Avery
Cory promised that they’d be happy here. He said that this pack was different than the others. Well, if Cory thought so then Avery would have to believe him. After all, his brother had never steered him wrong before.
Even if it was too loud and too fast and Avery wished that everyone would just slow down for a second.
Letting his legs dangle over the side of the wall, Avery took a long drag of his cigar. The guy who had offered them to him, Gerald, said that they’d help him relax. And oh boy, did they help him relax. Sure his head was a little fuzzy and they made his vision a little funny, but whatever herbs that currently filled his lungs muted all the annoying noises so wonderfully.
With a sigh, Avery let himself flop back, head hitting wood with a dull thump, and stared up at the sky, picking shapes out of the clouds. Everything was blissfully quiet and he could finally hear himself think. He didn’t know how everyone could stand the constant noise, all day every day. The constant sound of footsteps, the buzzing of voices that never shut up, the constant drumming of so many heartbeats. It was enough to drive a wolf mad.
He giggled. The only mad wolf around here was him.
At least there was food. That was one thing that he wasn’t going to get used too anytime soon. There was always a supply of food that seemed to stretch on forever. Half of it, he’d never even heard of. His favorite this week was definitely mashed potatoes, right next to roast broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. He could get used to being able to eat whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it.
“Thought I’d find you up here.”
The buzzkill had arrived. Avery rolled his eyes as Cory hauled himself up the ladder and took a seat beside his sibling. He frowned as he sniffed the air. “What in the hell have you been smoking?”
Avery smiled dreamily. “No idea. Like it a lot though.”
“I’ve been looking for you,” Cory said irritably. “Thought you had gotten lost.”
Cory was always looking for him. Circling him. Like a moon in Avery’s orbit. He wanted to tell his brother he worried too much, but Cory didn’t listen to him. “Can’t get lost here,” Avery replied. “Can hear everything and everyone all the time.”
His brother sighed. “You’ll get used to it.” He sniffed the air again and groaned. “Where the hell did you get this crap?”
“He said not to tell anyone,” Avery said. “Like it, though. Makes everything quiet.”
A low growl sounded in his brother’s chest. “It’s going to make you sick.”
Avery rolled his eyes and handed his brother the small stub of the cigar. “No more talking now.” The herbs made his tongue heavy and his brain unable to form proper sentences. It would make Cory worry more.
He didn’t bother undressing as he shifted. He ignored his brother’s sputtering as his shirt and pants ripped. Shaking himself off, he curled up and closed his eyes, letting out a soft snort. He didn’t like the clothes here. He missed his leathers and furs, draped loosely over his skin. He watched Cory out of the corner of his eye, glaring at him, before a look of defeat filled his brother's face.
“Well, be back in time for dinner tonight. Marian’s making stew.”
Once his brother had retreated, footsteps fading away, Avery rolled onto his back and resumed watching the sky. A small, niggling part of him felt bad for ripping his clothes again. After all, they weren’t really his. Nothing here was. He liked to think that it would be one day.
He could smell fire burning in one of the cabins below. Could hear footsteps from down the wall. The shrill voices of pups echoed through the village, making his ears ring. With a sigh, he pulled himself to his feet. The clouds had lost their shapes anyway.
With a graceful leap to the ground, Avery trotted through the village. He could hear people call hello as he passed, a few waved to him. He tried to remember to nod back, but it was hard to keep up with so many of them. He knew Marian and Freddy now. He liked them. Marian’s food was always good, and Freddy didn’t try to make him talk. Hugo either baked or read books.
He heard the sound of tiny feet behind him and turned around in time for tiny little arms to wrap around his neck. A growl immediately tried to escape him, and with great effort, he managed to swallow it. It wasn’t polite to growl at pups. That’s what Cory said. He looked down to see two large gold eyes staring up at him, black hair pulled into a messy ponytail. A bit of dirt smeared on her face. A tall woman hurried over.
“Polly!”
The woman’s name was Dinah. Avery liked her. She saw everything the way it was. She was simple and easy to understand. The pup that had latched onto him smelled similar to her. He licked the pup’s cheek and she giggled, rubbing her face in his fur.
“Sorry,” Dinah said. With some effort, she managed to pry her daughter off of him. He winced as a handful of his fur went with her. The girl immediately let out a wail.
“Da!”
“She thinks every wolf she sees is her dad right now,” Dinah explained.
Avery blinked, before slowly shifting back into his human form, staying crouched on the ground. The little girl immediately stopped wailing and stared at him with wide eyes. He cocked his head to the side. She did the same.
“Avery,” he said.
“Aery,” she repeated.
He could hear snickers from behind and felt eyes on his back. For some reason, these wolves were a bit funny when it came to nakedness. It didn’t seem to bother them, exactly, but they still wore clothes around each other for the most part. Sometimes it was okay. Sometimes it wasn’t. He wasn’t sure how they could tell, and honestly he didn’t care. But maybe right now wasn’t an okay time?
Quickly, he shifted back. The little girl named Polly giggled again. “Aery!”
Dinah grinned and headed back toward her cabin. Polly waved over her shoulder at him.
As he kept going, Avery let out a low sound. The scent he liked was in the air. When they first arrived at the gates, there were so many scents of so many wolves, and it made his head spin. He couldn’t keep up with the smells and the sounds, and all the new faces. He remembered clinging to his brother fervently, like if he let go he would surely drift away.
But one scent in particular had stood out from the rest from the beginning. It was stronger, and distinctly smelling of pine and…wind? Well, if wind had a scent, Avery imagined that this is what it would be. He had soon found it belonged to one of the alphas: Jarrett. And he hadn't been just any alpha; he was the son of the pack alpha. And now brother of the pack alpha.
Unlike his brothers, his black hair was shaggy and unkept. He was tall, even for an alpha, and broad, like a giant. And yet his face was soft, and his honey-colored eyes were gentle. He looked old and young at the same time. Avery saw him smiling once, showing off the dimples on his cheeks.
From the moment that Avery had first caught that scent, first laid eyes on that bright smile, he knew he wanted…well, he wasn’t quite sure what it was he wanted. He wanted to stand by that alpha’s side. To hear his voice and keep his scent close. Avery knew that his wolf was calling to Jarrett, and he wouldn’t deny his wolf something this important.
If it weren’t for his dumb big brother holding him back, Avery liked to think that he would have caught the alpha’s notice by now. But he had reluctantly listened when Cory said that they should lay low. The pack was still pulling itself back together, and they didn’t need to go around stirring up drama. Avery wasn’t quite sure that he understood the reasoning, but he listened. He stayed quiet and out of sight like a good little omega.
Avery had never experienced death like that. Of course he’d grown up with death. He'd been hunting since he was eight years old. But he’d never mourned like this. But never the death of another shifter. Nothing that personal. He’d watched the pack mourn their leader. Watched Jarrett mourn his father.
Even the deaths of the attacking pack had left him with a bad taste in his mouth. Cory, of course, hadn’t let him near anywhere near the fight, but he’d seen the bodies afterward, and he had hated it. It all just seemed so…pointless. And stupid. And after that, the pack had gone on, like blood didn’t stain their homes. He just didn’t understand any of it. It had taken him a week to not see the blood whenever he closed his eyes.
He shook his head, putting the memories out of his mind. The scent of his alpha pulled him along. He changed course and followed, passing the house they’d been currently calling home, not that he could really tell the difference between one cabin to the next. He got lost a couple times their first week there, wandering into the wrong cabin several times. No one seemed to mind, and finally Cory had painted a bright red circle on the door.
The cabin the scent led him to was larger than the others. Avery figured that it was normal for a pack alpha’s house to stand out from the rest. Loud cracking sounds filled the air, and Avery trotted around the side of the cabin curiously. The sight sent a small shiver through him. He peeked around the corner, and had to resist the urge to growl. It seemed that half-nakedness was acceptable. He filed the discovery away.
His alpha was chopping wood. His shirt had been thrown to the ground, and his muscles gleamed in the sunlight. He huffed and wiped his sweaty hair back over his ears before raising the ax and bringing it down hard. Avery could see every straining muscle in the alpha’s massive arms. He counted all eight abs on that steel-hard chest; looked into those honey-whiskey-colored eyes that seemed to be shining…oh.
Snapping out of his daze, Avery shrunk back a bit as other details made themselves known. Like the way Jarrett’s shoulders seemed to be shaking, and the way his lower lip seemed to tremble. A tear managed to escape one of those golden pools and spill down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away.
With an angry grunt, the alpha quickened his pace, grabbing another large chunk of wood and bringing the axe down savagely. The force sent a chunk of wood flying and Avery jumped back as it bounced off the side of the cabin with a loud thunk.
Jarrett kicked at the other piece of wood before collapsing to sit on the ground, hands gripping his hair tightly. “Why is this getting worse?” he mumbled.
Avery cocked his head. He might have been a half-crazy and completely clueless omega, but he wasn’t stupid. He guessed that the alpha was talking about his father’s death. Avery might not have been able to relate to that very well, but he tried to imagine losing Cory, and the thought made his chest tighten. The other brothers, JJ and Jack, seemed to be coping well. Avery certainly couldn’t recall seeing them cry like this. He thought about asking Cory about it later, but decided against it. His brother would just tell him to mind his own business.
He wondered if he should do something though. He could remember nights when Cory was gone, and he'd have this hollow feeling in his chest, and his stomach would tie itself into knots. He would have liked to have someone there to make him feel better. And he didn’t like seeing Jarrett in pain like this. It made his wolf growl and whine.
Decision made, he slowly crept out into the open and toward the alpha. Jarrett’s head snapped up at his approach, and with a muttered “shit” he wiped at his face. Coughing, he watched Avery warily. “Can I help you?”
The smaller wolf faltered for a second, but came closer. No turning back now. Jarrett sighed. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d really like to be alone right now. If you need something, JJ can help you.”
Avery wanted to snort. The alpha had been alone, and it didn’t seem to be helping. What was it about alphas, thinking they needed to be tough all the time? Slowly, he nudged Jarrett’s leg with his snout before resting his head fully on the alpha’s knees. Cory would do that, when he was upset, and it always seemed to help. He thought about shifting so that they could talk, but maybe this wasn’t a good time for nakedness.
Jarrett opened his mouth, but closed it again. Avery sat back on his haunches and watched him. Up close, he could see the red rims around Jarrett’s eyes. He could hear Jarrett’s heart hammering in his chest, and the red creeping up his neck and cheeks.
“Um…” Jarrett coughed again. “I’m fine, thanks. Really. You don’t have to hang around.”
“Avery!”
The omega squeezed his eyes shut and growled as he heard his brother’s voice. Jarrett chuckled nervously and pulled himself to his feet. “I think your brother’s looking for you. You shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
Avery’s eyes narrowed as the alpha hurried away. Dammit. Why was his brother such a pain in the ass?
Speaking of which, he heard Cory’s muttered apology to Jarrett before he came skidding around the side. “You!” He snapped a finger. “Come on! Let’s go!”
Sulkily, Avery followed his brother.
“Seriously? I know you’re not going to get it, but you really need to learn the concept of personal space.” Cory sighed. “Especially him. He clearly just wants to be alone right now, and he doesn’t need you bothering him.”
Avery rolled his eyes, and growled as Cory swatted him in the head. “Don’t roll your eyes at me!” His alpha brother stopped and knelt down to look him in the eye. “Listen. Alphas aren’t really huge fans of sharing our emotions. We prefer to just sort things out by ourselves. So just leave him alone, okay?”
Ah. Now this was something Avery had heard before. Alphas were ridiculous creatures, and Cory was the dumbest of all of them. Who wanted to be alone when they were upset? Avery sure didn’t.
Cory sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands. “Come on. Let’s go.”