APPLICANT:Ford King
CHILD:Philip Walker
REASON FOR GUARDIANSHIP:natural parents are separating
Chase swallowed and scanned the legalese to discover this was a special form for ORT agents, with a declaration at the bottom asking if the child was a rescued, unwanted or abandoned child found during an investigation.Ford had ticked ‘no’ and repeated the explanation of Pip’s situation in the box below.
The natural parents are separating, claiming a forced mating to produce an heir for their family.Neither intends to keep the child, and the natural grandparents are over the age of legal guardianship for a child of his age.
Being an ORT agent for eight years, and with a deceased true mate, the bond has transferred, as per the Laws of Bonding, subsection C, addendum 2a.As the omega is underage, I request special dispensation to adopt Philip (Pip) Walker as my son, and have his grandparents raise him until my omega has come of age, as per the Adoption subsection of the ORT Code of Conduct, section 4.
There were a lot of legalities, but he understood enough.Ford was adopting Pip rather than waiting until Lucky was of age.
“Flaming Omha,” Lucky muttered, reaching out to turn the papers for a closer look.
Chase let him, since Lucky hadn’t spent the night listening to Ford wax lyrical about Pip while they’d sat in Barry’s.He’d gushed about what a good kid he was, how smart—that was part of the reason Chase had found him so irresistible.
What stunned Chase more was the section at the bottom.Ford had signed the papers and ticked the box claiming official documents had been attached.To the right, his mother’s elegant script sat clearly above the line titledRelation.The paragraph underneath explained it must be signed by a consenting adult relation who agreed to the adoption process.Then, to the left, the signature of the mated/bonded omega.It had Xavier’s name, as the small print said an underage omega couldn’t legally sign but their guardian could.
He’d really done it.Ford had not only completed this application but he’d collected Xavier’s and Wynna’s signatures.That explained why Ford brought him here to have breakfast with Lucky: to secretly get Xavier’s permission.
Not sure where Ford wanted him to sign, he turned the page and found more on the back.Scanning the words, he found the section with three lines at the bottom left, Ford’s name scribbled into the top line.Three identical lines on the right of the page had Ford’s scratchy scrawl along from his name, Wynna Walker in one line and Xavier Darro in another.
Existing Family Circumstances
Ford King: bonded alpha
Chauncey (Chase) Walker: bonded alpha
Lucky Darro: bonded omega
Our omega is currently underage and unable to provide a request for adoption, but is of age to give consent.Birth dates and citizen IDs are listed below for both mates.Both have signed to grant their consent to the adoption, swearing they are of age to legally provide consent.Both have been granted permission by their guardians to sign.
There was a pen clipped at the top of the papers.Chase slid it off, clicked the pen on and added his signature, leaning on the coffee table to make sure there were no mistakes.Then he handed the papers to Lucky, who kept shaking his head.
“How…?Why…?”He stammered through the questions he couldn’t finish, then grabbed the pen from Chase and scribbled his name into the relevant boxes.Once finished, he dropped the pen, shot off the sofa and crossed the room to launch into Ford’s arms.
Ford laughed as Lucky settled into his lap, letting Ford lift the hair from his face to brush away his tears.“Adopting Pip will be a sacrifice for you.You’ve lost control of a huge part of your life, and I didn’t wanna force kids on you, but there ain’t no way I was gonna let Pip be alone.I’ve been alone at his age and that shit fucks you up or makes you strong.I got lucky, but Pip ain’t got nobody but us.”
Chase nodded an agreement before he’d processed the words.“I wouldn’t want anyone else to take him.”
The truth was, Orson had his own kids to worry about, but he would have taken Pip if asked.Cris had the family business to run and Zack was still in school, only eighteen—there was no way Chase would force the responsibility of a child on him at such a young age.He wasn’t ready.
His mother had raised five kids successfully, despite the obstacles their father put in her way, and she shouldn’t have to spend the next twenty years raising her grandchild.She deserved to rest, to have time for herself and her own passions, to be a grandmother.Chase could give her that.If they took Pip, he’d have a loving home, family, and more love than Chase had known at his age.
With all his boys in one place—his mates and his sweet nephew—Lucky’s bond with Pip growing, and Pip audibly gushing over his new book in the kitchen, Chase sat back and accepted that this was happening.His mind accepted what his heart had decided long ago—this was his family, his omega, his alpha mate, and Pip would be his son.It was frightening how easy it was to imagine him in that role, no longer a nephew, but his legally adopted son.
The word cemented itself in his heart and mind.
Pip was theirs, end of story, and Chase would burn the world to the ground to keep him safe.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lucky
Ford had decided they should go for a drive after dropping Pip back at Wynna’s, since his parents were being so supportive.Ford’s decision to adopt Pip before Lucky’s heat had convinced Lucky’s parents that he couldn’t have asked for better mates.
“We should have brought Pip,” Lucky lamented as Ford flipped the turn signal and the houses filtered away into farmland.“Where did you say we were going?”
