Does she enjoy working? Yes.Does she enjoy socialising? Yes.Does she enjoy interacting with co-workers who she's never met? No.Conrad reluctantly leaves her office, seeing Carlos beckoning to her.The nine office workers, not including Carlos or herself, are gathered around one of the vacant desks in the lowest part of the office, laughing and chatting."Guys, this is our new co-worker. Her name is Conrad Rosser; she's worked here before. She's a tracker, and our current chief-of-staff until we can organise alternative arrangements. After that, she'll be leading our trackers," Carlos declares, and one of the women purses her lips.Oh no. She's going to be bitchy, Jane murmurs."What experience does she have?" The woman asks, which Conrad thinks is a very valid question. If she's going to be her boss, however briefly, she has the right to question her."I'm the future Beta of the Marcus pack. I've worked here for four months before as a primary tracker and analyst. I have plenty of

How had he forgotten Sabrina was off school this week?"Why are you cooking? You never cook," Sabrina points out, wrapping her arms around her father's waist."No, I know; how did you get here?" He asks hesitantly, and Sabrina rolls her eyes, looking far more mature than her seven years."Jackie's mom dropped me off," Sabrina sighs, unwrapping herself from her father and walking over to the counter, standing on her tip-toes to see what was on the marble."It's a smoothie. Do you want some?" He asks, and Sabrina nods, giving him a wide smile.She's missing one of her baby teeth since the last time she was home, and he had made sure to send the school money for the tooth fairy as soon as she had called him to let him know.He felt bad for missing out on so much of her life, but he knew it wouldn't make sense for her to do schooling at the capital.He worked so much, and she had nobody else to go to; his mom was three hours away, and she had little interest in the grandchild her son had

She hates mud.She hates it even more when it's almost up to her knees.Conrad looks over her shoulder, making sure Scarlet was close by."You doing okay?" Conrad calls, adjusting the bag on her back."I fucking hate this," Scarlet screams, stomping her foot.Mud flies upwards, nearly hitting her."I know," Conrad sighs, waiting for her friend to catch up."Why couldn't they send Aaron? He's taller than both of us; it would be safer for him to be in here," Scarlet whines.Conrad offers her hand, which Scarlet manages to grab.Conrad hauls her forward, and Scarlet is finally beside her.They stop moving, leaning against respective trees."I still don't see anyone. I think Amaretti is doing this on purpose, torturing us," Scarlet scowls, taking a swig of the water from her bag."I don't think he's that brave," Conrad snorts, "this is literal hell. I swear to the Goddess, if I don't see a clue soon, I'm giving up."Thunder booms above them and Scarlet glowers at her friend."If it rains

Conrad is still embarrassed about crying in front of Carlos, three hours later.She's on the phone with Charlotte while she's wandering around her bathroom, preparing for her shower."Your mom told me to ask you if you're going to be coming home any weekend soon. She wants to book a cruise, and she wants to be home whenever you come home," Charlotte drawls through the phone, cringing as she can hear something fall.Conrad dives after the bottle of conditioner that slipped out of her hands, straightening back up as she puts it onto the shower shelf."Tell her I'll let her know. It's hectic here at the moment; I've been in the office and field the last nine days," Conrad responds, her eyes squeezed closed.She really wants to tell Charlotte about what's going on because her friend could attempt to give her signature half-bad advice."You sound like you have a frog in your throat. Do you want me to get Matt to check on you? Because he will," Charlotte suggests, and Conrad rubs her temple

"I'm not letting you sleep in a room by yourself," Carlos repeats, his jaw clenched and his arms folded."I'm not letting you watch me sleep!" Conrad replies, completely exasperated."I don't want to watch you sleep; I just want to make sure nobody kidnaps you," he shoots back, pacing in front of the bedrooms."Carlos, why would anyone kill me? I'm a tracker; nobody knows who I am! You're delusional," Conrad complains, slamming the door to the guest bedroom."Get changed and come into my room. I don't want you to die," he yells through the thick wood, rubbing his head.He's tired. The day had emotionally exhausted him, and he sent an email to his therapist asking for a meeting tomorrow instead of the one he had booked last month for the following week.She hadn't gotten back to him yet, but sending the email had calmed him down enough to function moderately appropriately.He strolls into his bedroom, stripping off his shirt and wandering over to his chest of drawers, digging through t