"It's like he's a nun," Avery whines, and Lilith looks up from painting her nails in the corner of the room.
"Maybe he just respects you?" She suggests, rolling her eyes and picking the silver nail polish back up.
"Maybe you should make the first move?" Meredith grumbles, plucking her brows in the mirror.
"I make the first move with everything, it's his turn," Avery grunts, pulling herself back up onto the bed with a lot of effort, from where she was half slumped onto the ground.
"Mike is the least spontaneous person I've ever met if we're complaining about mates," Meredith moans, dropping her tweezers in a huff.
"Zephyr is afraid to tell me anything important in case it scares me," Lilith comments, a brief look of irritation crossing her face before it returns to its neutral expression.
"And Roman isn't my mate," Avery scowls, and the other two share a look.
"That just means you aren't obliged to deal with him," Meredith shrugs, watching her best friend flop around like a slug on a hot day.
"I guess," she mutters, reading through her texts and seeing one from York.
"Oh, my dildo of a brother wants me to find him, so I suppose I'll find you both later," Avery rolls her eyes while she stands up, shaking her head.
"We're leaving early tomorrow," Meredith calls after her as she walks out of the room.
"We'll have breakfast," Avery shouts over her shoulder, closing the door behind her.
Wandering around the halls until she finds the room number her brother hides in, she knocks and waits for him to come to the door - Goddess only knows what she'd walk in on if she didn't wait for him to open the door for her.
She hears him curse loudly before she hears the door click and open.
"I didn't expect you to be here that quickly," he mutters, a towel around his waist, and shaving foam on his face.
"I'm nothing if not punctual, little brother," she smirks, taking a seat on his bed.
"That is a bare-faced lie, you dick," he snaps, shaking his head at her.
"I'll be ready in a minute, Louisa wanted to call us, and apparently it's essential that she rings us right this minute," York grumbles, storming into the bathroom and slamming the door.
Five minutes later, he emerges dressed and clean-shaven, and Avery can't stop herself.
"That was longer than a minute," she comments smugly, and he looks murderous.
"Just act like you like me for this call, or Louisa will complain to mum," he mutters, and the two sit on the bed while York video calls their sister.
She answers quickly, and the bright red hair that greets them is a shock to Avery, who forgot how vibrant her sister's hair got in the summer.
"Hello, carrot," Avery greets cheerfully, and York elbows her roughly.
"Don't be fucking rude," he hisses, and Avery mimes hitting him with a handbag as she saw in an episode of the Kardashians.
"Hello, sissy," the woman beams back, looking excited.
The two WIlcotts exchange a look, both looking extremely confused.
Their sister wasn't outgoing like them, even around them - she was bratty, and somehow very commanding, which made her an excellent female Beta. Women and children felt they could trust her and talk to her when they first met her, but then she revealed the ugly side to her personality.
"How are you?" York asks weakly, him and Avery mindlinking as subtly as possible.
Are you scared? I'm scared, Avery says, and York bites back a smile.
I am so afraid of what she's about to say I can't explain it. What if she says she's going to move back to us?, he asks, and a look of horror crosses their faces at the exact same time.
"What's wrong?" Louisa asks cheerfully, and Avery and York say "nothing!" far too quickly and far too on queue.
"So, I have some news for you guys," she beams, and the two take the hands of each other out of view of the camera, both dreading what she's about to say.
"Yes?" Avery asks with a sigh once there's been a minutes silence.
"I'm pregnant!" Louisa squeals, and Avery's first thought is 'oh shit'.
Her outward thought is to squeal too, and she does this, throwing her hands in the air.
York lets out a whoop and puts the phone down.
"That's brilliant!" Avery screams, doing a little dance.
Louisa had battled with infertility for no apparent reason, and it had almost torn her and her mate apart - Avery remembers those extremely upsetting phone calls in the middle of the night when her sister had just found her mate and they were trying to have a child.
She didn't like her sister, but she wouldn't wish such unhappiness on anyone.
"Is Xavier over the moon?" York grins, and Avery remembers the fact her brother-in-law exists with a start.
"He is. We both are, and the pack will be, too, but I wanted to tell you guys before we told anybody else. Mum is going to faint," she grins, and Avery and York exchange another look.
"You should wait until tomorrow to tell her then, because Dad is here with us," York warns, and Louisa's face drops a little.
"If you want celebration, I can get Meredith in here, and we can scream some more?" Avery suggests, watching as her sister retreats into herself a little more.
"No, it's okay," she mumbles, and Avery resists the urge to scowl.
Her sister is painfully stubborn, and almost refused to go with her mate when he found her, simply because she didn't want to leave her home and everything she knew.
She had been trained to take on a role outside her pack, so Avery couldn't understand why she threw such a fit.
Avery had always been her sisters' protector, regardless of age, and she really tried her best to toughen Louisa up a little, because some wolves attacked as soon as they saw weakness. The result was a brilliant tracker who was so obstinate that she couldn't introduce herself sometimes.
Luckily, she has an extremely extroverted mate who helped her in conversation and social situations, or she probably wouldn't have lasted a week in her new pack.
"We're really happy for you, sis," Avery smiles weakly, and York nods enthusiastically.
"We knew it would happen, and it did!" York beams and Louisa suddenly wiggles her brows.
"So, any sign of babies for you Avery?" She grins, and York scowls.
"Louisa, seriously," he snaps at her, shooting her a look.
Louisa was probably the most insensitive when it came to Avery being an Unfortunate and wasn't the kindest when Avery was branded.
She acted like it was shameful for their family, and that it was Avery's fault. Their bond had never really healed from that, but Avery attempted to make amends occasionally.