“Okay, that should negate any claim this clown might have,” Kade explained, his words rumbling through his chest. “He can’t claim that he accidentally knocked you up. We may have to fight it, but we will win.” He squeezed me one last time and then stepped back, patting my hip. “Why don’t you feed Bella? I really do have a call to make.
“Okay.” I pulled my shirt off, wincing a bit when the fabric grazed my sensitive nipple. I lifted Bella from her bed and sat down on the couch as Kade took his phone in the other room, leaving the door open.
I heard the faint beeping of the phone as Kade dialed, then the low, confidence of his voice bled through to me. “This is Kade Bauer. I need to have a word with Haldrian Christof.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kade
While I didn’t know him personally, Haldrian Christof, Esquire had a reputation that preceded him. Not only was he known as the most successful shifter attorney east of the Colorado river, he had a closer tie to the Böxenwolf Brigade, having all but saved one of our members from himself. I didn’t actually know the Alpha in question, a werewolf named Alrick Braun, who’d joined up well after I’d retired to the private sector, but I knew the story.
During a mission gone wrong, Braun had subjected an Omega to a claim bite without the Omega’s consent. Then he’d fallen on his sword, self-reported for a laundry list of offenses against the Omega who, in an ironic twist, was happy as a clam about the claim until Braun had it broken it, also without consent. Christof’s creative defense and mind-blowing legal maneuvering ended up being the reason that Braun was re-bonded to his Omega instead of serving a long prison sentence. We appreciated that kind of effort.
A metallic click told me that the phone had been taken off hold and instant before a smoothly professional voice hit my ears. “Haldrian Christof.”
My chest tightened, my nerves catching up to me. “Mr. Christof, my name is Kade Bauer.” I could almost hear the man raise a brow three states away. “I am a retired member of the Böxenwolf Brigade.”
I heard a metallic scuff, a chair sliding on the floor, maybe. Then, when the attorney spoke again, his voice was warm and welcoming.
“Call me Drey,” he said. “Now, Kade, what can I do for you?”
I laid out the situation calmly. Separating the events, categorizing the details, grateful for the military training that had pounded the necessity for observation and retention into me. Through the line, I could hear the scratching of a pen on paper, and I found it telling that the man took notes the old-fashioned way instead of tying on a laptop or tablet.
I finished speaking and sat in silence, waiting for Drey to catch up with me. In the room behind me, I heard a muffled whimper, then a tiny burp. I knew that Bella had finished her meal and Jeremy would be getting her ready for bed, changing her into one of the tiny sleepers that had been in the online order I’d placed back at the hunting lodge, in the box that we’d never gotten around to opening. When I’d finally remembered the box and brought it to the infirmary for Jeremy to open, there had been so many tears as he’d stared at the pile of colorful clothes mixed in with one super-soft panda bear.
Drey cleared his throat and I brought myself back to the moment just before he spoke.
“You’re correct in your interpretation of the law,” he said firmly. There was a quick tapping noise and then he made a hrmphing noise. “The marriage certificate has been filed, but the union has not been certified. The Omega’s maternal clan filed a protest, claiming he was kidnapped.”
More tapping.
“On the petition that’s been filed,” Drey said thoughtfully, “the Alpha claiming parentage privilege says that you knew he and Omega Boutaine were courting and that you intentionally lured the boy out to be able to claim the baby.”
I snorted.
“I assume that you are disputing that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good.” Drey fell silent again. “We have a couple of options.”
“What are they?”
“The first is the one you’re already aware of,” Drey said calmly. “We wait for the DNA test and, if the results favor the claimant, we fight the claim in court. The only concern I have on that is that the petition came with sworn statements from several of his clan members boosting the lie.”
I didn’t even try to stop the snarl that broke free.
“Exactly. Not a good option.” I swear I could hear a smirk in Drey’s voice. “While the DNA results will only take a couple of days, the court case could also take months to resolve.”
“The other option?”
“You’re certain that the sire doesn’t actually want custody of the baby?” Drey checked
“Positive. He sold the sperm. The maternal clan had to have put him up to the dispute.”
“Which is odd, if there is only a fifty-fifty chance that he’s the sire,” Drey mused. “So, presumably, they’re assuming they can intimidate you into backing down.”
I laughed and heard a responding chuckle from the other end of the line.
