Page 77 of Omega's Flight

"Laine's ex," Garrick gritted. "She's pissed about Christmas Full Moon and she's served Laine with papers to change the custody agreement."

Cas paused and stared at Garrick in shock. "And that upsets you?"

Garrick threw a handful of crumpled papers down on the table and glared at Cas. "It upsets Laine, and I find that upsetting."

"Okaaay," Cas said, and held up his hands to ward off the looming violence in Garrick's words. "Easy now, I'm just a bystander."

With a sigh, Garrick fell into one of the chairs and began trying to sort the paperwork back into its original folders. "It means he's going to be gone a lot."

And that was the heart of it. Cas didn't really understand the attraction to a human, despite his occasional flirtation during school. He much preferred a shifter, someone who understood why he got restless sometimes, and who didn't bitch about being locked in after ten at night.

But Garrick seemed to be happy with his human and Cas was happy that his friend was happy.

And, unlike Quin and his fears that pushing integration too fast would end in violent pushback from the humans, Cas's views on pack-human relations were much more subversive.

As long as he wasn't the one relating.

"Well, this might help then." He'd dug out his family law textbooks and brought them to the meeting with him. "I mean, you can help him put together a case not to change the custody arrangement, if that's what you want for him."

The sense of encroaching doom started building in the room again. "He doesn't want my help," Garrick said in a soft, dangerous voice. "He's worried that me being around will make things more complicated." He raised his head and looked Cas in the eyes and, for a second, Cas was convinced he was in the room with another alpha. "So, he's going to go back to us not seeing each other when April's around. And he says he's going to have to make sure he uses his time with her more. That's what his lawyer is telling him to do." He turned back to the paperwork with a snarl. "Let's just get Raleigh completely free from his alpha, okay? I really don't want to talk about this anymore."

Cas nodded, and began laying out his notes.

They spent the morning comparing their takes on pack law as it applied to dissolving matings, the dispositions of the pups, and matings as they applied to omegas. One rude email arrived as they were sketching out arguments, denying them any support from Honisloonz in the matter of Raleigh’s divorce. Which was only to be expected, Cas supposed. No one wanted to shake up the status quo. Especially if it came down to admitting that Mercy Hills was right about something.

He wondered what would happen when the packs found out that Quin and Holland were going to be part of the decision on which pack would be the next to have trusts set up.

Just before lunch, Garrick's phone rang on the other side of the office. They ignored it and it stopped, then started again. Several times.

"You gonna get that?" Cas grunted at him, and reached for his notes on one of the agreements he'd brokered back in the days just after the Green Moon fire.

Garrick sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

The air went still around the other lawyer, with that tense watchfulness that Cas saw in the teenagers when they were hunting mice in the grass. He paused and put his pen down carefully to one side of his paperwork.

"I'll be right there," Garrick said grimly and set his phone down. "Shit."

"What?"

"We're wanted. Upstairs."

"Both of us?"

Garrick nodded. “Winter Moon called. One of their omegas ran away, or it sounds like his sister took him outside walls trying to make it here."

"They got caught."

Garrick nodded, even more grimly. "It doesn't sound good. They're not getting much cooperation."

"What does Quin want from me?"

Garrick shrugged. "Another set of eyes? Another legal mind? Come on." He packed everything away with lightning speed, then waited impatiently at the door while Cas did the same with his paperwork. Not quite so fast, but then again, Cas was organized in a different fashion and half his desk was covered in pack finances, which needed their own sort of care.

They locked the door carefully behind them, knowing even without speaking that they might not be back here again tonight. Both brought their laptops, too, and Garrick grabbed one of the ubiquitous pads of paper that were scattered around the office, accepting Cas's nod of thanks with a grave one of his own.

When they got to the Alpha's apartment, they found Holland pacing like a caged wolf, Zane fussing on his shoulder, while Quin spoke harshly into his phone to someone who should, by rights, have been cowering at the anger in Quin's voice.

"Hey," Cas said, and offered his scent to his Alpha's Mate.