“Oh well,” Aaren said. “It would’ve been a bigger fuck-you if I’d answered the call while you were inside me.”
“Mmm,” Hades growled. “Some other time, when you’re feeling better.”
“Okay.” Aaren tucked himself into Hades’ side. Hades wrapped his arm around Aaren’s shoulders.
“Hey, sweetheart?” Hades said after a moment. “While we’re on the subject, I found you a lawyer.”
Aaren spentanother two days in bed. Then he went back to work on a half-day shift. When Olson was happy with his recovery, he put Aaren back on full shifts.
The next week, Hades brought Aaren to see the new lawyer.
They swept into a coffee shop close to the Wine Shack, one of those expensive places that Aaren always eyed, but could never justify spending his limited money there. Hades ordered for them—a black coffee for him, a vanilla latte for Aaren, and two warm chocolate muffins.
Varian Lagerstrom was a large alpha Hades’ size, tall and imposing with his suit and briefcase. When they strode up to him, he shook their hands readily, waving for them to take a seat.
Funny enough, he had an old hawk tattoo on the back of his wrist, half-hidden by his cuff, the same tattoo that Fury had on his wrist.
“Do you know Fury?” Aaren blurted.
Varian blinked.
Aaren squeaked and shoved himself into the same wide armchair Hades was sitting on, instead of taking a chair for himself. Hades huffed amusedly, shifting to make space for Aaren.
“It’s just that your tattoo looks familiar,” Aaren said.
Varian glanced at his tattoo and smiled. “Yeah, we know each other well. It’s a brotherhood tattoo.”
“Is he cheating on your Brothers by being part of other brotherhoods?” Aaren whispered to Hades.
Hades laughed. “Fury can be part of however many brotherhoods he wants. Probably just the two, though. Ours is newer.”
“The only way you can cheat on a brotherhood is by actively doing something that harms its members,” Varian said dryly. “What Fury does in his own time is up to him.”
“Okay.” Aaren squirmed into Hades’ side. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be nosy.”
“It’s fine. I’ve looked at the contract you sent.” Varian slid over a printed copy of the damned thing, pointing at a highlighted paragraph. “This clause will release you from the contract without completely invalidating it, provided that you have good reason to end your relationship with the alpha you named.”
“That sounds too easy,” Hades said.
Aaren’s heart began to flutter with hope.
“Well, there are caveats.” Varian smiled crookedly, looking apologetic. “You will have to prove to a certified agency that the alpha is causing you distress, but once that’s done, it’ll be easy to rework the contract into something you’re comfortable with.”
Hades tightened his arm around Aaren.
“What kind of proof?” Aaren made a face; it sounded like he would have to deal with Ballus again. In front of someone who would judge them.
“Here’s what I recommend,” Varian began, pulling out a small tablet.
An hour later,they walked out of the coffee shop, full of sweet treats and a bubbly, hopeful feeling in Aaren’s belly.
Just that everything felt like too much. The sky was too bright, the cars on the street driving too loudly. Aaren couldn’t see a dumpster, but somehow, he caught the reek of trash.
He huddled into Hades, trying to escape the smells and sounds. “I think I might be falling sick again? Everything is... too much.”
Hades slowed down, guiding Aaren over to an empty bus stop bench. “Really?”
He cradled Aaren’s jaw, tipping his face up to examine him. Then his nostrils flared, and he froze.
