“Hey, Aaren.”The evaluator stood up and pulled Aaren into a light half-hug. He was an older guy with a relaxed smile and crow’s feet at his eyes, and already, he felt like a better person than Ballus was. “It’s been a while since we last met. How have you been?”
Aaren had never met this alpha in hislife.
But that was the thing about the service that Hades had hired; it was discreet, so the person being examined would never realize the true purpose of the meeting.
“Hey, Gable! I’ve been good,” Aaren said, smiling because he was so happy not to be alone with Ballus. “This is Ballus. Ballus, Gable.”
Ballus narrowed his eyes. “Get your filthy paws off my omega.”
Aaren shot him a dirty look. “Can’t I hug other alphas?”
“You can if you want,” Gable said mildly.
“Bullshit,” Ballus said. “You’re not allowed to touch any other alpha.”
Gable glanced at Ballus, then at Aaren. “Please, Aaren, have a seat.”
“He’s not your omega to order around,” Ballus snapped.
“I’m growing really tired ofyouordering me around,” Aaren said to Ballus. “I didn’t say I wanted to tend to your every need.”
Ballus sneered. Aaren hadn’t sat down yet; he was suddenly aware of the plug in his ass, holding in Hades’ come. It would shove deeper inside when he sat.
“Why the hell are you not sitting down, you dumb fuck?” Ballus asked.
Someone moved at the corner of Aaren’s eye. When he turned, he found Hades settling down at the table next to their booth.
“Thank you,” Hades said to the omega handing him a menu. His shoulders were tense, lips pressed together. He wasn’t looking at the menu or the server, though.
He was looking straight at Aaren.
Warmth flared through Aaren’s stomach.Everything is going to be okay.
He sat down gingerly next to Ballus, bracing himself for the sudden pressure against his sweet spot. A gasp tore out of his lips anyway; his insides shivered with pleasure.
Ballus didn’t notice. Gable did, though. Aaren couldn’t help glancing at Hades, to see if his alpha had caught it.
Hades smirked, looking like the cat who had gotten the cream.
“Ah,” Gable murmured when he followed Aaren’s gaze.
“What? Who are you looking at?” Ballus said. Then he saw Hades and narrowed his eyes. “You.”
Aaren sighed. Ballus was such a fucking man-child, Aaren was horrified at his past self for picking him. “Can we get some food?”
“Just water for you,” Ballus said. “It’s not like you need anything to eat. You can go home and cook your own.”
Aaren froze, looking at Gable. Ever so faintly, Gable grimaced.
“I deserve food,” Aaren said resentfully to Ballus. “I need to eat too!”
“Not with all that fat, you don’t.” Ballus flipped through the menu. “Maybe you could have a salad, but that rabbit food is a fucking waste of money. You’re just eating air. What’s the point?”
Over at the next table, Hades tensed. Aaren knew that even without looking.
But Aaren didn’t need rescuing from this; he had claws of his own.
“I’ve been eating some good food lately,” he told Ballus.
