Chapter One

"Sally, let's get you cleaned up." The little girl looked up at me, her face covered with far more spaghetti sauce than was in her belly.

I loved my job at Shifter House. It was a home/school for young pups who were waiting for their forever home. I hated the necessity for such a place but was glad that it was there for them. What I didn't like was my boss micromanaging. Feeding Sally at bedtime would have Jonathan twitching. He not only hated messes but was firm that food should be eaten at mealtime despite the reasons. Thankfully, he left me alone most of the time.

Sally was the newest resident of Shifter House and still adjusting to the huge changes in her life, including the time change. Letting her go hungry would not only be cruel, it would make her transition even more difficult. If my boss wanted to be mad about it, let him.

I picked her up off her seat and set her on the floor. She could've gotten down on her own easily enough, but then the odds of me needingto clean the chair grew exponentially if I allowed her to.

"Wait here. I'm just going to clean this up real quick."

I washed the dish and put it away. We were overdue for an inspection, and my boss was already antsy about it. Best not to let a dirty dish lie, even if only for ten minutes.

"Okay, come on, honey."

She took my hand, and I walked her upstairs to the bedroom level and straight down the hall to the shared bath where I washed her face and hands and helped her brush her teeth.

"Okay, we're going back to your room now and get you changed."

Sally hadn't spoken since she arrived. She was scared and had been through trauma of some sort. They never gave me the details on new students. The one time I asked, I was told to focus on their future, not their past. Whatever the eff that meant.

Sally was not the first student who did not speak. From what I could tell, she could hear, and the rest would either come, or I'd teach her some of my minimal signs. I had already tried some with her, but she didn't respond in kind. I was hesitant to teach it to her for fear of her picking up bad habits. We'd cross that bridge when we came to it. I'd always take care of her to the best of my ability.

That's what I did. I gave these children my all. My official title was Shifter House Headmaster, but I was much more than that. I was their teacher, their chef, and their caregiver until they were either reconnected with their original family or adopted by a new one. Had we been human, the foster system would be in place, but shifters took care of their own. It was safer all the way around.

Most kids were here for a short time as they got ready to go to their forever homes. Very few stayed past six or seven years old, although we currently had a handful that had. No matter their age, I did my best to make this home to them for the time they were here.

I led her to her assigned room and set her pajamas on her bed.

"When you're done getting changed, hand me your clothes so I can get them all clean for next time." I hoped. Red sauce tended to be a pain to get out.

She nodded, and I left to give her privacy. The other kids were already in bed for the night. We were at capacity now with fifteen residents. I wasn't sure how long we would stay full. Jonathan had expressed displeasure that more of the children hadn't found homes yet. I'd personally would rather they wait until the perfect one was found. For as long as they were here, I'd treat them like my own and give them the stability they needed.

Sally, dressed in her pajamas, opened the door and gave me her dirty clothes.

"Now, let's get you into bed."

Once I had her settled beneath the covers, I tucked her stuffed wolf in next to her and promised to see her in the morning. She smiled up at me, hugging her toy tightly. For a split second, I thought she was going to say something, but she didn't. Not this time. Maybe tomorrow.

It was getting late, and I was behind on my cleaning. No one would come in and say the place was dirty, but the daily sweeping and trash removal hadn't been done. Part of me wanted to let it go. I told that part of me to take a time-out when Jonathan sent me a message saying he'd be there in the morning with a new boss for inspection.

It didn't sound like Jonathan was leaving his role. When I came on board, there were two alphas in charge. Jonathan dealt with the day-to-day running, such as making sure orders arrived and the other alpha, Will, dealt with the children, both coming here and going to their new home. More than once, since Will left, Jonathan mumbled about what a pain in the ass it was that he had to "do everything" now. He was always complaining about something.

After letting him know everything was ready, I went into super-cleaning mode. I didn't mind that the inspection was coming. I ran a good house, but it was important I had everything the way it needed to be. I didn't know a lot about the system, but their ability to get council funding was dependent upon us doing the best that we could when it came to things like this.

When they offered me this job, I nearly declined. It was far from everyone I knew and the management was pretty grumpy, even during the interview process. But then I walked through the house and instantly knew this was where I belonged. I wanted to make a difference, to help others. The fact that it came with housing when I needed a new place was what sealed the deal.

For the most part, I loved my job. During the day, I couldn't ask for a better life. I worked with the kids and was constantly busy. At night, once they all went to bed, it did get a little lonely. But that was okay. I was saving up money, and, eventually, I'd move on just like the kids. Until then, I'd continue to give them the best life possible under their circumstances.