Author's Note: So, this is gonna be the last chapter I can post here because the explicit content starts in the next chapter. You can continue reading on my patreon account or you can find this story on AO3. This chapter is a bit boring, but it has purpose and the next chapter makes up for it. :) Enjoy~

I was at the desk in my office. As a mentor rather than a teacher, it was a nice perk.

It'd been about twenty minutes since I'd dismissed the last three boys in my new group and I was now flipping through their files which had been conveniently left on my desk. I'd had to carefully straighten the stack and the other paperwork on it that had been moved when they'd been set down.

I wasn't really expecting to go straight into mentoring and a class all at once, so I had some other paperwork that needed to be finished, in addition to now figuring out how to handle the recreational activities of my group, prepare for their official mentoring classes-only twice a week in the first year, which was now about half way through-and somehow find time to check in on Aiden and David… plus the matter of unpacking, finding something to eat… the more I thought the more tired I felt as I leaned back in my chair.

I silently cursed Miach's impatience. As I opened Vlad's suspiciously thick file though, I kind of understood what was up there. Not one mentor had lasted long with Vlad and the members of his group seemed to drop like flies in the face of his talent. Cuz boy, was he talented. But he didn't play well with others… or in other cases, played too well with them and it was affecting his ability to form a coherent team. But that was what the first year was all about.

Still it didn't look good. Half way through the year and he'd not been able to keep a single mentor or teammate. I rubbed my temple as the headache from before threatened me, eyes catching on the faded black mark on my wrist. Well, this at least would help, probably. I closed his file and placed it neatly on the edge of the desk and out of my way before going for the next files.

Aiden and David were both quite skillful in their own right, but it seems they'd gotten into some trouble with their previous teammates and had had to transfer. I was particularly impressed with David's file. Most thought omegas were ill suited for this line of work-reigning in feral wolves and the occasional out of control demon wasn't exactly an easy job-but he was clearly not about to let that stop him.

International Mystic Affairs was a large police-like force predominately of wolves who had a responsibility to keep their own in check. Humans talented enough-usually with an innate ability for magic-were also becoming more prevalent in the division. There was even the occasional demon, though they would occasionally have to return to their own dimension to keep from losing it to all of the emotional pollution in ours.

A demon was incredibly hard to identify by looks or scent, but, if you were lucky, they'd have a tell. A demon couldn't disguise their eyes-which were often exotically colored with a variety of pupil shapes depending on their clan-with a glamour. Demon laws were equally as strict as werelaw in some ways, but only seemed to make sense to demons themselves. They were immortal, powerful, and the civilization they had hiding just beyond the veil was, as far as I'd heard, millennia ahead of ours.

It was common for humans and wolves alike to find demons foreboding-both fearful of their power and envious of their immortality-but there was only so many non-demons who could subjugate one. So negativity aside, they were welcomed into the ranks of those who sought peace…. with twice as much vacation leave, some of which was mandatory, as the rest of us. I didn't personally have an issue with them. One of my teammates had been one and she'd been hilarious despite being nearly three times my own age.

I moved on to the next files. Joel had discovered his magic when he'd still had the body of a female and had apparently self trained until he could change his body without anyone's help. Shape changing magic was rare and required an extensive understanding of magic and the anatomy of both the original form and the changed form. For investigative work it was handier than a mere glamour when wolves were involved. His file was shorter, but it seems he too had come into conflict with his previous team and was transferred out.

Nathan, the last of the group, had survived a rabid wolf attack and was immune to the toxin that caused the change. Amazing considering more humans died from a bite-especially from a rabid wolf who had no control over the amount of venom they injected-than changed. The number who were immune could be counted on one hand even when adding Nathan to the list. Wolves couldn't use magic like humans did, so a human mage was always at risk of losing their magic if they fucked up and ended up getting bitten.

With the right training, Nathan would be a valuable asset to any team. His magic was still fluctuating, but given time he'd likely be as close to Joel's level as one could get without having studied for a decade or more.

He was the only one in my group that hadn't been part of an altercation. He'd merely joined later in the semester after he survived the bite.

Miach had given me an amazing group, though I worried about them all for a variety of reasons. The reasons for the fighting and other mishaps weren't recorded in detail. In fact, aside from the later entries in Vlad's file they were just a couple of sentences stating the type of argument and who was involved with very little other context.

I'd just started folding the file to start on the small stack of paperwork I needed to go through when there was a knock at my open door and I glanced up to see Vlad leaning against the doorway.

"Come in," I said with a motion of my hand, as I looked back at the papers in my hands. "Did you need something?"

I heard the door click and then heard him sink into the chair in front of my desk, not saying anything.

"Catching up on all of my fun?" he asked, still not having answered my question.

"If you call that sort of thing fun, then yes." I replied, glancing up at him as I decided what could be done tomorrow and what needed to be done tonight. "You're quite exceptional even if you don't like working with your teammates"

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said then chuckled. I glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's later."

I blinked at him confused for a moment before I remembered the incomplete magic on our wrists. "OH! Sorry, right." I stacked my paperwork neatly to the side. "I can't give you all my time and I want to make sure you have time to rest and review properly, so I wanted to set some limits."

"Limits…" he said the word distastefully, "Alright. What are the limits you're proposing."

"I have work to do after classes, so you'll need to wait about an hour after classes before you come bothering me." I said, keeping the tone light. "And you should be back in your room no later than 10."

He made a disgruntled face. "Who goes to bed at 10?"

"Me," I replied with an eye roll. "Besides I didn't say you had to go to sleep. Just back to your room. Based on your files I think you'd have no trouble getting your work done in the hour after class, but that's entirely up to you."

"Alright. Next?"

"If I have to miss any time, I'll try and make it up to you on the holidays." I replied.

"What about weekends?" he asked scooting forward.

"5 hours." I said, "You can have 5 hours of my time on the weekend but I need to know ahead of time."

"I should at least get one day." he argued.

"I have chores and sometimes I also like to just lounge around." I replied.

"Then what about 16 hours?" he asked and I rubbed my temple.

"8."

"That's not any better."

"10, then." I sighed.

"12, at least." he insisted.

I blinked at him confused at why he was so insistent. "Fine, but same rules apply. You have to let me know ahead of time and you need to be back in your room by 10."

"But not on Saturday." he said looking offended.

"I'm not letting you sleep at my apartment." I informed him with a sigh. He shot me a pout and I wished I had my paperwork to fiddle with before finally saying, "If you behave well, I might consider it."

He grinned as we shook, the magic solidifying and turning dark.

"I don't know why you want to dedicate so much time to this, but at least try to get along with your peers." He dropped my hand and looked at me expectantly. I tilted my head in confusion. "What?"

"Class ended over an hour ago." he said as if it was obvious.

"Yeah, and you bullied the others, so no can do." I replied with a shake of my head.

"But you'll have to plan a pack ceremony, right? Won't that take all weekend?" he asked. "I'd say you're getting the better end of this deal. I loose my whole weekend time."

I blinked then narrowed my eyes. He… did have a point. I looked at the stack of paperwork. Guess I'd be staying up late tonight.

"Alright," I said leaning back. "What do you want to do, then?"

His grin was way too delighted.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything you won't enjoy." he announced and I raised an eye brow at him.