"Mom, what's this?" Milo asks, his hands flying through Avery's old wooden jewellery box.

The nine-year-old is excitable and energetic, and Avery is half asleep still.

"What's what?" She asks, covering her yawn with her hand while she leans in the doorway.

Roman can hear the two of them from the bed and inwardly groans.

If Milo is awake, that means four-year-old Hallie and one-year-old Parker are going to follow soon.

"This circle," he says innocently, pulling a small metal ring out of the box.

"That's a ring, sweetheart," Avery explains, walking over to where he stands.

She wraps an arm around him, pulling him to her and kissing his temple.

"You don't wear rings," Milo frowns, his nose scrunching up when Avery kisses his head.

"I found that when I stayed at dad's pack, literally years ago," Avery realises, gently prying the old ring out of Milo's hand and examining it.

Some of the original chain is still attached, but it's mostly broken off, which she understands is almost definitely down to the age of the thing.

Fed up with Avery, since she's too focused on the thing in her hand to give him answers, Milo bounces out of the room and catapults himself onto the bed beside Roman, startling the Alpha out of his skin.

"Oh, Milo," he murmurs, opening his eyes slightly as he stares up at the boy in mild confusion.

"What's that ring?" Milo asks, laying down beside Roman and playing with his massive hand.

"Hmm?" Roman mumbles, throwing his arm over the boy and pulling him in for a cuddle.

"He means the ring I found at the bottom of the lake in your pack," Avery calls, walking out of the bathroom and over to her wardrobes.

"What?" Roman asks in confusion, furrowing his brows and opening his eyes a little wider, only really acknowledging what's being said now.

"The what?" He repeats when he doesn't get an answer, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

One arm is trapped under Milo, who seems to be preoccupied with trying to rip one of Roman's arm hairs out.

"When I first went to your pack, when you tried to kiss me and I ran, I found this at the bottom of the lake," Avery shrugs, holding the ring aloft.

Roman furrows his brows.

Why do I know that ring? I've seen it before, Booker groans, not used to having to use his brain so early in the morning - the sun isn't even out yet, but his six-year-old is awake, so he is, too.

I don't think I've ever seen that thing in my life, Roman shrugs.

"Booker recognised it; I don't have the foggiest clue," Roman chuckles, slowly sitting up, with Milo instantly attaching himself to him like a koala to a branch.

Avery leafs through her wardrobe, trying to find a specific polo neck jumper to go with her jeans of the day.

She puts the ring down on her dressing table, turning around and returning to her intense wardrobe digging.

Booker is busy wracking his brain, and Roman could practically visualise the frown on the animal's face.

He's taking so long, Sonya complains.

I can hear you, dumbass, Booker teases over their mindlink, and Avery wrinkles up her nose in distaste.

"How did you only find it? That would have been like, seven years ago," Roman raises an eyebrow, and Avery shrugs.

"I don't look in that jewellery box. It stores all the antiques because it's usually impossible to open, and I must have just popped it in there after I found it," she sighs, leaning down and grabbing her trainers.

She's off today, as is Roman, and they're planning on taking the kids to the zoo - she isn't sure how well it'll go down with Hallie, because the young pup likes to randomly shift, even at four.

The firstborn child of two Alphas was going to be ridiculously strong, but Hallie takes the trophy for that.

Booker is still going through his memories when Avery walks into the bathroom to change, and when Hallie and Parker toddle into the room, clambering onto the bed - Hallie boosts the smaller creature onto the bed, where he crawls to beside Milo and snuggles into his older brother.

"Where's mommy?" Hallie asks, sitting in front of her dad and staring at him intently.

"She's in the bathroom," he nods, and as soon as the words leave his mouth, Hallie is off the bed and into the bathroom to see her mother.

Halfway to the door, she accidentally shifts into her tiny wolf, nudging the bathroom door open with her nose.

"Oh, Hal," Avery smiles, sliding her jumper over her head.

The wolf pup sits at her mum's feet, content to just be touching her.

Hallie is a touch-sensitive person, and she seems always to need to be in contact with whoever she's nearby, which has led to some interesting situations when they venture into the human world.

It's understood, more or less, in the werewolf world, because they're mostly all more centred with their innermost selves and their spirits.

Avery brushes her hair, Hallie following her closely.

What time are we going at, Lexus frantically mindlinks Avery, and Avery grins.

Twenty minutes, Avery responds, trying not to laugh when Lexus releases a string of curses down the mindlink.

The older woman vanishes immediately from their link, and Avery can picture her frantically getting ready.

Hallie shifts back into her human form.

She shifts so frequently that Avery and Roman invested in clothes that shifted with her, because they were tired of picking up scraps of material everywhere.

"Is nana coming with us?" Hallie asks, sliding her hand into her mother's.

"Nana Lexus? Yeah, she is," Avery smiles down at her daughter, leading her out of the bathroom.

She smiles at the sight of her youngest and oldest curled up together on the bed with her mate.

Milo grins excitedly at Avery, and she can imagine his tail wagging.

"The zoo!" He squeals, a dazzling smile on his face.

Avery and Roman told him all those years ago at the zoo that they'd be adopting him, and he could live with them if he wanted.

He wanted, so he did.

A paternal grandmother had been found, and after heavy investigation, Milo has been allowed to visit her on holidays, but she and they have no interest in her having him full time. He's well adjusted in Avery and Roman's pack and family.

His parents were ghosts, so they became his parents, explaining why he doesn't look like Hallie or Parker whenever he asked - he was their chosen child, and that made him no less important to their family unit.

Milo and Tobias were friends, and Avery wasn't sure, but she thought Hayden might be bringing Toby along today.

Toby could be a little rough and a little rude, but Avery has taken him under her wing even more recently, just to make sure he has some female guidance in his life.

Hayden was thankful for it because the eleven-year-old was irritable at times, and Avery knew how to deal with moody; she grew up with Louisa, for the Goddesses sake.

"I know where the ring is from," Roman suddenly realises.

"Where?" Avery asks, not looking up from braiding Hallie's hair.

"It was my grandmothers. My mother got into a fight with her and threw it into the lake. My grandmother always said I was to propose to my mate with that ring - so I suppose you were fated to find it," he smiles at his mate, and she blushes a bright red colour, tying off Hallie's braid and scooping Parker up from the bed.

"Yeah," she smiles slightly.

"Is that your way of proposing to mom?" Milo groans, cringing at his dad.

Roman turns bright pink, and Avery releases a cackle that could rival a witch.