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“The first two teams will go out in three days, on Thursday morning. We have been told that there is a possibility of an auction this weekend,” Master Edison said. “More information will be sent out to all teams just as soon as we know more. This is still a developing assignment.” Master Edison looked over at Alpha Sergei. “Anything you’d like to add?”

“Just that we appreciate everything that all of you do for everyone that cannot fight for themselves. This assignment appears as if it is going to be ongoing, and we are going to do everything we can to ensure that nobody becomes burned out as before.”

“Yes,” Master Edison said. “That is very important. If any of you ever feel as if you just can’t face going out again, please come to one of us. Any of us. We will find a replacement.”

“Agreed. Please feel that you always have a choice if the assignment is too much. This is going to be on par with what was found in previous assignments when we were looking for those associated with Mervin and Orsen. With what was discovered in the jungle in Colombia. If that, combined with an omega in heat, is something that you cannot handle, we understand. We are more than willing to put you on a different assignment.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was probably worse than that. I wasn’t an enforcer at that time, so I couldn’t actually compare the two. But the thought of an omega in heat, begging an alpha or sire for relief, one that was trying to rescue them while keeping an eye out for who was in charge, as well as apprehending those that were there to purchase the omegas, was a lot. Yeah, that was going to be an incredibly difficult assignment.

“Any questions?” Alpha Sergei asked.

The room remained silent as we all looked around at everyone.

“Very well,” Alpha Sergei said. “If you are to be sent out, your teams will be notified momentarily. The rest of you, we do have some smaller issues popping up closer to home. We will also be assigning those to teams. If there are no questions, we thank you for your time.” Alpha Sergei and Master Edison left the cafeteria, and the rest of us seemed frozen in place.

“Is it just me, or is that messed up on a different level?” Leo asked.

“It’s very messed up, on every level,” I said. Frederick walked over to the table, a look on his face that said he felt much like the others in the room. I think those of us with mates understood things differently.

“Are we going out?” I asked.

Frederick shook his head but had an absent expression behind his eyes. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so, but at this point, I can’t say yes or no. We’ll find out soon, I guess.”

Those of us at our table stood, and we started toward the doors to leave. The thought of Lewis being held and then auctioned off to the highest bidder when his heat hit made me sick to my stomach. That was something that they had little control over if they weren’t given access to suppressors. And it was an experience that they should have a choice about if they shared it with an alpha or whoever else.

In the hallway, there was no sign of Master Edison or Alpha Sergei. They had already gone off to wherever they were needed next, obviously. Thankfully, we were all thoughtful enough to continue on in lines, going in the direction we needed without causing a huge delay in the hallways.

It took about five minutes to make it back to our office, where we all sat and waited. “Who usually gives us our assignments?” Leo asked.

“Well, it was Chief Daegal who let us know we were going to Italy,” I said.

“And Master Edison told us about the assignment in Denver before that.”

“Oh, that one was boring,” Evan said. “Can’t we go back to Italy? It was gorgeous there.”

I chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. I knew that Frederick and his One often traveled back to Italy when they had a bit of time off simply because that was where his One was from. They had purchased an apartment there, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Frederick volunteered to move to the European council when it finally got up and running.

I leaned back in the chair as far as it would go and closed my eyes. “I think the waiting is worse than preparing to leave,” I said. “That might be different now that I’m mated.”

“It’s different,” Frederick said. “It will be harder to leave now that you have Lewis here. Once the baby arrives, it will be even more difficult.”

I sighed and sat up. “You’re right.” I pushed back from my desk and stood. “Do any of you want something from the bakery? I’m going to go drop in and give Lewis a hug.”

“I’ll go with you,” Evan said. “I can say hi to my brother and get some snacks before all of the good ones are gone.”

I didn’t mind the company. It didn’t take us long to get to the front desk. I shook my head when I saw the same demon on duty as before.

“Do you remember his name?” I whispered to Evan.

“Yeah, that’s Jordi. He seems nice enough, but most people still aren’t the nicest to them. Our group experienced the same thing when we first arrived. I think they have it worse, though, because they’re demons, and a lot of others seem to be overly reserved with them. They’re actually really nice guys. They didn’t ask to be demons, nor did they ask to be brought here.”

We moved closer to the desk, and I nodded. When it was my turn, I smiled as I handed him my badge. “Good morning, Jordi.”

He looked up at me with surprise on his face. “Good morning, Enforcer Stanton.” He scanned my badge as he had before and then passed it back. “Enjoy your day.”

I nodded. “I’ll try.”

I stepped to the side and waited for Evan. He was suddenly incredibly chatty, and I wanted to growl at him when he kept talking to Jordi. Tired of waiting, I decided to head out. The need to see and touch my mate was strong, and I wasn’t going to deny my beast. I was halfway to the bakery when Evan called out to me. I raised my hand acknowledging him, but continued walking. I momentarily forgot that he was fae, but when he suddenly appeared in front of me and frowned, I remembered in a hurry.