Sweeping into her office, Avery makes sure her dress doesn't get caught in the door as it closes.

Hayden playfully wolf whistles, and Mitchell shouts for her to do a twirl.

Avery bashfully obeys, doing a little spin and a mock curtsy.

"What time is Roman landing at?" Hayden asks with a wide grin on his face, putting the file in his hands down.

"I think we have half an hour until he gets here," she beams, taking a seat behind her desk and gently pushing her curled hair behind her shoulders.

"What are your plans today? You were supposed to be going to Moonstone Mountain today, but I'm guessing that's been changed?" Mitchell asks, and Avery shakes her head.

"No, he has business there too, so while he deals with his business, I'm going to spend time with baby Emmett," she grins, and Hayden lets out a low whistle.

"You shouldn't wear that dress for taking care of a baby, they're grubby little creatures," he warns, and she grins wider.

"I have a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in my bag, don't worry," she laughs, opening her laptop and crossing her legs.

Mitch and Hayden exchange a raised eyebrow and a grin, both delighted to see their Alpha so happy.

They had grudgingly accepted Roman after he took them both to the side and explained his intentions to them, even though they didn't need him to.

They didn't care what he said, they only cared about how he treated Avery, and neither of them had any issue with kicking his ass if he hurt her.

"Where's Kathleen?" Avery asks with pursed lips, trying to hold back her frown and scowl.

"She felt a little sick this morning, so I made her stay in bed. The baby is growing a whole bunch right now; she needs a lot of rest," Mitch sighs, looking slightly stressed for a minute.

"You know you have paternity leave and all of that, right?" Avery asks, looking up from her laptop to make eye contact with him.

He opens his mouth and then nods, blinking in realisation.

"You can take some of it before the baby arrives if you need to, I can't imagine how stressful it is," she comments, and Hayden releases a breathy laugh.

"Take the time, man, there's nothing better than spending time with your mate and bonding with the pup before it's born," he grins, his eyes going slightly misty. He's obviously thinking about his mate, and Avery feels her heart squeeze a little for him.

"I might take a week or two. I need to get the nursery ready, Kathleen hasn't even looked at anything for it yet," he mumbles, more to himself than the other two.

Of course she hasn't, she doesn't care, Sonya growls, her mothering instinct rearing its head in defence of her poor, clueless Beta.

"You can take all the time you need, you could even reduce your hours to part-time, and we can get one of the Generals to step in," Avery nods thoughtfully, returning to her laptop screen.

"The Gregory pack has requested a meeting with you next week, they don't care if it's virtual or in-person," Hayden sighs, rolling his eyes as he looks at Avery.

Avery groans aloud, shaking her head.

"What do they want this time?" She sighs, refraining from rubbing her temples - she has a full face of makeup on, and she's not about to destroy it for possibly the weakest pack on the continent.

"I think they want assistance. Honestly, at this point, they should just get rid of the pack and cut their losses," Hayden mutters, grimacing slightly.

"I don't know why they haven't handed it over to somebody else. The Gregory family clearly hate the level of responsibility and work that it requires to run a pack. They can barely stay afloat from month to month," Avery shrugs, shaking her head, "I'll see what Roman says because there could be an internal issue that he knows about."

"Yeah, do ask him. If it is an internal issue, then we don't touch the pack at all, because we don't need anyone accusing us of helping cause a fight or, Goddess forbid a war," Mitchell pipes up, running a hand through his hair with a frown sitting on his face.

"Is there anything else that happened in the last hour?" Avery asks both of them, and Mitchell grimaces.

"Your sister called and told you to check your email. Apparently, she sent you a link to the social media page she created for baby Bronwyn. You never followed the account, and she felt a little sad about it," he sighs, and Avery raises her eyebrows, instantly clicking into her email.

She finds the email in question and clicks the link, unable to stop the 'aww' that leaves her mouth.

"Guys, I'm sending you this link, she's so chubby," Avery coos,  forwarding the account to the two men.

"Fucking hell, that's a fat baby," Hayden gasps, and Mitchell releases an exclamation of happiness.

"She's not fat, she's just well-fed," Avery corrects him while hiding a grin.

"Is that the blanket Toby and I gave her?" Hayden asks, peering at the fourth photo posted.

Avery glances at it and nods, "apparently it's one of her favourites."

"I don't know how babies have favourites, they can't speak," Mitchell complains, and Avery grins.

"You're just jealous because there are no pictures with the bunny you got her," she laughs, shaking her head at her Beta's dramatics.

"Oh, zip it," Mitchell comes back with, hiding his own smile as he looks down at his laptop.

"Was there anything else other than Louisa and the Gregory issue?" Avery asks, going through each of the posts and liking each of them as she gazes at her niece in adoration.

"Katya phoned to thank you for the flowers. The doctor who is caring for Mrs Steele rang to say she was asking to see you," Hayden informs her, and Avery grimaces.

"Okay, we'll do that first before we go to see Zephyr and the baby," she mumbles to herself, and the phone suddenly rings.

The three look at each other, and then Avery immediately snatches the handheld receiver up before either of the other two can.

The two men curse under their breaths, returning to their work.

On a day where they have no real goal, the competition to answer the phone first is lethal.

"Alpha Wilcott speaking," she greets chirpily, and the person on the line clears their throat.

"Alpha Lancaster has landed, Alpha Wilcott," the man informs her, and Avery has to hold herself back from squealing.

She clears her own throat and thanks the man before leaping up, grabbing her phone.

"He's here, I'll be back to say goodbye before we head over to Moonstone," she excitedly blabbers, hurrying out of the room as she waves to the two men.

"Aww, our baby is in love," Mitchell snorts, and Hayden grins, shaking his head.

"I heard that," Avery roars over her shoulder, laughing to herself as she hurries out of the packhouse and clambers into her car, her heart almost beating out of her chest.

She feels a little nauseous because of how nervous and excited she is.

She hasn't seen him in person in two weeks, because they were both ridiculously busy in the last fourteen days, but she was over the moon with his impromptu trip today.

Driving to the airfield as fast as she legally can, she pulls onto the tarmac as she spots a tall man leaving the jet on the field.

Avery squeals to herself, jumping out of the car and walking as quickly as she can in her heels to him.

He spots her coming, and Roman wraps his arms around her as soon as she's in arms reach, squeezing her tightly and spinning as he holds her.

When he puts her down, he kisses the top of her head, holding her against him for a minute before releasing her.

"Hello, sweetheart, are you alright?" He grins, taking a second to appreciate her as he nudges her backwards a little.

"You look gorgeous," he compliments, and her cheeks go a little red.

It's harder to see her blush under her makeup, and he tries not to smile at the fact he can still make her blush through what he suspects is a few layers of different products.

"I'm good," she stutters slightly, surprising them both when she practically tackles him with another hug.

"Is everything okay?" He asks, slightly concerned by her sudden affection.

"Yeah, I just missed you," she mumbles, making sure not to press her face against his shirt - she doesn't want to leave makeup on it.

"I missed you, too," he whispers, bending down to eye level with her, and gently pressing a kiss against her lips.

They pull away after a few seconds because neither of them are big on public displays of affection - Avery usually finds them rather disgusting, and Roman thinks that it's silly to have to display love in public to show that you like the person.

"How are Carolyn and Ryan and Michelle?" She asks as she pulls him gently towards her car by the hand.

"They're good, Michelle said to say hello for her. We can call them later so you can say it to her," he laughs, "she didn't believe me last time that you said hello."

"Of course she didn't," Avery giggles, shaking her head as she thinks of the sassy four-year-old.

"How's the pack doing?" Roman asks as he slips into the passenger seat, strapping himself in as he glances around the tarmac to make sure that everything is in place.

"The Gregory pack have requested a meeting from me, so we think they want aid or assistance. Lexus Steele is demanding our presence-" he cuts her off with a gentle kiss, shaking his head.

He runs his finger over her bottom lip gently, a small smile on his face.

"No, how's the pack doing? I don't care about business," he whispers to her, and she blinks at him.

"Uh, the pack is good. The building projects are going really well. The centre is fully up and running now. We sorted out the teacher pay dispute without a strike or even much of an argument on Friday," she lists, beginning to drive towards the hospital.

"That's really good to hear; I was wondering how the teacher thing would go. How's the Kathleen situation, and what was that you mentioned about Mrs Steele?" He asks, watching her drive for a minute before looking back at the road.

"The Kathleen situation got worse. She talked to me last night, and she accidentally exposed herself. It looks like she's been cheating since the start of their relationship," she states glumly, sighing sadly for Mitch, "she doesn't want to tell him. She didn't even come into work this morning, apparently she's sick."

"Of course she doesn't want to tell him, she's a coward. She cheated because she didn't want to end the relationship and find someone who could fulfil her needs. The excuse that he wasn't there enough isn't good enough, he's been home, like, five months now and she still cheated," he scoffs, shaking his head, "she's only staying with him because she likes the security he provides."

"Thank Goddess that you weren't there last night, that's very blunt," she laughs weakly, shaking her head.

"Lexus just asked to see us, I don't know why, but it's probably a good idea to do that first," she adds, pulling into the hospital parking lot.

"Is Mitch okay?" Roman asks with a frown.

He quite likes the quiet man, he was protective of Avery and didn't budge just because Roman has a title.

"He still has no idea. I'm going to tell her today that she has a week before I tell him," Avery sighs, shaking her head in mild dismay.

"It's so grim," Roman comments as they exit the car.

"Where is she being held? The psych ward, I'd hope," he snorts, sliding his hand into Avery's as they walk towards the entrance.

"No, she refused that. She's in a private room on the long-term care floor," she grumbles, walking straight over to the elevator as she nods to the nurses.

"Good luck, Alpha Wilcott, she's in a really bad mood this morning," a short nurse warns her, getting into the elevator with them.

"Why? Did something happen?" Avery sighs, and the nurse shakes her head.

"I think the reality of the situation hit her. We sedated her last night because she tried to throw herself out of a window," the nurse explains, and Avery nods slowly.

"Okay, thank you," she responds, and she and Roman exit on the ninth floor.

"This will be interesting," Roman sighs, and Avery leads him to the room she placed Lexus in the day before.

Avery knocks on the door, and a cheery southern drawl calls them in.

"Hello, Avery, hello, Roman," Lexus Steele greets, sitting up from her bed, making sure her silk robe is tied tightly enough.

"Hello, Lexus, is everything alright?" Avery asks, greeting the woman with a quick hug before she cautiously steps back.

"Roman Lancaster, you look just like your daddy," she comments, squinting at Roman.

Roman chuckles awkwardly and accepts the hug that Lexus forces on him.

"Hello, Alpha Steele," he greets, and she scoffs.

"I'm not the Alpha no longer, didn't you hear? My idiot of a son took that from me too," she grumbles, pacing the room with her arms folded, "apparently, taking my husband and my business wasn't enough for him."

Avery holds back her flinch, but Sonya can't hold back her cringe.

They hate getting involved in family drama because it never ends well for anybody.

"I spoke with your son yesterday, and he says he took over because you wouldn't pass the title down to him," Roman carefully states, taking a seat in one of the chairs by the window.

"He's twenty-five! In my day, nobody was given the title until they were at least thirty!" The woman exclaims, shaking her head, "He doesn't have a brain in that head of his! The pack is going to go to ruin, I can guarantee it."

Avery raises an eyebrow, surprised by the level of passion the woman shows.

Lexus is notoriously private, even though she finds out everybody else's personal details.

Marie always said that the woman had a poison dipped tongue, and that she gave female Alphas a lousy reputation. Richard had found her barely tolerable, but they had been allies too.

"Regardless, you have to hand down your title once you hit a certain age," Roman says gently, resting a hand on Lexus' bicep.

She shakes him off, shooting him a stern look.

"Is this the reason for your throwing up?" Lexus asks Avery, her eyes darting to Roman again.

Avery holds back a giggle, shaking her head.

"No, I think I had food poisoning that day," she grins, watching the two of them interact.

"None of the men have to hand down their titles. I'm past menopause, I'm more stable than any of those old bags," Lexus suddenly spits in Roman's direction.

Avery has to hold back a laugh at Roman's shocked face.

He hadn't been expecting that response, and his face made that clear.

"That is true. There is a lot of sexist discrimination across the board, but in order to have that changed, we need to enforce the same rules for everyone," Roman explains, "I have visited four packs this week and informed their very male Alphas that it's time to pass on their titles."

Lexus grudgingly nods and then claps her hands suddenly.

"Thank you for coming to see me today, Avery. I was wondering if you could arrange for somebody to do my nails?" She requests, and Avery raises her eyebrows, slowly nodding.

"Of course, is it a manicure you're looking for?" Avery asks, and the woman nods stiffly, merely saying "and nude polish."

"I'll have that sorted out, but you might be waiting until tomorrow," she warns the older woman, who rolls her eyes.

"I'll get my hair and nails done at the same time, I don't care," she scoffs, and Avery releases a little laugh.

"That's the right attitude," she manages to get out, glancing at Roman.

"I suppose you two have somewhere to be," Lexus sniffs, watching the two younger Alphas.

"Unfortunately we do, we need to get over to Moonstone Mountain," Avery says apologetically, and Lexus shrugs.

"Enjoy that, I hope the old man doesn't try to present you as a human sacrifice as he tried with my husband years ago," she grumbles, picking up her iPad and clicking onto Netflix.

She doesn't say anything else or look up, so Roman and Avery glance at each other, deciding it's probably their queue to leave.

"It was lovely to speak to you, Alpha Steele," Roman smiles at the older woman, who stares back at him blankly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lexus," Avery nods, and the woman looks at her.

"You better bring a manicurist or a bottle of nude polish, I'm so desperate that even you'll do," she grumbles, and Avery hides a smile.

"I've got you, don't worry," she finishes the conversation by closing the door gently, exhaling heavily as soon as they're a few feet away.

"Does she just hate men?" Roman asks, rolling his eyes slightly as they walk back towards the elevator.

"No, she just hates not getting her way. She's happy that the same law applied to her is being applied to the men, though," Avery nods.

Roman stares at her in confusion, raising his eyebrows.

"How do you know?" He asks curiously, and Avery chuckles to herself as they step into the elevator.

"I can just tell," she responds, leaving him more confused.

"Did you have breakfast?" She asks, and he shakes his head.

"I got onto the jet and slept," he laughs, playing with her fingers gently.

"We'll go to the packhouse and eat before we go. Hayden and Mitchell wanted to say hello, and I have pictures of Bronwyn to show you," she grins, and Roman lets out a little coo.

"That baby is the cutest thing I've ever met," he sighs, shaking his head as he remembers the little doll throwing up all over his favourite black t-shirt.

The drive to the packhouse is quick, and as soon as they get out of the car, they're surrounded by children.

"Shouldn't you lot be in school?" Avery asks suspiciously, and one of them shakes his head quickly.

"No, we have a late start today," he explains, and the kids all start chattering again, grinning at the two Alphas.

"Hello, how are you, Alpha Roman?" A little boy asks formally, and Roman grins at him, barely able to resist telling him how adorable he is.

"I'm doing really well. How are you?" He asks, kneeling down to be at eye-level with the young boy.

"I'm good, I got a one-hundred on my math test yesterday," the boy jabbers excitedly, and he grabs Roman's hand and pulls him towards the dining hall.

Avery follows along, an amused expression resting on her face.

The children of her pack love having Roman around, because he played baseball with them for three hours one of the first times he visited. That had created a lasting impression that the usually strict and tightly-laced Alpha was 'fun'.

Since then, she had been inundated with questions about when Roman will visit again.

The last time he visited her pack, they had a lake day with the pack, and the two of them had been roped into doing watersports with the kids.

Avery loved seeing him so carefree, and they had gone on a jetski as the sun was setting.

Sonya had loved it. Apparently, Booker felt the same.

Roman glances over his shoulder to make sure that Avery is following behind them.

She's a few feet behind him, being led along by a pig-tailed little girl who is patiently explaining why Avery needs to buy her a dolphin.

Avery locks eyes with him and grins at him, glancing down at the little girl as she tugs on Avery's hand to get her full attention.

Avery quickly apologises to the girl with a massive grin