The house was lovely. Very modern, the polar opposite to the place where she’d grown up, but over the last few months she’d seen plenty of modern edifices, and she could recognize that this one was far superior to the norm. The curved staircases, carved ceilings, and the materials - metals and polished stone - made it obvious it had been designed to stand out. It was also large; she’d seen it from outside, but it was even more evident when seeing the indoors. Twisting her neck to see up the staircase, and looking down again, she commented, “this is a pretty big place.”

“We fit in nicely, and there’s fifteen of us. Eight adults, nine kids. The kids share - there are two of them per room, and Niamh, the oldest, stays by herself. We’ve added three newbies recently, so that leaves two guest rooms.” He frowned. “Rye said he plans to see more potential recruits soon, so we’re going to have to either expand, or see if any of us want to leave the main house.”

Ava bit her lip. It didn’t sound like they had the capacity for too many new members. Would they let her stay? Doubtful, especially if Fenrir contradicted the old text. She’d still be wanted by her flock, who controlled every eagle out there. And it wasn’t like she was bringing a lot to the table. Richard, Aria, or Rupert would have been another story. Aria had been strong - so strong she could punch through walls. Rupert’s thing had been speed. Richard was the best of them, at everything. She was the lesser Dale, the softer one, too.

She hadn’t lied to Coveney: she could take care of herself, but that was about it.

They arrived at the first floor; she could hear the buzz in the next room stop before they walked in. A dozen pairs of eyes were pinned on her when Coveney led her to the living room.

She recognized most of them. There were a couple of unfamiliar females sitting next to Ace, but she’d seen the others plenty of times.

Ava wasn’t surprised to find that most of the glances ranged from suspicious to downright hostile.

She bit her lip. The second she did, an oh-so-familiar hand she shouldn’t already be used to circled her waist. “I sit over this way,” Coveney said. “It will be a squeeze. We need a bigger table.”

The shifters she hadn’t met yet all looked like their Head Enforcer had grown a tail and horns, staring at him in shock.

He pulled out a chair, and got her to sit at what was obviously his place, content to stand next to her.

“You’ve met Rye, Ace, Daunte, and Clari. This is Rain, the witch who made the salve that healed you.”

She waved in the direction of the mocha-skinned beauty at Ace’s right, who smiled and waved back. “And Vivicia. She helped me track you down.”

“The wolf,” Ava guessed, wondering if every female he knew were that stunning.

But she wasn’t jealous. Because that would be point-blank idiotic. Right?

“Christine is our cook,” he pointed to a brunette who’d crossed her arms on her chest when they’d first walked in, but she was now too busy staring at Coveney. “Ariadna and Theo, two newcomers. Luke, Ian, and Jas are probably patrolling.”

“That’s right. Luke is taking an Enforcer crash-course and covering your shifts,” Daunte retorted.

“And those’re our kids. Lola,” he indicated a rosy cheeked toddler, “Niamh, Jasper, Clive, Will, Victoria, Daniel, Hsu, and the source of all the trouble from yesterday, Zack.”

“Hello little Zack,” she waved, as the adorable baby was intently staring at her.

He immediately moved his plump little arms towards her, kicking his feet to make his intentions known. The woman who carried him, Vivicia, glanced towards the Alpha before crossing the room, and handing him to Ava.

“Oh, just look at you,” she gushed.

“Careful with the neck,” Vivicia cautioned, but Ava took him with ease.

She was used to kids - kissing babies was the soft Dale’s job. Thankfully, she also happened to like them.

“I got this,” she said, and, of course, the child decided to prove her wrong.

Shocking the heck out of her, he shifted right there in her arms, turning into a spotted little cat in an instant. She adjusted her arms, and managed not to drop him.

“He bites,” the Beta female warned her, making a few people chuckle or roll their eyes.

Ava tilted her head.

“Clari was recently turned by Zack,” he explained.

Well, that explained so much. “That’s why the council went after you.”

“Yes. The issue should be resolved now, though. Coffee?”

“Hot water and lemon, if you have it?”

Coveney stepped away, heading towards the kitchen, and came back with her drink. As her hands were taken, he also asked what she wanted to eat, and loaded her plate with bacon and pancakes from platters on the table.

“Let me take him, so you can eat,” Ace offered, holding her hands up to receive the kitten, but it had decided that playing with her hair was far too interesting, and, if she so much as shifted, his little claws grabbed her arm.

She sighed. The damn thing couldn’t have been more irresistible, but she was hungry, verging on hangry.

Coveney chuckled, before holding her fork up to allow her to eat some food.

By the time the kitten had fallen asleep, Coveney’d fed her the entire plate.

“Thank you. I was genuinely starving.”

“I’m always ravenous after healing, too.”

Oh. She then recalled he’d also been hit. More than her.

“Are you okay? You had a bunch of arrows in your flanks by the time I left.”

“Rain sorted me out.”

“Still, you must be hungry. Take your seat back.”

She got up, and went to give the child back to his mother.

Now Coveney was occupying his place, she looked around awkwardly; there were no other chairs around the table. She considered going to the dining room area and sitting on one of the sofas, but something - madness, perhaps - made her think better of it. Straightening her spine, and doing her best to ignore the glances, she went right back where she’d been intending to stand next to Coveney, just like he’d done when she’d been in his place. But he shifted in his seat to allow for some room, and pulled at her hand until she got the hint.

Oh.

She felt her cheeks flush as she dropped onto his lap.

The man carried on eating, occasionally feeding her from his plate, as her heart beat a thousand miles an hour and her mind raced.

She wasn’t used to felines. She wasn’t familiar with the Wyverns. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe they were just that tactile with everyone.

But she recalled him clearly saying I don’t touch people.

She was probably just being silly. But she couldn’t shut up the voice that whispered that it felt like he was claiming her in front of all his pridemates.