“I’ll ask around too,” Hades added, which made Aaren’s chest swell.
“Thanks,” Tripp said, cracking a smile. The shadows in his eyes faded slightly. Then he noticed Hades’ arm on Aaren’s shoulder, and he looked back at Aaren in bewilderment. “Who is he?” he whispered.
“Oh! This is Hades,” Aaren said excitedly, turning to his alpha. “Hades is Storm’s friend. Sworn brother. Hades, have you met Tripp? He’s Storm’sactualblood brother.”
“Huh.” Hades raised his eyebrows, extending his hand for a handshake. “Storm didn’t mention that you moved here.”
At that, Tripp looked sheepish. “I wanted to surprise him, but ever since I arrived in Meadowfall, things have been kind of tough.” He waved vaguely at himself. “I want to be more settled in before I tell Storm. I don’t want him to worry about me.”
Hades sighed. “He would much rather help you now, than know you were struggling all this time when you’re both living in the same damn town. You’d feel the same if your situations were reversed.”
Tripp made a face. “I guess you’re right.”
“Let us help,” Aaren said. “If you need food or something.”
“I’ll think about it,” Tripp said. Then he leaned closer to Aaren furtively, cupping his mouth to hide his whispering from Hades. “So you’ve ditched Ballus?”
Aaren winced and glanced around, even though he knew for sure Ballus wouldn’t step into a store like this. “I’m still, uh, officially with Ballus.” Tripp looked scandalized. Aaren pushed aside the squirming in his gut and continued, “Kind of. Not really. I just need him to stay as my official boyfriend for a bit longer. Formoney. Nothismoney, but... a contract with my Gran. It’s a long story.”
Tripp gasped. “And you never told me!”
“I was gonna! This thing with Hades happened like... a few days ago.” Aaren blushed. “We came here to get some... clothes. Apparently you have stuff in my size?”
Tripp eyed Hades and Aaren speculatively. Then he nodded and perked up. “Yeah, we do! What are you looking for?”
“Some underwear in Aaren’s size,” Hades said mildly. “Something pretty.”
“Oooh! They’re around that multi-tier display with the mannequins. Totally the sexiest lace you can find.”
Hades glanced over and rumbled in approval. Then he set down their drinks at the register. “We’ll be back for these later.”
“Take your time!” Tripp waved them off.
The lace panties were easy to locate; three mannequins wore them in the middle of the display, surrounded by stacks of panties in varying colors, designs, and sizes. One mannequin had lace covering its entire crotch. But the other two...
The panties werecrotchless.Aaren had gotten a vague idea when Hades described them, but now that he was seeing them for himself... It was eye-opening. The middle mannequin wore a wide band of intricate lace around its hips. But where the crotch of the panties should be, there was nothing. Just two bands of elastic tucked close to the mannequin’s thighs, leaving everything in between exposed to the air.
“See what I mean?” Hades murmured, sliding his fingers down Aaren’s spine.
“It’s so hot,” Aaren whispered, squirming. “Do people really wear that?”
“Of course. It puts your sensitive parts on display,” Hades purred. “Like how you frame a picture. It draws the viewer’s attention to the focal point.”
“Quite literally a point,” Aaren blurted, his face growing warm.
Hades grinned and gave him a little nudge. “Go on, see if there’s a style you like.”
Aaren held his breath, slowly flipping through the tags on the nearest stack of panties. He expected the sizes to stop at something that was too small for him.
But there were panties for people larger than even Aaren. He gasped.
“Are these... for alphas too?”
“Or people who are alpha-sized,” Hades said, something flickering in his eyes.
Aaren studied him. “Alpha-sized but not alphas?”
Hades sighed and looked away. “I met some slimy fuckers in prison,” he said quietly, flatly. “They kidnapped omegas and performed experiments on them, to force their bodies to grow into alpha sizes.”
