Avery is half asleep, but in her defence, so is Lilith.

The two women are leaning against each other, their heads resting on one another'.

"Have you ever seen your one so peaceful?" Roman asks in amusement, shaking his head at Avery as he pulls out his laptop and gets ready for the second half of the conference to begin.

"She's gorgeous," Zephyr sighs dreamily, holding Lilith's hand loosely.

"Are you happy?" Roman quietly questions, his eyes not leaving Avery's face.

"Happier than I've ever been in my life," Zephyr whispers, leaning in and kissing Lilith.

Lilith jolts awake and slaps Zephyr across the face.

Her jolting awake makes Avery bolt up, and now both women are alert and looking very pissed off.

"What the hell?" Avery groans, sitting back down and rubbing her face.

She remembers she has makeup on, and then whips her hands away from her face, cursing everyone and everything she's ever known.

"Why did you do that?" Lilith whines, looking miserable.

"He was trying to be cute," Roman weakly defends, and both women turn to stare at him.

"Next time, tell him to remember he's mated to a rogue who sleeps in defensive mode," Lilith growls, and Avery nods irritably.

A scornful laugh echoes across the table, and they all turn to look at the man who released the sudden noise.

"What's wrong with him?" Avery mutters, rolling her eyes.

"Watch out, Alpha Addison, your Luna might be the next to get burnt by that she-witch," Scott snarls, and Avery raises an eyebrow slowly.

"Scott, I mean this in the most sincere manner possible - I hope you choke on your own tongue," Avery responds sweetly, batting her lashes at the disfigured man across from her.

"You can't stand not being the top dog, Wilcott, and you don't care who you trample on to get to it," he growls, and she laughs coldly.

"See, the difference is, I don't care about you, and I never have, so you can back the fuck up right now and take that back," she replies sharply, and Roman sits her back down.

She didn't even realise she had stood back up.

I realised, you're not the one still in pain from that hangover you caused us, Sonya mumbles.

"You two, I will be forced to sanction both of you if you don't stop your squabbling," Roman sighs, feeling like he's talking to toddler children, and not two fully grown, Alpha-strength wolves.

Oh, will he punish us? Sonya purrs suggestively, and a purr escapes Avery's lips from Sonya's thoughts.

Avery claps a hand over her mouth and grimaces while she pulls her laptop out of Roman's bag one-handed.

Why do you love embarrassing us?, Avery snarls, and she can picture the smirk Sonya would be wearing on her face.

It's my favourite hobby, because you're the one who has to suffer through it, not me, she cackles, and Avery is about to put a mental block in place.

Sonya quickly butts in, hurrying to get her message out before Avery effectively tunes her out for the entire day.

I need to be let out later, something doesn't feel right, and I'd like to find out what it is, she explains, and Avery rolls her eyes a little.

Is this an excuse for me not to block you for the entire day?, Avery sighs.

No, I swear, I think Scott has something to do with it, Sonya adds, and at the mention of Scott's name, Avery rolls her eyes again - at this rate, they'll be rolling in circles in her head at all times.

Fine, Avery groans, before tuning her wolf out slightly.

To anybody else, Avery looks like she was daydreaming, but Roman notices her eyes flashing rapidly, so he leaves her alone.

"Are you excited for peace treaties?" Roman asks her, a happy glint in his eyes.

"You're so fucking weird," she groans, gently pushing his shoulder.

"I'm the peacekeeping Alpha, let me enjoy things," he laughs, the sombre mood from two minutes previous entirely gone.

Avery can see Lilith caressing Zephyr's cheek and apologising in a quiet voice. He takes her hand and kisses her palm, and she almost feels like an intruder to be watching this intimate scene.

"They're like something out of a romance movie," Avery whispers to Roman, and he nods in agreement.

"The heroine and hero in a novel," he replies quietly, his eyes never leaving Avery.

"Does anybody have any objections to the O'Connor pack and the Bianchi packs forming an alliance?" One of the council members sighs, and when there's a few moments of silence, York bangs the gavel, a smirk on his face.

"Go forth in good health and unity, thank you, Alpha O'Connor and Alpha Bianchi," York nods, and the two Alphas in question sit down quickly.

"Are there any other alliances to be discussed?" York asks, and there is complete silence in the room.

"Jesus, nobody is feeling very friendly today," Avery mutters, and Roman snorts quietly.

"Any issues or questions?" York continues, shooting his sister a scolding look.

"Actually, yes, I do," Scott stands up, his upper lip curled in distaste.

Fully aware of this man's dislike of his sister, York is instantly more guarded than he has been for the entire trip.

"Yes, Alpha Petty?" York sighs, his jaw clenching slightly as he reminds himself to breathe and be civil with this male his wolf so hates.

"I have an issue with your Deputy Alpha, so I believe you will be biased on this matter," he announces, and Avery groans aloud.

People turn to look at her, some looking slightly horrified.

Scott Petty has a terrible reputation for violence, and he's volatile at the best of times. Nobody likes dealing with him, and he has very few alliances.

His mate is present again, looking like she'd rather be eaten alive by the floor than be present in the room.

"As you may know, the two of us have a history," he begins, and Avery cuts him off.

"Yes, history. Ancient history. Six-year-old history, which was resolved six entire years ago," Avery emphasises, flinging her arms into the air.

"Deputy Alpha Wilcott, do not cut the speaker off. If you wish to talk, you will stand and wait your turn," the older council member reprimands, shaking his head.

Avery grits her teeth but turns to look at Scott.

I will attack him at any time you want me to, you say the word, and I'll end his pitiful existence, Sonya growls, and Avery can feel her claws coming out, and her canines descending.

"Your eyes are flashing," Lilith mutters to her, and Avery closes her eyes quickly, taking a moment to breathe.

Any sudden shift or interruption could look like an admission of guilt.

"She did this to my face," Scott announces, and Avery jolts out of her chair, her eyes freely flashing now.

"Permission to speak?" Avery snarls, "I have the right to defend myself against my accuser unless the rules are different for women."

The council all nod in unison, not wanting to get involved.

Roman is ready to get up at any second, looking between the two.

"I did do that to his face, in a justified argument. If you look in your files, it was a closed matter in which both of us and our witnesses agreed it would not be brought up again, so he has broken his part of the agreement, so I suppose I can break mine," she growls out, and she can hear the curious whispers and mumblings going around the room.

"Deputy Wilcott, this will be moved into chambers after this meeting ends," one of the council members quickly interrupts, obviously having been alerted by one of the others what this deal was.

"Alphas, Council, I'm so sorry to disturb you," a boy cries out as he bursts into the room, sweat running down his forehead, his face as pale as a ghost, and his eyes bulging out of his skull.

His Alpha stands, looking at the boy with thinly veiled irritation.

"What is it, Gabriel?" The man asks impatiently, clenching his jaw as he waits for the boy to stop panting, "we don't have all day for your silly tales."

"It's not a tale, Sir," the boy gasps, his hand going around his neck.

"One of the maids was found hanging," he chokes out, and everyone raises an eyebrow.

Suicides aren't common in the werewolf community unless there has been the loss of a mate.

"And?" His Alpha barks, and the boy is starting to change colour.

"She was carved into," the boy spits, before his other hand goes around his throat.

Avery can see his claws extending from his fingers, and she leaps up, running over to the boy.

"Somebody get a doctor," she screams, tackling the boy to the ground - much to her brothers utter horror - and digging her own nails into his hands, clawing his arms.

With her rapid scratching, blood begins to ooze out of the boy, but it's silvery, and everybody surrounding them gasps.

Slowly, the blood begins to turn red, the flow constant until Avery presses her hands over the wounds once she removes his hands from his neck.

She looks up to see Lilith beside her, the blue-headed woman turning the boy's head to the side and checking his neck.

"What the fuck was that?" Lilith mutters lowly, and Avery has an unusually grave look on her face.

"What I tried to warn everybody about six years ago," she growls back, her jaw set into a square shape, and her canines extending.