40. Roman
Chapter 40
Roman
I didn’t consider myself a petty or vindictive man, but I wanted nothing more than to hurt Hazel’s parents.
Who were these dumbfucks who thought they could take my child from me?
My phone call with my mother was brief. I had given her a quick rundown on the situation, and we’d agreed to meet first thing in the morning. She had sounded livid on the phone, so I was slightly reassured that she would help.
We had all piled into the nest for the night, but Hazel had hardly slept. On the few occasions she did fall into a fitful sleep, nightmares quickly woke her. By the time morning came around, she was groggy and had dark circles under her eyes.
While the others got up and prepared to go to class, I made Hazel some breakfast that she hardly touched, claiming she was too anxious to eat anything.
The drive to my house was silent, other than Hazel briefly fiddling with the radio.
“I’ll keep you and our baby safe,” I told her as we pulled into the drive, my hand reaching out to gently touch her bump. “I promise. Even if we have to move to a far away country, your parents aren’t going to get their hands on our child, okay?”
She nodded, not meeting my eyes. I took her hand in mine, and we walked together up the stairs and into the house.
My mother had clearly been waiting for us. Dressed casually in leggings and a sweatshirt, she met us at the door. Without even bothering to greet me, she pulled Hazel into a hug.
“Hazel! My darling, I’m so sorry this is happening. We’ll take care of it, I promise,” she said, pulling back but holding on to Hazel’s upper arms as she looked her over. “Have you eaten? You look pale.”
“Roman made me breakfast, but I didn’t feel up to eating this morning,” Hazel admitted quietly.
My mother grimaced. “That’s understandable. I had our lovely housekeeper make some things. Let’s get you a little something, so you don’t feel nauseated while meeting with Terry.”
“Terry?” Hazel frowned at my mother.
“The family lawyer,” I explained to her. “He’s already here?”
She nodded. “He’s a wonderfully smart man,” my mother assured Hazel. “He’s here to advise on the current situation. Did you bring the paperwork, Roman?”
I held up the envelope in my hand in confirmation.
“Perfect.” My mother beamed. “Let’s go in and get settled.”
She dragged Hazel into the dining room, where she had laid out a rather impressive spread of breakfast food. I grabbed a pancake and ate it out of my hand, ignoring the disapproving look from my mother as she put together a small plate for Hazel, who was walking around as if on autopilot.
Once my mother was happy with the amount of food on Hazel’s plate, she gently ushered her into the informal sitting room.
Terry had been a regular in my life since I was a child. As well as being the family lawyer, he was also a friend of my parents. Sitting on the sleek, velvet couch, sipping on a cup of tea, he looked the picture of professionalism so early in the morning, with his perfectly pressed suit and tidy graying hair.
His head popped up as we entered, and he was on his feet immediately to embrace me. “It’s damn good seeing you, Roman. I wish it were under better circumstances. I take it this is Hazel?”
My omega nodded.
He held out his hand to her, and she shook it listlessly. “It’s nice to meet you, Hazel, I’m Terry Zimmerman. Please, have a seat.”
“Do you want another drink?” my mother asked him.
“My tea is still hot since the last time you asked,” he said with a smile. “It’s probably best if we get down to business. Shall we?”
Hazel and I sat on the matching couch opposite my mother and Terry, a small coffee table between us.
“I’ve got these,” I said, handing Terry the papers. He took them with a nod, immediately flicking through, skimming the words with quick precision.
While he read, Hazel absentmindedly nibbled on some of the fruit my mother had filled her plate with.
After a few quiet, tense moments, Terry spoke. “Well, these are weak, at best.” He put the papers on the table, looking at Hazel. “May I ask a bit more about your current situation. How this child came to be?”
Hazel’s cheeks flushed. “I… uh.”
“I just need to know for legal reasons. Your parents are claiming in these documents that they should take custody of the child because you’re single and unable to support the child.”
“I spent my heat with Roman’s pack… several weeks later, I discovered I was pregnant. After that, we spent time together, I moved into the pack house, and now we’re together.”
“You’re bonded? Has any official paperwork been filed?”
“No,” I told him.
Terry nodded. “In that case, from a legal standpoint, your paternal rights are minimal, Roman. Marriage, bonding, and paperwork are the important things. One of those would solidify your and your pack’s claims as the fathers.
“We can get married today if that’ll help!” I rushed to say.
The idea of getting married to Hazel pleased me far too much. I wanted the sweet, beautiful omega attached to me in every way.
Getting to call her my wife would also be a huge bonus—at least, until I could call her my mate.
“ Today? ” Hazel squawked, turning to me.
“Roman, that’s not exactly the most romantic of proposals!” my mother scolded.
“We’re both in this for the long haul, and we know it’s going to happen, eventually. Isn’t that right, Duchess?”
She bit her lip before speaking. “I know, but when I imagined my wedding, I didn’t think of myself as a million months pregnant or the size of a house.”
Crap. I wanted her to love our wedding day. The rest of the pack would just be ecstatic she was marrying us, but I had forgotten that most women liked to imagine their wedding day.
When I didn’t reply, she continued. “It would be silly to say no, though, especially when it can protect the baby…”
“It is not silly at all,” my mother interjected. “You guys should have the wedding you want to have when the time is right. Getting married because Hazel’s parents are being fucking assholes isn’t a good reason to get married, unless you were already planning to.”
My eyebrows rose. I gawked at my mother. In my entire life, I had only heard her swear a handful of times. The realization dawned on me that she must truly hate Hazel’s parents.
My mother was an awesome person, and I really lucked out in the parental department.
“Yeah, I guess we should talk to the guys before we make any plans,” I said.
“What’s the easiest way to protect the child and ensure Roman’s paternity is established?” my mother asked. “Supporting the child will be easy. I’ve spoken to my accountants, and the child will have a trust fund, just like Roman does. The trust fund comes with provisions to support a pack if they choose to have one in the future.”
Hazel shot me a startled look, and I shrugged. I had expected that my mother would create some sort of trust fund—it was standard in our family—but she hadn’t told me that she had done it for the baby yet. “You’re part of a rich pack now, Duchess,” I said, grabbing the glass of orange juice off the table and handing it to her.
Terry cleared his throat. “A marriage can be disputed, since your parents may claim you entered the marriage under duress. It’s better than nothing, but it’s not the strongest possible way to protect you guys in this situation. If you were betas, marriage would be enough, but the judicial system would look down on an alpha/omega pairing without a bond. It’s archaic, but unfortunately, that’s the system we have at the moment. Now, I’m trying to find a way to say this delicately, but I fear I just need to rip off the Band-Aid. Do you guys intend to bond?”
I nodded. “We do. We’ve spoken about it at length, we were just waiting for Hazel’s next heat after the baby. She needs time to rest because bonding with four alphas could be hell on the body, and she’s already going through enough.”
“Ah, so I’m not putting my foot in it. You never know nowadays if people want to go that route. Anyway, if Hazel is bonded with you specifically, Roman, as head of the pack, then her parent’s custody claim would be pretty much invalid. Legally, the child would be considered the offspring of all the pack members.”
“Pack laws are strong things,” my mother said. “Bonding is perfectly safe during pregnancy, but it can put a little stress on the body. The bond won’t be as strong as if it were done during a heat, but that could always be rectified later.”
“At the moment, Hazel’s parents only need a judge to doubt her ability to parent to gain a chance at custody. If you’re bonded, then they would need to prove that every single pack member would be unable to care for the child, which knowing your financial and family situations, would be next to impossible.”
Reaching out, I took Hazel’s hand in mine. She was clearly feeling uncomfortable with the situation.
“Okay,” I said. “We need to discuss this as a pack. So you’re saying, the safest thing is bonding, then after that is marriage?”
Terry nodded.
“Why can’t we just file pack paperwork like we did when Sebastian joined the pack?” Hazel asked in a small voice, turning to me. “Not that I don’t want bonding and marriage—I’m in this for life—but I just would rather we do it at our own pace.”
Terry grimaced. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option. As I said before, the system is broken, and without a bond to at least one of your pack members, no judge will see your relationship as fully solid. The ideal choice would be Roman, since he’s head of the pack, but Cormac or Phillip would also work. Sebastian is a new addition, so I would recommend against him at this time. We want you to look as stable as possible in case this goes to a trial.”
Hazel nodded, deep in thought. Squeezing her hand, I shot her a reassuring look.
“We’ve got a lot to think about then,” I said.
“If it’s okay with you, I’m going to take these papers and give them a more thorough read through at my office. I’m assuming you want to file a counterclaim?” Terry directed the question at Hazel.
“I’m not sure I can afford that,” Hazel admitted. “I’m pretty sure my parents will be cutting me off soon.”
“Cost isn’t a worry. I’m on retainer with the Kingswood family. You’re carrying a Kingswood child, so technically, you’re my client too,” Terry said with a smile.
“We’ll make sure you and your child are okay, Hazel,” my mother said, holding her gaze. “I don’t want this to stress you out. I know it most likely will, but try and rest a bit. We’re going to do everything we can. Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, why don’t I show you some of the darling things I found in the store the other day? I bought the cutest little onesies with a hood and bear ears for the baby!”
Hazel’s spine straightened, her posture opening up. The mere suggestion of more onesies, and she was in nesting omega mode.
As my mother dragged her out of the room to show her more of her baby finds, I made a mental note to have more storage space built at the house.
We were going to need it.