A few hours later, Alex's phone yelled at him for oversleeping, so Alex dragged himself out of his room.

It was way too late for the actual breakfast spread, but the boxes of cereal still sat in the middle of the communal table. He poured himself a bowl of the blandest.

He was still crunching on it when Wendy came through from the kitchen in the flurry of chaotic energy that tended to follow her. She placed a plate stacked with sandwiches in front of him, asked him to take it to Leah, worried over his health in the span of a breath, and then she was gone in the next all before Alex could even processes any of it happened.

Alex blinked down at the plate. He would bring it to Leah because Wendy asked and she was just Wendy enough that you wanted to help her with anything she asked, but that didn’t mean he wanted to do it or that he had to do it right away. Instead, he crunched down another spoonful of cereal. That could only last so long, though, especially because every bite started turning into a mush in his stomach, and too soon he found himself in front of Leah’s office.

Leah didn’t look up from her desk even when Alex knocked.

She stared down at the printed list—single names with phone numbers—in front of her. He should ask about that article Rohan had mentioned because he really should look at it. He really should.

He really wasn’t going to, though, not with Leah looking with such intensity at her list. She always lost all her tac when she was stressed, and he was not emotionally prepared to be on the other side of her bite today.

Or ever really.

Werewolf bites tended to get infected. They were like cat bites.

He knocked again, a little stronger this time. This time, she actually looked up. “Oh,” she said. “Alex, I figured you had taken today off as well.”

“Yet to be decided.”

“Take it,” Leah said just as fast.

“Well, I’m not going to say no to that,” Alex joked. Neither of them really laughed though. Not that it was really funny. He held up the plate. “I’m just the sandwich deliver today then.” He took the few steps into her office. She did her little Leah puff when he did as she often did when someone stepped into her turf, so he took a few steps back as soon as the plate hit the desk. He gestured down at the list to try to get her eyes off him. “So, still trying to decide who to call?”

She blinked down at it like it was the first time she had ever seen it. “Oh, yes. I’m starting to see why most shelters require you to call them rather than call applicators themselves. The stress of picking only a few from a list of hundreds is daunting.”

“Leah. We haven’t even officially opened yet. I don’t think you can solve all the world’s problems quite yet.”

“Maybe.” Leah still looked down at the list as if it personally wronged her. On some level, it probably had. “I think it is less I can’t eliminate enough people, but more, if I start eliminating some, I eliminate them all.”

“You already let Melisa in. Maybe focus on what drew you to her instead of trying to think of who you don’t want.”

Leah scrawled something on the side of her paper. “Yes, single mothers and their equivalent. I should focus on them first.”

“Don’t forget single dads. Not many places take them without splitting them from their kids.” Leah scrawled that down too. Her pen traced down the list. That little voice telling him that he should tell Leah about Rohan nagged him again until the words filled his chest and throat. “Well,” Alex started, “looks like crisis is adverted, so I think I’m going to finish the rest of my sick day in silence and solitude.”

Leah held up a finger as she finished tracing down the column.

Shit, that was too obviously trying to throw her off his tracks wasn’t it? He tried to calm his heart down just in case she was listening to it—it would be even more suspicious if his heart was clearly pounding if he had to lie to her face.

She looked up at him. “Have you seen any sign of two women who were supposed to come today?”

Oh. And now he was a self-centered asshole. “Sorry, I’ve barely gotten out of bed the past few days.”

“Tell the rest to keep an eye out,” Leah said.

“I’ll keep an eye out too,” Alex promised. “What if they don’t come, though? It seems a little suspicious.”

She didn’t catch his eye. “Yes it is.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Alex promised again.

He turned to leave, but Leah called out to him again. “Next time you let Rohan come here without telling me, I will not be as lenient.”

Would it be worth it to tell her to fuck off? No.

But it would be almost worth it to see her face. Yes.

He settled for something almost definitely worse. “What? Scared that I’ll turn the dark side? Become evil cause I’m sleeping with the enemy?”

Leah's face morphed to that classic retail smile that she had perfected for the worst of humanity. “Get out of my sight, Alex.”

“Yes, ma’am.”