The Unfortunates | COMPLETED

Part 19

The pair arrive just as a group of teenagers laughing and pushing each other do.

Avery looks at them with mild disdain, while Roman nods at them.

Avery continually scans the faces of everyone who arrives, keeping an eye out for the two girls she spoke to in the kitchen.

It ticks slowly closer to three, and there's still no sign of them arriving, and she furrows her brows in concern and slight irritation.

"Who are you looking for?" Roman asks, bending down to speak into her ear.

Slight shivers run down Avery's back, and she forces herself to swallow her spit.

"Two of your Omegas," she responds with a bite to her words, stepping away from him, not being unaware of the curious stares and the watching eyes of the teenagers.

"Oh," he mutters, looking uncomfortable as soon as she mentions Omegas.

Avery clears her throat as it hits three, standing up in front of the group.

"Okay, I want you all to get into a line," she shouts before she sees two small figures hurrying through the trees, looking very overwhelmed as the slide into the edges of the group.

Avery makes eye contact with them and smiles at them.

"Actually, two lines. And I want anybody who can't shift to come up here to me," she announces, stepping back and stumbling a little bit over Roman's foot.

His arms shoot out and steady her, holding her for a few seconds more than what would be needed.

She wiggles out of his grip, her anger beginning to rise. She doesn't want him manhandling her or demeaning her authority in front of the kids she's training,

A small group of wolves come up to her, the majority female, but three males being present among the ten.

The group she's working with has doubled since the day before, she notes curiously.

"Okay, we're gonna split into two groups. Has shifted, and has never shifted," she says quietly to the ten in front of her, and they split into five and five.

"I'm gonna get those of you who have shifted to go ahead and go to the middle of the main trail. They're going to be running laps, and they're more likely to take a shortcut at the middle of their rounds. I need you guys to be there to stop people doing that," she instructs, and the five in that group quickly leave.

She turns to the five remaining, who look terrified. Both of her Omegas stand in front of her, one shaking like a leaf.

"Okay, I'm going to keep you two with me," she indicates to the two girls, and then looks at the other three.

"Go to the end. When your Alpha links you that it's the last round, you write down or send us the names of the wolves through first, okay?" She nods, and those three scamper off.

Avery turns to face the enormous group of youths who are standing in four lines instead of two. Not what she said, but whatever works, works she supposes.

"Today, you're shifting and running laps of this area. The whole area. Your Alpha will mindlink you the plan," Avery screams so that everyone can hear her. Carolyn showed her a map of the area earlier, and she had decided she would get them to go along the outskirts of the marshland. That way, if they cheated by trying to take a shortcut, they'd know, because they'd have to go help and get them out.

She can hear some gasps and groans, and some of the teenagers look remarkably white in the face.

"What, do you think that you shouldn't have to work on your endurance? It'll help you in fights and shifts. It'll strengthen your wolf and your human sides, and help them work in harmony together," she booms, and she can feel Roman getting closer to her.

"No mindlinking," Roman says sharply, and the front two rows straighten up, looking guilty.

"What were they saying?" Avery asks curiously, and Roman scowls.

"I'm not going to tell you, because I don't think you should hear the words they used," he responds grimly, staring one teenager into the ground.

"Ten laps, and then we'll be doing sparring. Whoever is the fastest will be given a prize," Avery announces, before blowing a whistle.

"Shift," she commands, letting loose some of her dominance.

Some of the teenagers closest to her wince and kneel in front of her.

The two Omegas behind her are on their knees instantly, looking ready to pass out, pale faces and sweaty brows visible to everyone.

Slowly, the teenagers begin stripping out of their clothes and then shifting, some shifting directly into their wolves from their clothes.

Avery taps her foot impatiently, waiting until they're all in wolf form and facing the right direction.

She nods to Roman, who takes that as his signal to puff out his chest, tilt his chin to the sky, and roar, "Begin!" in his Alpha tone.

It looks like some of the wolves legs started before their bodies did, as some end up in a heap on the ground, looking thoroughly confused with what happened.

They gradually clamber up, before sprinting off into the trees.

Roman lets out a soft chuckle, shaking his head.

"Well, they're enthusiastic about their run. But they also want to know what their prize is," he smirks, turning to face Avery, who is staring at her two Omegas.

"Tell them it's a surprise," she says irritably, walking over to her two girls.

"Come on, we can't get anything done sitting down," she whispers to them, and the two frightened girls slowly rise to their feet, looking as though they would rather be anywhere else than here at the moment.

Some of the wolves on their second lap sprint by them, and Avery raises her brows slightly at their quick return, glancing at Roman who looks unusually concentrated.

His eyes flash black and a scowl descends onto his face.

"What's wrong?" She asks quickly, and the two girls look up nervously.

"Someone got stuck," he grimly states.