The piles of files are taller than Kali, and the three women look at each other.
"We only have two left," Avery mutters, wiggling on the floor to try to get herself comfortable.
"Two too many," Kali whimpers, and Kathleen rubs her eyes.
"If I ever have to read again, it'll be too soon," she groans dramatically, flinging herself backwards onto the ground in protest.
"Honestly Kali, you're going to be the most over-qualified Luna out there," Avery laughs, shaking her head.
"I should win an award for filing and organising," Kali chuckles, rolling her eyes, "I was on the phone with Scott last night, and he thought it was hilarious that we were still sorting through these files."
Avery laughs again, grinning ear to ear.
"He would think it was hilarious, is his office still a bombsite?" Avery snorts, and Kali cringes.
"He can't find anything he needs, and he expects everyone else to know where it is," she groans good-humouredly.
"You poor, poor people," Avery grins, and Kathleen lets out a grunt.
"Can we get this done so I can go home and maybe drown myself?" She grumbles, sitting up from her spot on the ground.
Kathleen looks far more dishevelled than the other two, and Avery has to stop herself from laughing at her friend.
"Is somebody missing their mate?" Avery pouts, and Kathleen shoots her a withering look.
"Don't start on me, Avery Rose Wilcott," she grumbles, snatching the second last file off the stack in the centre of their sitting circle.
"I told you we could get him home," Avery shrugs, and Kathleen gives her a small smile.
"He wants to complete this round," Kathleen mumbles, picking up a highlighter pen and getting to work on brightening the page.
Mitchell, Kathleen's mate, was a pack general. They met the day she had turned seventeen, and he was twenty-one - which her parents had not been happy about. He was away more often than not at other packs, training soldiers or dealing with and deescalating conflict. Kathleen was miserable when he was gone, and Avery was ready to station him permanently within the pack if he consented.
Avery felt pity for her best friend, and whenever she was in the pack, she spent almost every night with her.
"Mhmm," Avery responds quietly, Kali placing the last file between the two of them.
They go through it quickly, and when Avery looks up, she can see the entire page Kathleen is looking at.
She's highlighted the entire page.
"Kath, that isn't a colouring book," she snorts, and her friend rolls her eyes.
"This file doesn't have a name. I want to figure out who it is, and every little clue could help," she sighs, sliding the file over to Avery, who reads a few lines and freezes.
Her eyes widen, and her face pales, and she stands up abruptly.
"Do you know who it is?" Kathleen asks, standing up too, being more careful of the piles of files than her Alpha was.
"Ave, are you okay?" Kali asks nervously, putting a hand on her friend's arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine; I just recognise this file," she mutters, walking out of the room blankly.
"Can we talk about my leaving later?" Kali calls after her, and Avery looks over her shoulder.
"Um, yeah. Just get Scott to send me the papers," Avery responds, her tone sounding confused and distracted.
"What the hell was that?" Kathleen mutters, furrowing her brows as the look after Avery.
"I don't know, but she wasn't supposed to take that file out of the office," Kali mumbles awkwardly, rubbing her neck.
Kathleen stares at her and then shakes her head, letting out a small chuckle.
"You're a good one for the rules, Kal," she grins, her brain racing as she tries to place Avery's reaction to that file.
A moment of silence passes while the two sit back down, and then Kali bites her lip.
"That was weird, right? Like, I'm not overthinking it, am I?" She asks nervously, looking hesitant to ask.
Kathleen pauses, thinking over her response.
"It was weird," she says carefully, "I think I know what could have happened, especially if the name was blanked out."
Kali furrows her brows and shakes her head.
"Names are only blanked out if the victim doesn't give a name or if they're from a ranking family - at least that's how it's done in my old pack and Scott's pack," Kali finally says, her dark eyes curious and darting.
Kathleen runs a hand through her hair, nodding slowly.
"Yeah, it looked like a sexual assault case. Avery is probably gone to ask her mum if she knows anything about it - she probably would have been the one to handle the case," Kathleen nods, and Kali nods along with her.
"Well, we can finish with this one, and she can do that one - and then we're done," Kali exhales, closing her eyes for a few moments.
Kathleen reluctantly picks her highlighter back up, and the two dive into the final file.
Avery is sprinting to the hospital, her mind racing at a million miles a minute.
She knows her mum should be there - she was supposed to have rounds - but she could have cancelled them to start making the dinner for the Addison's arrival.
She arrives, and a nurse catches sight of her looking around frantically.
"Alpha?" She asks hesitantly, and Avery grabs her shoulders gently but abruptly.
"Former Luna Wilcott, Dr Wilcott, where is she?" Avery pants out.
How unfit have we become?, Sonya asks in horror.
Since she got back and started working as the Alpha, her training has taken a back seat.
The nurse takes a moment, looking frazzled at the sudden question.
"I think she just left, Alpha," the nurse says unsurely, and Avery curses under her breath.
"Okay, thank you," she sighs, hurrying back out of the door.
Playing hide and seek with her mother hadn't been in her daily plan, and she was trying not to freak out as she hurries to her parent's house.
She bursts in the door, and her dad nearly drops his cup of coffee.
"Avery," he scolds, wiping the liquid that splashed onto his sweater off.
"Where's mum?" Avery gasps, one hand on her chest as she doubles over a little to try to catch her breath.
Richard raises an eyebrow, and points towards the pantry.
"Don't scare her too, there are jars in there," he warns, before he sits onto one of the high stools by the kitchen island.
Avery follows where he pointed to, knocking gently on the pantry door before she lets herself in.
Her heart is beating a million times a minute, or so it feels.
She feels like the organ is about to burst out of her chest.
"Mum, where are you?" She calls, holding in a sigh at the maze of little inlets and storage areas.
Marie pops her head out from one about five meters down the corridor, and Avery rolls her eyes, walking down to her.
"I need to ask you some questions about a file," Avery carefully begins, and Marie raises an eyebrow impatiently.
"Well get it out then, what file?" Marie asks, snapping the file out of her daughter's hands, and opening it onto the first page.
Marie turns a similar shade of white to Avery did when she opened it.
"Oh, this file," Marie mutters, leaning against the wall quietly.
"Yeah, this file," Avery mumbles, leaning against the opposite wall.
"Do you remember it?" Marie asks hesitantly, running a hand through her hair.
"I remember you telling me about it," Avery sighs, shaking her head.
Marie grits her teeth, and inhales slowly, closing her eyes for a moment.
"What do you need?" She asks, keeping her eyes closed, her eyebrows furrowing deeper as time passes in silence.
"I need to know everything that happened that night. And I need to put a name on it," Avery murmurs, and Marie shakes her head fiercely.
"No, I won't allow that," she snaps, scowling at her daughter.
"Mom, it'll be kept private, nobody will know," Avery groans, and her mother continues shaking her head.
"No, it'll be on record," Marie continues, gritting her teeth.
"I don't care!" Avery exclaims, flinging her hands into the air.
Marie goes silent, trying to calm herself down while she holds the file to her chest.
"I will not have your pack know what that man did to you," she says coldly, "end of discussion, Avery."
Avery's jaw juts out, and she snatches the file from her mother.
"You're just worried about your image. I'm filing it," Avery hisses, walking out of the pantry with tears in her eyes.
Richard watches his daughter leave, and he raises his eyebrows, his eyes zeroing in on the file she has clutched in her hand.
"Marie," he calls once he hears the front door slam, rising from his stool and setting his coffee down.
"What, Richard?" Marie shouts from the pantry, trying to keep herself together while she pours some pasta into a pot.
"What did you say to her?" He asks, walking into the pantry.
"Richard, I love you, but I'm not going to tell you," she mutters, kissing his cheek as she squeezes by him.
Richard sighs, and follows his wife into the kitchen, grabbing a bar of chocolate on his way out.
"You never tell me anything. If I ask Avery to let you tell me, will you?" He asks grumpily, and Marie barely spares him a glance.
"I'm not the one who should tell you," Marie grits out, setting the pot of boiling water onto the stove.
Richard sighs again, and lays his head on his wife's shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Okay, love," he simply murmurs, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Avery is trying not to lose her shit.
Sonya agrees with her mum, but Avery doesn't care.
She walks back into the packhouse, walking directly to her office as calmly as she can.
Kathleen and Kali are sitting there chatting, swinging on their spinning chairs.
They stop and go silent when Avery walks in, and they both notice her watery eyes and slightly red face immediately.
"Ave," Kathleen cautiously says, and Kali moves towards Avery like you would walk in the direction of a wounded animal.
"Are you okay?" Kali asks softly, resting a hand on Avery's arm once she gets close enough.
Avery gently shakes her off, and sits down at her desk, resting the file in front of her.
The room is silent, and the two girls look at each other to try to figure out what to do.
"Ave," Kathleen repeats, and before she can go any further, Avery cuts her off.
"It's my file," she murmurs quietly, but both girls hear her.
Kali raises a hand to her mouth, and Kathleen raises her eyebrows in surprise.
"Okay," Kathleen finally manages to get out.
"Oh, my," Kali mumbles, instantly going to Avery's side and putting a hand on her shoulder gently.
Avery sucks her cheeks in, shaking her head.
"I wasn't sure, but my mum basically confirmed it," she sighs, sitting back in her seat blankly.
"When did it happen?" Kathleen asks, sitting on her desk.
"Six years ago, just after Scott and I broke up," she mumbles, looking out of the window vacantly.
Kathleen recalls how upset her friend was then, and she nods silently.
"It wasn't Scott, was it?" Kali asks, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.
She looks as though she's afraid to know the answer.
Avery shakes her head, a small smile on her lips.
"No, he'd never do that. He's too good; he actually protected me," Avery nods, standing up abruptly and beginning to pace the room.
"How did he protect you?" Kathleen asks, watching her friend walk around the room faster and faster.
Avery looks anywhere but her, and grimaces.
"There was an Alpha who kept sniffing around me before Scott and I got together. Scott noticed, and we were friends, so he acted like we were together even before we were to try to get rid of the creep," she mumbles, running a hand through her hair.
Kathleen suddenly gasps.
"Oh my Goddess, Alpha Leary," she hisses, and Avery nods hesitantly.
"Who?" Kali asks, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"He isn't an Alpha anymore, he got whipped to death," Kathleen recalls, running a hand down her face.
"Why?" Kali questions in a small voice, her eyes wide.
"He attacked a human girl," Avery mumbles.
The three sit in silence for a minute, and Kathleen lets out an angry shout.
"I knew something had happened," she growls, and Avery nods.
"The human girl happened a week after he attacked me. My uncle carried out the punishment. He was on the Council at the time," she murmurs.
Kathleen nods rapidly, and Kali is still in shock.
"He got his punishment," Avery announces suddenly.
"Are you not angry?" Kathleen asks, her face a picture of anger.
"Trust me, he didn't die easily," Avery laughs humorlessly, shaking her head at the memory.
"Put my name on the file. I don't care; it is a private file. Nobody can see it unless it's ordered," Avery nods, sitting down at her desk for a moment.
Kathleen picks up a pen and marks Avery's name on the cover of the file.
She passes it to Kali, who puts it into one of the piles, careful not to knock it over.
"Why did you react so badly?" Kathleen asks quietly, and Avery shrugs.
"I almost forgot about it. He kept me drugged. I barely remember any of it, and it doesn't come into my mind every day. I guess it was just seeing the details again after so long," she murmurs, opening her laptop.
"You guys can go, I just have two emails to do, and then I have to get ready for dinner. I'd prefer if neither of you guys said anything to anyone outside the room. My dad doesn't even know," she grimly states, and the two girls nod.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Kali murmurs, giving Avery a quick side-hug.
"If you need me, call me, please," Kathleen whispers, kissing Avery's forehead before walking after Kali.
Avery closes her eyes once the door shuts, and gets to work typing up her emails.
Her alarm goes off after twenty minutes, and she stretches quickly, before she hurries to her car, laptop in hand.
She takes a minute to decide on her location and settles on going to her own house, knowing she has a few suitable dresses.
She spends the drive in silence, fully absorbed in her thoughts.
Sonya forces the negative ones away and instead focuses on her plans.
She's ecstatic at the prospect of seeing Lilith again, and she's glad to know she can offer the girl a safe haven.
Once she arrives home, he goes straight up the stairs and slips into a hot pink wrap dress.
She slips on some heels and quickly applies some makeup, not going too over the top for once.
Avery is rudely disturbed by her phone ringing, and she hesitates before she answers.
"Avery, hurry up, the Addisons' arrived sooner than we expected, and your mother looks like she's going to faint. We need you to entertain them since York isn't back and Louisa is... otherwise occupied," Richard hisses, his tone sounding slightly distressed.
"You could have mindlinked me that," Avery grumbles irritably, deciding to do some eyeliner while she talks to her dad.
A few quick flicks of the liquid later, and she has two relatively even cat-eyes.
She nods at herself in the mirror, and she can hear Richard talking as he comes back to the phone.
"Avery, ASAP," he mutters before hanging up.
Avery rolls her eyes, doing her mascara again.
She then grabs a jacket and her car keys, hurrying down the stairs.
She's so relieved that the nights are brighter now, or she'd be extremely creeped out in the house on her own.
She gets into her car quickly, locking the doors as soon as her body is in the vehicle.
The area is strange without the masses of children and teenagers around.
The lake usually draws all of the teens to it, especially around now.
Avery remembers she gave an order to keep the children away from the edges of the pack and from around the forests, and then sighs.
She loves being able to hear the chatter and laughter from her office - it makes her pack seem a lot warmer and happier than it used to be when her pack was known purely for fighting and training soldiers.
It's less brutal nowadays.
Avery pulls up to her parent's house before she even realises, and steps out of the car.
As soon as she steps out, a smurf-coloured blob attacks her midriff, pulling her into a death-grip hug.
"Hello," she laughs, wrapping her arms around Lilith.
"I missed you, thank you so much for letting me stay here," she grins, squeezing her friend before Lilith drags her into her own house.
"Where is that mate of yours?" Avery asks with a laugh, feeling her sadness lift quickly in the presence of her friends.
Avery feels a shadow come over her, and before she can speak, she's being swept into another hug.
"Hello, shortie," Zephyr teases, and Avery slaps his arm, laughing.
"Let go of me, asshole," she squeals, wiggling around until he puts her back on the ground.
"It's so good to see you both," she confesses truthfully, her smile spreading across her entire face.
"Just before we descend into gossiping," Zephyr grins, his smile faltering a little before he delivers his news, "Preston is in the custody of your guards, and he's being entered into maximum security solitary confinement."
Avery nods, furrowing her brows a little.
She wasn't informed of this, but she did give those orders earlier in the day on a phone call.
"Brilliant," she nods again, "now what is this gossip you mentioned?"
Lilith grins shyly, grabbing Zephyr's hand and biting her lip.
Before she can speak, Avery screeches in excitement.
"Pregnant?" She roars, grabbing Lilith's free hand.
Lilith bursts out laughing, nodding as fast as she can.
"Oh my god," Avery screams, jumping up and down like an excited child.
"That's what I said," Zephyr grins, looking down at his mate with a small and tender smile.
"How! Well, I know how, but when!" Avery gasps, dragging the two of them into a hug.
Before they can continue, she lets out another squeal.
"Who else knows? I need to plan the baby shower!" Avery beams, and Lilith can't stop herself from laughing again.
"I'm about a month along," she smiles sheepishly, and Avery squints at her midsection.
"I wouldn't have noticed," Avery confesses bashfully, and Lilith grins.
"Yeah, apparently it's the way the baby is sitting," she shrugs, the smile never leaving her face.
"Who else knows?" Avery repeats eagerly, bouncing on her feet,
"You and my father," Zephyr nods, kissing Lilith's hand gently.
Avery notices Lilith's face drop a little, and Avery feels her heart clench for her.
"Well, that's the whole family then," Avery abruptly shrugs, "Auntie Avery is here and reporting for duty."
Lilith gives her a smaller smile than before, and Avery pulls her into a gentle hug.
"You aren't alone, bitch," she hisses into her hear, and Lilith lets out a giggle.
"She's struggling because her family aren't around. My mum is dead, so she doesn't really have any females she feels comfortable with. My pack still haven't fully accepted having a Luna," Zephyr grimaces, his tone angry as he reaches the end of his sentence, "I understand if you can't take her for a few weeks, as it will be an added burden on your security systems."
Avery stares at him in shock, and slaps his head.
"Don't worry about my security systems. Kali is going home soon anyway, so she can just have the guards Louisa should have," Avery shrugs, looping Lilith's arm into hers.
The two have fast become close, and they called if not every day, every second day, along with non-stop texting and social media interaction.
Zephyr nods unsurely.
"I won't tell anyone. It's up to Lilith to tell anybody she wants, but if she wants guidance for the pregnancy, my mum could be helpful - she had three of us, and she was - and technically still is - a pack doctor," Avery nods, speaking more to Zephyr than Lilith.
"I can't believe this is only going to take four months," Lilith mumbles to herself, and Avery tries to hide her grin.
"Get ready for three more months of Auntie Avery," she winks, hugging Lilith and Zephyr again.
Enjoy! ;)
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Have a brilliant day guys!
- Aoife :) xx