Seleno County

[Not Melissa]

Alex spent the next several days trying to get her life to return to some kind of normalcy. College was, for the moment, out of the question, and while she had decent job skills, she couldn't get much without a degree. Still, she had hope; she would always have hope, one way or another.

Kent had given her sixty dollars. She'd already spent ten, and the rest of it she took with her to find an outfit for interviews and, if nothing else, more underwear. Even if she couldn't change her whole outfit every day, she could at least change that. The thrift store was where she went to go shopping, and after a bit of searching and hunting around, she managed to find a pair of black slacks, a blue button-down blouse, and a grey button-down sweater. It was a little mismatched for her liking, but it looked a lot nicer than the worn out jeans and hoodie she'd been wearing. After finding a nice outfit, she found a large t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Both had a few smaller holes, which made them less expensive, but they would be comfortable, and that was what mattered. She found a pair of black flats as well and, after all was said and done, managed to spend only twenty-five dollars on her new clothes.

She went back to Caleb's apartment when she was done shopping, had some lunch, and put on her new outfit. Putting on clean clothes made her feel a hell of a lot more presentable than she had been to begin with. She pulled her hair back and set off into town to find anywhere that was hiring.

While she wasn't terribly thrilled about everywhere she'd put in an application, at least she had options. One diner was hiring, as well as a supermarket and a bakery. By the time she was done, she still had daylight hours to burn, so she ended up finding her way back to SCRU headquarters. She was lucky to find that Kent wasn't busy when she arrived, and after thanking him again for the money, asked for any updates on her living situation. She knew it would still be a little while, but it was good to hear things were moving along.

Once back at Caleb's apartment, she ended up doing some cleaning and, when it got late enough, she cooked dinner again. It was starting to become a habit.

The next day went along the same way, but instead of shopping for clothes, she ended up shopping for some food. She didn't spend too much, just enough to get her something more interesting to cook than eggs or pasta. Caleb already had steaks, which was a good thing, so she just ended up getting potatoes and asparagus to go along with it. She still had money left after that which she decided she'd keep right now since she didn't know if (or when) she'd be getting a job.

She spent the rest of the day at the apartment again, watching television, doing a bit more cleaning, and again, cooking. Dinner this time around was definitely more interesting than the past couple of days. She cooked the steaks and did some mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus, and she could only hope that Caleb would like asparagus. Hopefully he wasn't too much of a carnivore.

The third day went similarly, but it had one large difference - she (most likely) got herself a job. When she had nothing else to do, she went to headquarters again, just figuring she'd stop in and ask how things were going. Since Kent, again, wasn't busy, she ended up stopping to talk for just a little while, and she mentioned how she'd been looking for a job. Before she went to HQ, she'd gone to the places she had applied at, but they still told her they'd 'let her know'. Upon hearing her predicament, Kent had scratched his chin and told her he'd see what he could do. The glint in his eye told her that he was figuring something out for her, though, and she couldn't stop thanking him as she left to go back to Caleb's apartment.

She was definitely in a brighter mood when she returned this time and, glancing at the clock, decided she had enough time to try to tackle doing her laundry before Caleb got back from work. Dressed in her pajamas, she put her two outfits in to wash, and then to dry. Not wanting to get her freshly clean clothes dirty by wearing them around the apartment, she draped them carefully over one arm of the couch. By the time Caleb would get home that night, she would be in the kitchen cooking up burgers for the two of them.

[AzraelKnightwolf]

Caleb returned home to the smell of seared beef. Over the past few days he'd grown accustomed to coming home to the smell of a hot meal cooking. He smiled and took a deep inhale as the scent of chopped onions, ground beef, garlic powder, and various other herbs and spices wafted his way. One thing he could definitely say about Alex, she wasn't just another pretty face. He made his way into the kitchen and leaned a little closer to the skillet where the home-made patties were sizzling away, taking a deep inhale and letting the smell overpower him.

"Smells great!" he commented.

[Not Melissa]

The saying, 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach,' absolutely applied to Caleb. No, Alex hadn't been set on winning his heart, but he'd definitely been in a better mood the past several days, and she didn't think it was just because she was there. It likely had something to do with the cooking she'd been doing. Considering how much frozen food he had, she suspected he almost never had a home-cooked meal.

"Glad you think so," she said, flipping the burgers over. One thing she'd discovered about herself was that she now preferred her meat rare. "They'll be done soon. Do you want cheese or anything on yours?"

[AzraelKnightwolf]

"Do we have cheese?" Caleb wondered. He was still surprised by how much food was now in the apartment. He'd been shocked the other day when he'd opened the fridge and found it to be considerably less empty than usual. Now that he thought of it maybe he had seen cheese in there.

[Not Melissa]

"We should. I got a package the other day." It had been on sale, and cheese was a fairly good staple to have around. Once Alex had a job - which was hopefully going to be in the next few days - she'd be able to buy more food for herself and, if she was still with Caleb, for him as well.

[Not Melissa]

Alex was exhausted.

No, scratch that - exhausted was an understatement. There wasn't a word in the dictionary for how Alex felt. She was sore, she had a migraine, but aside from anything physical, she was in a bad state of mind. It had gotten better, manageable to the point where she could get herself out of bed and stop either cursing herself or praying to be normal again, but it still sat there at the back of her mind, gnawing away until she had to physically shake herself to stop from thinking about it.

She was a werewolf, and there was no denying it. Especially not when she went through a transformation.

It was her first involuntary transformation since she'd gotten kicked out of her house, and she'd been dreading it. It woke her up in the middle of the night, and she'd tried desperately to fight it, but of course, to no avail. Denise had told her over and over to just relax, to just let nature take its course, and Alex did. And she hated every moment of it.

Missing a day of work would have been bad enough on its own. Denise called the station for her and told them that Alex was sick and could hardly get out of bed. It was strange, considering Alex was a werewolf, but somehow, it was acceptable. The next day, Alex knew she couldn't miss work again. She refused.

The exhaustion was evident just from looking at her. She had showered and eaten - she'd practically eaten half of the fridge - but she just looked worn down. She hadn't slept well. Rather than her usual bright personality, she was more introverted, immersing herself in her work and trying not to think about anything other than that. Seated behind her desk, she drank from her cup of coffee and pushed a stray bit of hair back behind her ear. If she could make it through the day, she could make it through the next, and she would be fine.

It didn't make the day any easier.

[AzraelKnightwolf]

Caleb arrived early for his shift. He'd arranged a sparring match with one of the other night officers, a vampire by the name of Jacqueline Rousseau. When he'd first been transferred to Seleno County, he and "Jack" had engaged in a "therapeutic" relationship, essentially using one another for punching bags and the occasional bout of rough (and sometimes violent) sex. At one point they'd tried at more than that but it just hadn't worked out. Regardless they were still sparring partners and both still worked the night shift.

When Caleb had changed and walked out of the locker room he found Jacqueline already waiting for him.

"Evenin' Jack," he said. She was stretching and his eyes couldn't help but wander over her figure. They lingered for a moment on her ass and he recalled how they had first become acquainted. It had been Caleb's first day working the night shift and he was getting ready to go out on patrol. Just as he was about to kick his bike to life Jack had come out of the elevator and made for her Ducatti. When she'd swung her leg up to mount her bike Caleb had whistled and the tight little ass of hers and as a result they'd had their first unofficial sparring match.

Half an hour later, showered and changed back into his regular clothes, he rode the elevator up to the lobby. He spotted Alex behind the front desk and realized that he hadn't seen her the day before.

"Where were ya' yesterday?"

[Not Melissa]

Alex looked up from her computer. Seeing Caleb usually put a bright smile on her face, but that wasn't the case at the moment. Still, she tried for half a smile, though the wear showed in her expression.

"I was feeling a bit under the weather. I felt terrible not coming in, but I would've been pretty useless." She'd been lying more lately than she ever had before in her life. At least she was getting used to it, now. "Did I miss anything exciting?"

[AzraelKnightwolf]

"A bit under the weather?" he repeated, ignoring her question. "Ya' do realize tha' a werewolf truly callin' in sick is like the sun risin' in the west...it never happens."

[Not Melissa]

Alex's expression fell a bit, and she let out a small sigh. "Yeah, I... yeah." Pausing, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just... I couldn't come in, and I'd rather leave it at that."

She didn't know why she was avoiding the subject. It wasn't like she had to hide the fact that she was a werewolf.

No. She didn't have to hide that, but she had a feeling hiding the fact that she resented it so much was probably a wise decision.