Chapter Seven #2
Since he was wasting time until Hudson got off shift, Bastian had decided to go in and check out how the office was shaping up. His other option was to shift and wait in his tree. Which he would probably end up doing anyway. Bastian just wanted to be close to his mate and that meant being in town.
The boy was excited about their date, if the text messages were anything to go off.
There was still one critical issue that Bastian was struggling with. He wanted Hudson more than anything in his life and by the constant scent of arousal, Hudson felt the same way.
But was it fair to his mate for them to be intimate before Bastian revealed the truth about himself?
His mind and heart said that he needed to be honest. Bastian’s cock and body just wanted to claim what was his.
“Hello!” Aaron called from somewhere in the office.
“Back here!” Bastian hollered.
“Bas!” Aaron shouted before entering his office holding a white file box. “I’m so glad that you’re here.”
“What’s that?” Bastian demanded suspiciously.
“A box?”
He was surrounded by smartasses. “No.”
Aaron shrugged. “It really is.”
Bastian rose slowly. “That’s a box from the council.” The packing and writing on the side were too familiar.
“Here me out,” Aaron said, placing the box on the corner of Bastian’s desk.
Bastian scowled at the box, knowing he wasn’t going to like what Aaron had to say.
“Bas…” Aaron drew out his name.
“What? This better be good.”
“You know how the council tried to convince Leo to stay? They really like the idea of having representation in the area.”
“I thought Leo told them to fuck off,” Bastian replied.
“Well, he said it nicer than that,” Aaron said. “But yeah, he quit for good.”
Bastian waved toward the box that had an overnight sticker on the top, so it had to have been sent the day before.
“He might have told them that if there was something important that could affect the family in our area that he’d be willing to look into it,” Aaron told him with a shrug.
“Of course he did.” Bastian rubbed the back of his neck. This was typical. Leo was all about helping, no matter what it cost him. “And within a couple of days they already had something for him, which means us, to look into?”
“It’s not like we’re busy with our clients yet,” Aaron said. He nudged the box toward Bastian.
“We’re not even set up yet,” Bastian complained.
“It’s just the little touches at this point. We even have an interview set up for a receptionist this afternoon.” Aaron glanced at his watch. “In about twenty minutes, in fact.”
“No one told me that.”
“You said you didn’t care as long as you weren’t expected to answer the phone,” Aaron reminded him.
Shit. He had said that. It was just that things were moving quickly. Bastian was on week three of being in town and had started a business with Leo and Aaron, met his mate, and was trying to plan out the rest of his life. Excuse the fuck out of him for not wanting to sit in on interviews.
“Hey.” Aaron walked around the desk. “You don’t have to help. I know how you feel about the council.”
“And you don’t feel the same?” Bastian knew that Aaron did.
“It’s better now that I’m away from them. I guess I can understand why they did they what did.”
“They collected kids that were traumatized and alone in the world to turn us into soldiers,” Bastian said with disgust.
Aaron nodded. “I know. The hunters had devastated the entire paranormal community. It was wrong, but I think I get it. It was about survival.”
Bastian didn’t want to even consider the council had reasons for what they’d done to them. “What’s this case?”
“Are you sure?”
“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.”
“I got the job?” Aspen asked with a squeal.
“We haven’t even started the interview!” Aaron threw up his hands.
Bastian snorted. “Like you weren’t going to hire him already. Come on, kid, I’ll show you how to make the coffee. It’s vital to our survival.” He turned to stroll in the direction of the break room.
“I could magic you up a cup!” Aspen said as he followed behind him.
“I’m telling Leo this was all you!” Aaron shouted.
Bastian ignored Aaron to focus on the newest member of their team. “It’s a good habit to not use magic here. There might be humans in and out. Rule number one is never to reveal our secrets.”
“King Rainier was very clear about that,” Aspen said. “The humans in town don’t know about us and it must stay that way.”
They entered the kitchen.
“How old are you?” Bastian asked, going straight to the fancy coffee machine that Aaron had already unboxed and prepped. Good man had known what was most important.
“Two hundred and five,” Aspen said as he stared at the machine in front of them.
Bastian had to swallow back his surprise. Yes, fairies did age slowly, but jeez, he wouldn’t have guessed that.
Aspen giggled. “I know I don’t look it.”
“No you don’t.”
“I take after my mother,” Aspen explained. “She is of the royal line.”
“Which means you are too.”
“I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t fire me!”
“Why would I already fire you?” Bastian questioned as he pulled the dark roast he favored from the box on the counter.
“Most people don’t like to be involved in fae politics. Not that you would be! I don’t have anything to do with that. It’s kept me from finding work. And if I can’t support myself, I can’t move out of my parents’ house. And I really want to move out.”
Damn fae rules. Bastian knew enough to know it was best to stay clear.
“I can leave if you want. I’ll tell King Rainier it just didn’t work out.”
Bastian slammed the pod back down before he turned and lifted Aspen up. He set Aspen on the counter and grabbed his chin. “Now you listen to me.”
Aspen nodded with wide eyes.