On the Outskirts of Manhattan

They watched her walk in, every Council member who sat at the head table couldn't take their eyes off of her, along with the Alpha Male of each known pack that resided within twelve hours of New York City. All of which were located at long tables surrounding the room in a perfect U-shape.

She was beautiful, they all knew, but when the doors burst open they could feel her presence—her very beauty. It was the boot they saw first: high heeled, black and went up to her knee. Her long, slim body followed. The short black dress. The long, dark, wild hair to die for. She looked different to Riley every time he saw her; more powerful, more beautiful, just more.

She heard the growls emit around the room. She was new prey with all the Alpha's in the room. Of course, only a select few were mated. Most Alphas, as she understood, never mated; they simply slept around with everyone. She had never walked into the Council's Chambers when even one other Alpha was present, let alone all of them in the area. Her wolf was agitated and angry. She wanted to burst right out of Ava's body and fight every man in that room for dominance, to be the Alpha of all the Alpha's. She pulled the urge back, softly calmed her wolf down, and reminded her that they'd be gone in a couple of minutes.

Her inner wolf scoffed at her in return, daring every one of the Alpha's to even look at her the wrong way.

She watched as the last of what appeared to be several rogue wolves left through the back door. Rogues, she understood, were defined as wolves that lived outside of a pack for any length of time. She was considered a rogue; those wolves doing Riley's bidding, they were no longer rogues. They had just joined a pack. She could feel their connection to one man or another in the room she stood in. A few of the retired rogues' faces stuck out at her, some were amazed at her actually being there, others were disgusted at seeing someone who would step down from post of Alpha, and one she thought she recognized, but couldn't quite pin where she'd seen the face before it disappeared through the door with the others.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, the sweet smell of strawberries mixed with her musky wolf smell soared through the room. She didn't look at anyone once the rogues left the room. She went straight for the head table.

“What is the meaning of this Riley? I saw you last month,” she told him pointedly.

“Ava, we're doing this for your protection. Wolves are dying. They're losing control of their bodies; of their brains. They're losing their minds completely from being away from the presence of their pack and other werewolves. I can't chance that with you. The most recent one was only out of the pack a few weeks more than you have been. Have you felt the loneliness start to consume you yet?”

“Riley, I'm completely fine.”

“Ava, you're in a room filled with wolves. Of course you're fine.”

She stood there staring at him. “Riley...don't make me do it. You know I will...” she muttered to him. Her voice hitched at the end, as if she were on the verge of tears.

Typically females couldn't be more dominant than a male. In Ava's case, she had yet to meet a wolf that her body felt submissive to. Sure, a male wolf could stand a fair chance in a fight with her, but she wouldn't back down without a fight. In essence, she was telling him that she wouldn't give up her place in society without a fight, she would fight him and every guard in that room to stay out of a pack. To keep her son away from the hostility and lifestyle packs gave off. To keep her memories at bay. If she had to live within the woods again, she knew memories of Greyson would flood her and she wouldn't be able to concentrate. She wouldn't be able to fight, or take care of her son. She wouldn't leave without him. She wouldn't leave him alone and unprotected in the world without her. He was only three years old.

“Ava...it's a law.” Those words brought her world crashing down around her. Anything but a law would have her fighting, but with those three words, the fight left her.

Riley watched as her eyes closed. Her body started to tremble, almost as if she were about to burst into tears. Riley could feel his own protective instincts surrounding him, he wanted to kill himself for the way she stood: defeated. There were rumblings around the room. Many of the men in the room saw it, felt it; they wanted to get the law revoked simply because of the influence her emotions had on them. Riley smiled as he considered the fact that Ava was more dominant, and infinitely more powerful than any of the Alphas in that room who were ready to take her into their pack. He started to worry that she wouldn't fit into a pack; she'd have the Alpha submissive to her.

However, that worry didn't last long. Ava's eyes snapped open and she spun around just as the double doors at the back of the room burst open again.

“I know I'm late. Lets get to the vote.” He stood there, no shirt, no shoes, in only a pair of jeans. His muscles rippling over his toned body, and he was large. Very large. It took the last word out of his mouth before he saw her, and wanted her. It took his next, cocky words out of his mouth for Ava to hate him. “Well, hello. I'm Alexander; Alex.” As if the simple statement of his name would make her want to jump his boned. She wanted to scoff at him, but didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

He stepped forward with his hand extended, and low predatory growls surrounded the room, then choked off as his growl ripped from his throat. A vicious sound that reminded Ava of the way it sounded when you ripped the throat out of an animal. And Riley smiled. He'd found the one, the one that wouldn't be submissive to Ava. The two would butt heads, and Riley was almost positive that even if Alex wanted to mate with the younger woman, he'd never get a chance.

Alexander was the Alpha male of the room. So the growl he had let loose let the other men in the room know that they were to obey him. No questions asked. Then the door swung open to Riley's left and a recognizable growl erupted from the man who stepped out. One that was more powerful, dominant and possessive than Alexander's had been. He was a man she knew, and Ava smiled as Dawson gave a fleeting glance at Alexander before turning to Ava and gently grabbing her arm to pull her away from the other man. Dawson was standing on guard at her side, suddenly angry and possessive of Ava. Ava wondered fleetingly where Nolan was, but seeing the light green mark from a marker on Dawson's hand, she knew he must be colouring with Carly at the front desk.

Ava could feel the choked submission the other wolves in the room were suddenly sending Dawson's way. He was an odd man in himself. Ava always felt his dominance, always felt that need to submit to him, and yet it was always in the back of her head instead of at the forefront that she felt whenever she was in a room with other dominant wolves, almost like it had been between her and Greyson. But nobody could replace Greyson. She did, however, feel comfortable with Dawson where as it seemed that no one else in the room did. She could feel her body wanting to surrender to his dominance. He was a large, dominant male. She was a small, dominant woman. But her wolf turned her head from him. He wasn't a threat. She could take him down if she needed to.

Alex's hand was still extended when he turned back to look at her. Ava gave it a look, whipped her head around to face Riley again. That cocky man, Alex, to her side was someone she didn't like. He deliberately ignored Dawson's point to leave Ava alone and his general nature simply turned her off. He was cocky. He was also an asshole.

Dawson had been her guard while she had been staying with the Council a few years back, and from what she understood, males who had protected someone before would continually feel the need to protect that same person. Ava noted that Dawson still felt that instinctual need and must have left her son once Alexander had walked into the Council room ready to take the prized possession in the room: Ava.

“Maybe you should have warned me before the law was passed. That way I wouldn't be fought over like a god dammed piece of meat!” Ava spat out at Riley. She was right, Riley noted, the Alpha's in the room were already sizing up one another, hoping that Alexander wouldn't want to have her in his pack, or Dawson wouldn't suddenly insist on her staying within the Council's Chambers.

“Darling, we all know who'd win,” the man, Alex, spoke right into her ear from beside her. His body was so close to hers that the heat radiating off it was becoming uncomfortably warm on her. It wasn't that he wasn't pleasing to the eyes, it was his personality that repulsed Ava. Whichever pack he ran needed some guidance from her. He was already several hours late for a meeting that the Council had demanded presence to and wearing clothing that was highly inappropriate. Plus, he seemed to think that just because she was a woman, she'd let him get away with sexist remarks.

She growled and spun around at Alex's personal space intrusion. Her body moved so quickly and gracefully that he hardly caught it. She had her hand gripped around his throat in a heartbeat; “Touch me again, and I'll rip your hand off,” she growled.

The room was filled with surprised faces, all except Riley and Dawson. The general consensus was that women didn't defy men. Especially an Alpha male. And since Alexander seemed to be the most dominant male in the room with a pack to his name, no other Alpha would defy him too harshly. The other Alpha's were ready to reprimand her for it. However, it was Dawson's returning growl that was low, predatory, and protective. It got his point across: anyone touches her, and they die. Then Alex let out a chuckle. “Feisty, I like it.” He couldn't let her think that her words had gotten to him—or Dawson's growl. A woman refusing him was something that simply didn't happen. And he would have her pay for the attempted embarrassment in front of his fellow Alphas.

“Ava...” Riley spoke up, worried not for the safety of Ava compared to the other men in the group since Dawson had that area quite covered, but worried that Ava would indeed turn on Alex and attack. He didn't know who would have won in a fair fight, but since Ava had come to the Council for help locating Logan four years earlier, there wasn't a doubt in Riley's mind that Ava would win that fight. He worried that if she fought, people would find out about her. He intervened; “It's a law,” he reminded her.

He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. She let go of Alex's throat, leaving half-crescents in his neck from her fingernails digging in, and turned back to Riley. “Can't I just come visit every two weeks?” she asked meekly, the look on her face was that of an utterly defeated woman.

“I'm sorry.”

The tear fell. Riley stood quickly, Dawson's senses went into overdrive with something he couldn't quite understand. He didn't understand it, but the dominant woman before him also held such a powerful pull that every man in the room wanted to protect her, protect her from anything that would hurt her, anything that made her upset. He held back his growl and stopped himself from stepping even closer to the woman.

“Fine. Lets do this,” she sent a glare Alex's way and headed toward the door.

“Ava...?” Riley stopped her.

“What?”

“Technically... the men are allowed to fight for whose pack you're going into.”

She barked out a laugh then suddenly stopped when she noticed Riley wasn't smiling. “Wait, you're serious?” Riley nodded. “Right, like I'd choose anyone but this guy's pack. They obviously need my help from this guy who can't even make it to a required meeting, doesn't have a decent wardrobe and needs a serious personality change.”

Alex growled. She may have been extremely beautiful and dominant, but her ability to undermine him was getting to him. And Riley was just letting her say these things. His eyes flashed. “You will respect me, woman.”

She stopped just as she reached for the door handle, turned and strode right for him. She poked him square in the chest. She was several inches shorter than him, and her tiny body looked like he could knock her over with a twig. “I think you have it wrong. You will respect me. Next time you call me woman, I'll rip your fucking throat out.” she snarled and he grabbed her by the front of her dress, ready to pick her up and fling her toward the door.

He watched as her fingernails grew to sharp points in the blink of an eye. Her irises turned into a white colour, and her teeth clenched. “Do you really want to do this?” she whispered, looking up at him through her lashes. Dawson was striding forward with a purpose, a deathly look covered his features.

Alex dropped her to the ground. He had never seen someone who could transform partially; the nails and her eyes... he understood she was a special wolf, he hadn't realized just how special. “Lets go Ava. I don't have time for this.” He strode toward the door. She gave a bit of a wave to the rest of the group before she skipped off, leaving the room long before Alex had reached the door. Dawson followed her quickly when Riley sent him a nod.

Riley was relieved Ava decided to join Alexander's pack, he had to admit that Alexander needed the reprimanding that Ava would send his way, and he knew that Alexander would save her from herself; even if she didn't know the extent to her power; Riley could tell that Alexander had understood the extent of her power completely the second he touched her.

“Alexander?” Riley called out just as he reached the door.

“Yes?” Alex turned around. He didn't like the Council, but that didn't mean that he could defy them.

“I believe that Ava's statement was indeed true. You were late for this mandatory meeting. Take a seat. We're not finished.”

“Why doesn't Ava have to be here?” a man further down the tables spoke up.

“Ava was only ever an Alpha for a very short period of time. She gave up her position, and as such, gave up her right to sit in on a Council meeting with Alphas,” Gabriel explained calmly.

“But she has the dominance to be here, she's too powerful not to be an Alpha,” someone else stated as Alex took a seat in the first available chair—right beside the Councilmen. It had been a chair reserved for him, it was apparent.

“If she wanted to be in here, no one would be able to stop her,” Riley stated. “She has a lot of power. We made sure of that.”

***

Carly was startled out of her mind when the little boy sitting on her lap was suddenly wrenched from it. The little boy, on the contrary, let out a soft giggle and snuggled into his captor. He ignored his mother's hostile behaviour as she shoved his markers back in his pencil case, shut his colouring book and shoved it all into his bag. She slung the bag over her shoulder, gave Carly something that probably should have been characterized as a smile, and started walking purposefully toward the doors.

“Whoa, where is she going?! I thought she had to join a pack?” Carly turned to Dawson who was walking several paces behind Ava, always keeping his very watchful eye on the bold woman.

“Probably going to pack their stuff, I'm on guard duty. Let Riley know we've left the building if he asks,” and then he moved to catch up with the younger woman. She was almost at her car when she suddenly turned around and glared at him,

“What do you think you're doing? Do they really think I'm going to run away? That's just typical of Riley. He thinks that I have no control, that I'd do anything to leave. Well, I would...but I'm not running away! We're packing, we didn't exactly bring all our most precious things with us to what was supposed to be a ten minute mandatory update from the five jerks inside that think that they can rule my life!” Ava huffed and turned to yank the back door open in her vehicle, and put the silent boy in his car seat. She buckled him in tightly as she fumed.

“I know Ava, but right now a lot of jealous Alpha's are ready to leave that room. I'm your guard for the time being. I hope I can catch a ride with you, but if you're still pissed off at me for not telling you what was going to happen inside that room, then I'll grab a car on the lot and stay silent,” Dawson offered.

Ava let out an exaggerated sigh, ripped her door open and turned to Dawson while she was climbing inside, “Well? Get in.”