On the Outskirts of Manhattan

Ava was buckling a still sleeping Nolan into his car seat when she felt the added presence of spectators. That was recent. When she lived in Grey Wold Mountain, she hadn't been able to sense other wolves or people with that eerie super-natural sense. It had only been those with a lot of power and dominance that she had been able to sense, and animals if she concentrated. But once she moved to New York City, everything seemed to change. Her senses were heightened with her pregnancy, along with her strength. Ava could sense things without even trying, and when she did try, she could sense things that were much too far away for a normal wolf to sense.

Ava finished buckling Nolan in and shut the door before turning around to look at the two men standing before her; Alex and Blake.

“Is there something I can help you gentlemen with?” Ava asked them. She had told Alex that she was leaving for the rest of the afternoon ten minutes earlier. She didn't understand why he was there again.

“I would like you to take Blake along, as protection,” was Alex's response. Once the Council had gotten personally involved Alexander knew there was something about Ava that needed to be protected. The way Riley had looked at her, the way he treated her, it was as if her being alive was a matter of national security and Riley would do anything to keep her alive. Alex generally disliked the Council. They were a group of stuck up wolves who used their overabundant power to make other wolves follow their line of thinking. Alex didn't have a problem with their line of thinking, he had a problem with the way they asserted their authority. He was an Alpha. He didn't report to anyone. And so, he was the only Alpha with the balls to rebel against the all powerful Council. He did so in little spurts so they wouldn't rip his head off; like showing up twenty minutes late to a mandatory meeting. But this thought of Ava as national security; Alex knew that if anything happened to the woman while she was on his Base, Alex would be ripped to shreds. No questions asked.

Dawson produced himself from behind the vehicle and stood at Ava's back. His chest puffed out and his wolf let out a low, protective, possessive growl. “I have her protection under control,” he barked out. He seemed so much taller, so much bigger, so much more suddenly to Ava. But she kept her composure as the men spoke.

“And I can be the backup,” Blake insisted. He had his soldier stance at the ready as he looked at Dawson, daring him to say no. His inner wolf wanted to submit to the powerful wolf, but his inner wolf had also been given a direct order from his Alpha: protect Ava; an order that his natural instincts called out to him to adhere to.

“I don't need backup.”

“You have two members of my pack under your protection and I'd like to give the other Alpha and her son more protection as she leaves the Base for the day. From what I understand, Ava is your immediate concern, not Nolan. Blake will take Nolan as his immediate concern. With the pack divided in the sense of having two Alpha's, I need to have Ava protected from any possible threats; including those from her own pack. I'm sure you understand. Blake will take his own vehicle.” With that, Alex turned and left the trio there without a word of protest.

Dawson felt his hackles raise. It was like Ava and Nolan were his territory and Blake was trying to step in and take over. He was a wolf, and they were his territory. He would fight the other man for them. The growl was getting ready to rumble up from deep within his chest when suddenly Ava sighed.

“Fine,” she stated, “get in your car, we'll be in mine.” And Ava's words finally dissipated Dawson's wolfish mood. He was able to think as a man again. He steered Ava toward her car, but instead of getting into the passenger's seat like he expected her to, she moved to the driver's side and got in.

Dawson had to remind himself that she had lived in a different world than him; a world where men weren't always the driver. And she was a feminist, he could see that in everything she did; in the way her face moved in accordance to what others did or said. She was a feminist, and if he suggested driving, she would take every opportunity to blow up at him.

He got into the passenger's seat.

***

Blake wasn't quite sure how he felt about the double Alpha situation. On the one hand, Alex had been his Alpha for years, and he automatically obeyed Alex's commands, but there was something subtle about Ava that made him want to obey her above Alex. He was almost positive that if Ava refused to let him go along with them, he would have turned around and left. And Alex would have been pissed. Pissed enough to demote him. Even pissed enough to make an example out of him: this is what happens when you don't obey orders. Insert mangled, on the verge of death wolf here. And so, Blake drove broodingly after the other Alpha—the female one.

Ava hummed softly as she drove, tapping her hands to the quiet beat of the music in the car and occasionally sitting up straight in her seat to check on Nolan in her rearview mirror. Dawson kept looking over at her skeptically. He wanted to talk to her. He felt like they had progressed that far into their friendship, and yet there was something about her that made him afraid to talk to her. He felt like a teenager again, too afraid to ask the prettiest girl to the school dance even though he was the star of the football team and she was the captain of the cheerleading squad and they were meant to be together in the very cliche'd sense of the word. But there was something else about her that made him want to talk to her, tell her his whole life story, and share in their losses.

She finally stopped drumming her hands on the steering wheel and turned to look at her companion after a quick glance in her rearview mirror to smile at her son who was just waking up. She placed her hand gently on Dawson's arm. It was something she kept finding herself doing—touching him. She knew it wasn't betraying Greyson and his name. No, this was something else completely, something completely different than what Greyson and her had had.

She let her hand slide away once he turned to smile at her. “So, what do you think? About the whole co-Alpha thing, not about Blake. That was my decision, and I know you probably feel like I was telling you that you're not enough to protect us. But Riley did it to me by putting you on as my guard. As if I'm not enough to protect myself and my own son,” she scoffed.

“I'm here to protect you. Riley understands that you'd give your life for your son. I'm here to give mine so you don't have to give yours for his,” Dawson explained. “As for the co-Alpha situation, I see it as the only option. Alexander's pack can feel your dominating presence. If something of the sort didn't happen soon, Alexander would either be forced to challenge you to the death, or have his pack divided in allegiances between himself and another wolf which wouldn't be good. Especially to such a powerful wolf—a powerful female wolf.”

Ava nodded as she turned a corner. “I guess it makes sense in that way, except that I never wanted to be an Alpha. Riley tends to force things on me like that. He pretends to give me options, but they're more like demands,” she shrugged. “At least he's not forcing me to live in the castle.”

Dawson chuckled, “the castle?”

“That's what I like to call the Council Chambers. You know what I mean. There's the throne room that everyone considers to be the just of the building, but the rest of it's huge and elaborate with bedrooms and stuff...it's a castle,” she giggled and Dawson noted that he had never witnessed her acting silly. She was always so calm and collected around him, around the Council. But she did have a silly side, it was obvious in the way her son interacted with her. Not such a calm kid, not afraid to tell his mother silly things.

“I guess. I never thought of it that way. I thought of it as more of a fortress,” Dawson offered up.

“With all the guards?” Ava questioned “I guess. But I have this vision of courtyards in fortresses. Ones where all the soldiers go to train and get ready for the other army to invade.” She shrugged.

Dawson looked over at her and opened his mouth to speak, then paused, “...we have a courtyard,” he paused again, “And we train in it.”

Ava turned to look at him, saw his completely serious face and laughed. “Of course you do. I can't believe I never realized it before.” She turned another corner and then into the driveway to her apartment building.

“Josh and Emma?!” Nolan bounced excitedly in his car seat as Ava put the car in park.

“Yeah, you have a play date with them today,” Ava nodded, getting out and helping her son out of the harness that was holding him into the car.

“YAY!” the little boy bounded inside the building quickly, waving at the neighbour who held the lobby door open for him, leaving his mother walking slowly behind. Blake gave Ava wide eyes as the boy bounded away.

“I believe he's your charge. Better go make sure he didn't fall from running in the lobby,” she suggested. Blake sighed, then ran after the little boy, leaving the two more dominant wolves behind him.

***

What's with all the handsome men finally following you around?” Sarah asked Ava as she handed her a cup of tea. Dawson stood at attention beside the door and Nolan had somehow managed to get Blake in on their game of hide and seek as the seeker, so he was rushing around pretending not to notice the children in their ill-chosen hiding places.

“I got a promotion at work. Now I need security,” Ava shrugged.

Sarah spit her tea out with a burst of laughter. “Ava, darling, you're a yoga instructor. Who's going to try and kill you?”

“Hey! I am a very attractive yoga instructor! I could have stalkers out there!” Ava insisted, letting a giggle escape.

Sarah laughed, taking another sip of her tea. “You're so adorable Ava. I'm sure everyone stalks you.”

“They really do. This one time, a man simply stood at the door to the yoga room while I was teaching, then after I finished class, he came over and asked for my number!” Ava grinned.

“Really? Did you give it to him?!” Sarah squealed.

“No, I told him I'd consider giving it if he actually took my class,” And just like that, Ava had somehow managed to divert the conversation away from the fact that people might actually be looking to kill her now that she wasn't invisible in the wolf community.

Sarah laughed as she got up to get milk out of the fridge. She paused as she looked at a list taped onto the fridge, then sighed. “I forgot to get milk. Do you mind watching the rascals while I go down to the store to get some?” she asked the younger woman.

“Yeah, no problem,” Ava smiled. It seemed like Sarah really was done asking about the two men in the room.

“When I get back you can tell me the real reason why you've got an entourage,” Sarah winked, grabbed her purse and headed out the door quickly with a jump in her step.

Ava felt the woman walk down the hall before noticing Dawson walking toward her. He sat down in the spot that Sarah had vacated.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. Ever since she had announced to the pack that she was going to be one of their Alpha's, she'd had a sort of aloof and sad expression on her face.

“I'm fine,” she smiled up at Dawson. He was much taller than she was, even sitting in a chair.

“Then what's bothering you?” he persisted.

She bit her lip. She didn't want to bring up her problems, or the fact that she really didn't want to be an Alpha. She especially didn't want to bring it up in the presence of one of the Beta's—one of her Beta's. But when Dawson simply raised his eyebrow at her she cast her eyes down and shook her head.

“I was forced into this position as co-Alpha just as much as Alex was, but everyone puts all the blame on me. Which, I guess I should expect, considering that I'm the new addition, I'm the one who seems to be barging in. But still,” Ava shrugged. “I guess I'm just being hormonal or something, with all the changes.”

Dawson nodded. “It makes sense. Especially considering you never wanted to be an Alpha.”

Ava looked up at Dawson sharply. He just chuckled, “It's in your file.”

“I have a file?” she questioned.

“Of course. Riley keeps files on all the dominant wolves. Yours is much more extensive than other wolf's are, and parts of it Riley doesn't even let the other Council members see, but you have one. I only saw a few pages of it. None of the more recent things, and only the stuff that would help me find you in case someone kidnapped you,” he kept going on and on. Wondering if he was going to stop talking as the woman stared at him, open wonder on her face.

“What did it say?” she interrupted him.

“Hmm, it said where you were born, what happened to your parents, those closest to you, what town you came from, who you were mated to, who has attacked you before, deaths that are on your hands, who the father of your child is, who your child is...simple things like that.”

“And obviously that I refused the role as Alpha,” she shook her head.

By the time she said that out loud, Blake was paying attention. And his brain spun. She had refused the position? So Alex was asked to give up his position and hand it over to Ava, but she refused that? At least Blake understood why he felt compelled to listen more to Ava than to Alex. All things considering—Ava was more powerful than Alex. Which was remarkable in its own way. He hadn't encountered such a powerful woman. Of course, there were powerful female wolves within his pack, but none had gotten farther than being considered Beta material. And he had never heard of another pack with women so high up in the ranks as that of his own pack; well, except for the pack Ava had come from.

Suddenly, Ava's cellphone chirped, Dawson reached his hand up to tap his ear where his tracker was embedded and Blake's attention was diverted from his thoughts.

“Hello?” Ava answered her phone.

“Ava Wilkinson?”

“Yes?”

“You're required to report directly to the Council as soon as possible.” She heard a click as the woman on the other end hung up.

“You're being summoned,” Dawson stated. He looked at the woman before him. He could see the emotions playing across her face. If there was one thing she absolutely hated, it was being summoned by the Council. Dawson was beginning to realize that it wasn't just her wolf that hated it, but her human as well. The Council was unable to understand that she was a woman who was used to being free to say no. She lived in the human world, she followed human rules; the werewolf rules were just there as guidelines to her. So when the woman took a deep sigh, Dawson took a step toward her and moved his hand up to caress her cheek. It was a soft and intimate interaction between the two and Ava felt that with his simple touch, he conveyed everything she was feeling; he understood. And it was that which made her consciously lean into his hand and close her eyes for a few seconds.

Blake looked away. There was something extremely intimate about the way Dawson's hand caressed the young woman's cheek as she looked to the strong man before her with complete and utter confusion in her eyes. Blake could tell she didn't like going to visit with the Council, and she didn't like it even more when they summoned her. And, Blake was beginning to understand, they summoned her a lot.

Ava finally cleared her throat and moved away from the man. “Blake, would you mind staying here with the kids? Let Sara know I'll be back to pick Nolan up later.”

Blake nodded as Nolan looked up from playing with the Legos before him. “You're leaving Mommy?” he questioned.

“Yeah. I'll be back before bedtime to bring you back to Alex's house. Don't worry. I love you,” she leaned down to kiss and hug her son. Then Ava, with Dawson following protectively behind her, left Blake alone with three small children.