan, he knows that one of the women is pregnant, but not by much, one of the men is balding and trying to hide it, and the chairperson is getting to retirement age even as she tries to hide it by dying her hair and most likely having botox or something similar.

Outside of the room, Avery is staring at her Beta, Beta female, and her Gamma.

"What is it?" She asks impatiently, and they all look at each other uncomfortably.

"Please just spit it out, I don't want any more suspense today," she snaps, and Mitchell sighs.

"Lilith wants to speak to you in the cells before we go back to our pack. We can make an excuse, but she said she needs to talk to you and Zephyr. Zephyr has refused, so the message was passed to you to make a decision on," Mitchell informs her gently, ready to dodge a punch or pay for damage to a wall.

Avery closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose as she leans her shoulder against the stone wall.

"Wonderful, that's really what I wanted to hear," she grimaces, exhaling slowly.

Kathleen gently pats her on the shoulder, looking around at the other two.

"I think you should do it, personally - you're her child's godmother, you have a right to know why she left him," Kathleen murmurs, "but on the other hand, you don't owe her anything, and she can't think she has the right to just summon you to see her whenever it suits her. It really isn't a good situation no matter what way you try and look at it."

Avery nods along with Kathleen, screwing her face up.

"Hayden, what would you do," Avery sighs, looking for the final opinion.

Mitchell is a scorched earth sort of man, and Avery knows that he wouldn't give Lilith the time of day if he had the choice.

"I'd see what she has to say, but I might be biased since I knew her before she met Zephyr," he states quietly, looking up from the ground to make brief eye contact with Avery.

He seems very subdued all of a sudden, and Avery hides a frown at the lack of his usual enthusiasm - she makes a mental note to make sure that he's okay the second that she's done with the Mating Panel.

"I think you're right," Avery mutters, scowling at the wall.

A knock on the inside of the door from where the Panel sits is heard, and Avery rolls her eyes.

"Will you see her? If you will, we need to delay the plane tomorrow morning," Mitchell blurts out as he follows her to the door.

Avery opens the door and pauses, gritting her teeth as she mulls over the decision.

"Tell her I will see her, but keep it confidential. I'll tell Zephyr in my own time," Avery warns him, and Mitchell nods quickly, giving her a thumbs-up as he backs away from the door.

Avery walks into the room to see Roman standing in the exact place she left him, being hit with the smell of his anger and outrage as she enters.

None of the Council had moved from their original positions, and they all looked impossibly more terrified.

Avery exhales and goes to stand beside Roman again, leaving almost half a meter in between the two of them.

The new addition to the room, a willowy stick of a man, nibbles on his lip and glances at his clipboard anxiously.

"Okay, this is Dr Lennox, the chief scientist who is currently working on the Unfortunate phenomenon," the woman announces.

"I wouldn't call it a phenomenon, more of a curse," Avery mutters, and Roman releases a weary laugh.

"Hello, Alphas," the man shakily begins, looking at the table nervously.

He looks like he would rather be anywhere else other than this room.

In fairness, wouldn't you? He's a lot smaller than all of us, and he smells... human, Sonya exclaims curiously, frowning.

I think he must be a half-breed, or he has a dormant wolf, Avery shrugs, staring curiously at the man while Sonya theorises excitedly.

Avery and Roman both nod to the man who pushes his clear glasses back up his long nose.

"So, I started this research project four years ago," he starts off weakly, his voice cracking.

His face goes bright red as his voice cracks, and he stops in his tracks, trembling slightly.

Avery feels pity for the small man, and she forces herself to reign in her dominance and anger.

She nudges Roman to do the same, and he complies quickly, both of them just wanting the information this man has so that they can move on from the silence.

As the tense atmosphere in the room decreases slightly, the man inhales deeply, closes his eyes for a second, and then squints at his clipboard quickly.

On the clipboard sits an interactive tablet which he rapidly types something on before clearing his throat again.

"Go ahead, Dr Lennox," Avery encourages gently, using the voice she would generally reserve for use with the children of her pack.

He gives her a small smile before he pushes his shoulders back.

"I have been in charge of this project for four years, since I founded it," he repeats, "I have no mate either, and I was inspired by my own struggles to see if there was a scientific explanation for the Unfortunates."

Avery nods, digesting the information quickly and then staring at him intently for him to continue.

"I found a genetic link in some cases, but not very many. There seems to be a recessive gene, but we can single that out, and I believe that we are gradually breeding it out of the species," he explains quickly, his face lighting up as he talks about his work excitedly.

Avery has to stop herself from smiling at just how happy he looks as he explains this.

"I believe my family was used in that study," she interjects softly, and he nods happily.

"Your family was indeed used in it, Alpha Wilcott, but we found no genetic indications or gene markers that suggested you were genetically predisposed to being branded," he responds, nodding firmly in her direction.

"What happens until we breed it out?" Roman asks grimly, clenching his jaw.

"Until we breed it out, people will continue to be branded as Unfortunates. It appears to be a spontaneous genetic mutation - we cannot find any pattern or genetic reasoning for it in families. If you have an Unfortunate sibling, you are no more likely to be branded than any other wolf on the street. One pack, in particular, was an exemption from that, but they live in Northern Scandinavia and don't generally follow mating practices anyway," he states.

"What does this have to do with us being mates?" Avery queries, feeling slightly confused now.

"Well, before I explain that, I would like you to describe each other's scents," he instructs confidently.

Avery sighs, raising an eyebrow as she turns to face Roman.

Roman grimaces again and turns to face Avery.

"Don't be afraid to hug, you can get a more accurate scent that way," he encourages them, and the two Alphas reluctantly sink into each other's arms.

Avery puts her nose against the crook of Roman's neck and inhales deeply, rolling her eyes as she gets the same result as usual.

She can feel Roman sniffing at her, and once he's finished, he releases her gently.

"Okay, and what did you smell from Alpha Lancaster, Alpha Wilcott?" Dr Lennox asks, clasping his hands excitedly.

"Nothing other than his cologne," she sighs, "he has no scent."

Dr Lennox grins, and turns to Roman, "and what scent do you get from Alpha Wilcott?"

"Nothing. Her hair smells nice, but she doesn't have a wolf scent," he grunts, the tips of his ears turning red as the scientist claps his hands.

"Okay, to me, Alpha Wilcott smells like freshly baked cookies - she's sweet, but she also smells like smoke. Alpha Lancaster smells like the forest, earthy and like wet mud," the scientist explains enthusiastically, and Avery raises an eyebrow.

Did he just imply that we smell like burnt cookies?, Sonya snarls, and Avery isn't sure how to respond to her wolf.

"Okay," Roman unsurely shrugs to the scientist.

"Mates usually find each other by touch and scent, right?" The man asks first, and when everyone nods slowly, he grins and continues, "Unfortunates find their mates by finding out who doesn't have a scent."

Avery stares at the man, furrowing her brows.

"So because I can't find Alpha Lancaster's scent, he's my mate?" She asks with a sigh, trying not to roll her eyes.

This doesn't seem very reliable to her at all.

"Yes," the man beams.

"We don't feel the typical sparks when we touch," Roman butts in, folding his arms as he glances at Avery quickly.

"That's the beauty of Unfortunate pairings. All of that happens after marking," the doctor states gleefully, clapping his hands, and he puts his tablet down.

"So he has to mark me before I can feel like I have a mate? Forget it," Avery grunts, shaking her head.

"You would technically feel sparks with anyone you mark, so what if it isn't that we're mates, we just don't register with each other?" Roman asks Dr Lennox.

"No, I guarantee you are mates. You just need to mark each other. If you did it right here, right now, you could be my next case study," he shrugs, a hesitant smile on his face.

Avery and Roman glance at each other, and then both shake their heads in unison.

"The last thing we need to do is mark each other, we have enough to deal with," Avery shakes her head, and Roman points at her in agreement.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go for the Council's decision now," Roman finally states, and leads Avery out of the room by her elbow.

Once the door closes, they turn to each other and let their jaws drop.

"What the fuck?" Avery whisper-yells, flinging her arms in the air.

"I don't fucking know, do you think I expected that?" Roman whisper-yells back, running his hands through his hair.

"Okay, what the fuck do we do?" She groans, walking hurriedly back towards the arena.

"We don't say anything to anyone, we say it was just questioning about being Unfortunate Alphas," he states determinedly, and Avery pauses walking.

"That actually suits me perfectly," she responds, slightly surprised by his decision - she expected him to be absolutely determined to find an answer as to why she was his mate.

"We can say it to the Council in chambers if you want to be sure you can keep your title," he adds grimly, and Avery sighs.

"We might have to," she mutters, hurrying ahead of him and opening the doors to the room of the questioning.

"We need to see the Council in chambers," Avery announces as they walk in, and the twelve people at the table sigh.

"Why?" The chairperson asks tiredly, and Avery almost feels bad for making his evening more complicated.

Then she remembers they're trying to remove her from her position, and she feels a lot better about making him stay at work for a few more minutes.

"We have just been with the Mating Panel, and we need to discuss something with you in private," Roman murmurs to him, and the older man reluctantly nods, beckoning to his men to enter chambers again.

The audience all seem slightly irritated by this interruption - most of them were planning on leaving immediately after the trial, and some of them are just desperate for dinner to be served after a long and draining afternoon.

Avery and Roman are ushered into the chambers, and they stand awkwardly in the corner until the Council arranges themselves in rows so that everyone can see.

"What was that about the Mating Panel?" York asks curiously, and Avery looks to Roman to break the news.

"Apparently we're mates," he states shortly, his face stony.

The Council all make a variety of noises, some gasping, some scoffing, and some laughing, thinking the entire thing is a practical joke.

"How is that possible?" The chairperson sighs, looking more and more tired as the minutes pass.

"They have a scientist named Dr Lennox working on it, so ask him, because a lot of it was just words to me," Avery mutters, running a hand through her hair.

"This means Alpha Wilcott now has a mate, and therefore has a viable way of producing heirs," Roman interrupts her, and Avery nods along with him, surprised at his defence of her before any of them even opened their mouths.

"Okay, so I'm assuming you decided to inform us of this before we gave our judgement in case it affected it or helped her to keep her title?" The chairperson sighs.

Roman fidgets and doesn't answer immediately, so Avery takes the reigns.

"Yes. Now me not having an heir is an invalid argument, as I just had not met my mate," she states, and the chairperson shrugs.

"Okay. We'll be out in ten minutes then, we just need to go back over our arguments," he mutters, and a guard opens the door for Avery and Roman to leave through.

"That was quick," Roman mutters, and the chairman clears his throat irritably.

The two Alphas exit, and take their respective seats, nodding to each other once they're both settled.

Avery uses the time she has to check on a file that another Alpha slipped to her as she was walking in on a rogue file.

She marks and highlights some lines in it, frowning s she goes through it.

Before she notices, the ten minutes are up, and the Council traipse back into the room, sitting down and gazing around the room.

All of the Alphas and Lunas on the continent, most of the Betas, some of the Gammas, and then some other political leaders are waiting for this verdict.

"This is not a decision we made lightly," the chairman begins gravely, and Avery's heart sinks as she stands up slowly.

It is custom for the defendant to rise for the verdict, and Avery doesn't need anybody to remind her to do so.

"After reviewing the evidence and listening to testimony, we have come to a unanimous decision. We will have everybody rise now, please," he announces, and everybody slowly gets to their feet.

"Alpha Avery Rose Wilcott will remain an Alpha, with all of the power and responsibility that the title holds remaining in her control. We fail to find a reason to remove her from power, and we will not be bringing any charges against her at this time. Thank you to everyone who came to witness this trial. Alpha Wilcott, you are free to leave," the man announces, and the Council file out of the room first.