“I might as well look at it,” Bas said. It would serve as a distraction at least. “But I’m not missing my date tonight.”
Aaron waggled his brows.
“Don’t start.” Bastian pushed Aaron gently away. “Let me work.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to swing by or sit in for the interview? The guy coming in was referred to us by Rainier, so I don’t think we’ll have to do many interviews. I’m hoping this guy is a good fit. I hate interviewing.”
“Let Leo do it. He gets off on stuff like that.”
Aaron snorted. “I won’t tell him you said that.”
Like Bastian cared. “Out. I’ll look at the files and give you an update before I leave.”
“Fine! Fine!” Aaron held up his hands as he backed away.
Bastian removed the knife from his pocket, because who didn’t carry one, and cut the tape off from around the box. Setting the lid off to the side, Bastian wanted to groan at the number of files inside. This was just one case? He doubted it.
He pulled out the files and instead of knocking the box to the floor in frustration, Bas set it off in a corner.
Coffee. If he was going to sort through whatever mess that the council was involving them in, Bas needed more coffee.
Heading out of his office, Bastian could admit that the office space fit them. Shawn, River, and the crew and done an excellent job with the remodel and new paint. Aaron had worked hard to order what they needed and decorate. Bastian really should appreciate his friend more. Aaron did the work that no one else wanted to be saddled with. He always had.
Even when they’d been growing up, Aaron had been the peacemaker of the group. He’d never had the same spikes of aggression that most shifters had when they’d hit puberty. Since they didn’t know much about his family, there was so much they didn’t know. Bas hadn’t been lying when he’d told Leo that Aaron looked better since they’d arrived.
Laughter caught his attention up front and Bastian redirected himself. Okay, so he was curious who Rainier would refer to them. Had to be fae, right? Not that Bastian cared about species but some fae could be mischievous and Bastian already had his hands full with the current troublemakers, not excluding EJ, who was now friends with River.
Entering the reception area, Bastian caught sight of the short attractive young man that stood talking to Aaron. Young being the key word, as he looked barely legal. Strong magic had his nose twitching.
“Ah, Bas.” Aaron waved him forward. “I want you to meet someone. This is Aspen. Aspen, this is our resident grump, Bastian.”
“Hi!” Aspen bounced. Not kidding—the kid did three bounces to reach him. “Nice to meet you.”
Bastian held out his hand. The kid reeked of magic. “Nice to meet you too. You might want to tone down the magic next time you come to this realm.”
Aspen’s happy smile disappeared and he blushed. “Sorry.”
“Bas,” Aaron hissed.
Bas gave the kid’s hand a light squeeze before releasing it. “I’m not being mean. We’ll have a lot of paranormal types coming in. This strong of magic could affect them.”
“I understand.” Aspen wrapped his arms around himself. “I was nervous and had to get help with my glamour. I kept messing it up.”
“That’s okay,” Bastian said sincerely. “You’ll get used to us. If you need help, we have a mage that could probably make a charm or something.” He should probably ask Dean before offering his services, but Aspen seemed embarrassed and Bastian was already feeling protective over the little guy.
“Really?” Aspen was back to bouncing.
Well shit. Aspen was going to fit in perfectly with the other boys. Bas nodded.
“This is the first time that I’ve been to the human realm. I’ll get better at my glamour. Hopefully.” Aspen grinned, revealing a gap between his front teeth.
“Species?” Bastian couldn’t tell with the different magical scents he was picking up.
“Oh, fairy!” Aspen answered with another wide grin.
That explained why Aspen looked so young and still had the powerful mixture of magical traces. Fairies were also notorious for being smart, hardworking, and loyal. A fairy would be a perfect addition for the team.
Bastian nodded. “Welcome aboard.”
