“Because I was good at it.” Martin glanced over his shoulder to make sure Gray was well out of sight and then sighed, rolling his shoulders and hissing as the movement pulled muscles still recovering from the fight. “Although not good enough, apparently.”

“You lasted longer than the last few.” The Captain took Martin’s transition from the cowed persona to the more settled calm with only a raised eyebrow. “But next time you ask for a specific wolf, you might want to spend a little more time reading the files and a little less listening to the office hearsay.”

“Can’t resist a challenge,” he grinned.

“Well, this time it resisted you.” She handed over his transfer packet, pleasantly surprised that his grin didn’t falter. “I’ll give you full marks for your recovery procedure, you play an excellent omega when the need arises. The fact that you get to walk out of here under your own power is a testament to that, don’t let them forget it.” She nodded at their coworkers who were trying somewhat successfully to ignore them.

“It was good working with you.” Martin stood and awkwardly shook hands, then picked up his folder and headed out into the good natured ribbing of his fellow handlers.

She watched him go with a feeling of resignation. Martin had been the best candidate for handling Gray, now she was down to her second -and only- remaining choice. If the last handler failed as well, the wolf would banished back into the packlands and that was something she was sure neither side wanted.