Page 47 of In Too Deep

Ms. Jones rounds her desk and sets the tray on the corner closest to us, motioning for Eli and me to sit once her handsare free. I share another glance with Eli, just to make sure he’s okay with this, only sitting down once he gives me a tiny nod and closes the office door. I let my eyes wander around the office again as Eli takes his seat, my gaze snapping to a metallic glint as the light shifts. A name plate.

Henrietta Jones, Esquire - Family and Pack Law

“You boys thirsty? Let me get you something to sip on while we talk,” Henrietta says, pulling my attention back to her face.

I’m about to decline, but she’s already poured two of the three cups, the ice tinkling merrily against the glass. She hands one each to Eli and I before settling back into her chair, crossing one leg over the other, looking at us expectantly.

Eli clears his throat and takes a sip of his tea, and I catch the slight lift of the corners of his mouth. I take a sip myself, the sugary sweetness of it so reminiscent of Tori’s scent that my heart aches. God, I miss her and it’s hardly been two days since she left.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Ms. Jones,” Eli starts, all politeness and softened Swedish vowels.

“Call me Rita, honey. And it’s my pleasure. But I’m hoping you can provide some answers I couldn’t get from our mutual friend when he made this appointment.” She sips her tea with a sly sort of smile I can’t really unravel.

Eli’s eyes ask me for permission to take the lead. I give him an encouraging smile, settling back into my chair. My partner turns back to Rita and explains our predicament as succinctly as he can. We need to form a pack to protect ourselves from retaliation from upper management, especially for Tori. Details have tostay private for as long as possible, so we can’t be forced into abandoning the cause by the league or the owner of the Mystic.

“And if it’s possible, we’d like to have it done before the middle of March,” Eli finishes with a sigh.

There’s a moment when I’m convinced Rita is going to laugh in our faces, or tell us we’re crazy and kick us out. She leans forward and sets her glass down on a coaster before she shakes her mouse and starts clicking away on her computer. I have to swallow a growl and a bark, trying not to disrespect the one person who might be able to help us. But the longer the silence stretches, the harder it is to control my instincts.

“Who’s going to be involved with this?” Rita asks, looking back up at us with her fingers poised over the keyboard.

I blink in surprise, both at her sudden shift in tone and her question. “Wh-what are you — What do you mean?” My responding question stumbles out.

Rita turns a stern gaze to me. “Who’s going to be in the pack and what are their designations?”

I let out a little breath of relief. “Myself, Eli, and Spencer are alphas, and Tori—Victoria Strauss—is an omega.”

We’d agreed that Logan shouldn’t join our pack until after the season is over. We don’t have room for error or questions, and we could shout from every rooftop in the state that Logan isn’t intimately involved with any of us except Tori, but it wouldn’t stop the rumor mill from grinding.

Rita starts typing, her nails clacking on the keys as her fingers move with practiced speed, filling out whatever form she has pulled up with our answers. It goes smoothly for a while, mostly demographics and lineage questions that we don’t have to think too hard about. But then she pauses, and her eyes scan the page.

“We’re almost done, and because your friend covered my retainer, I should be able to get this filed before the court closes today. Otherwise, it’ll be on Tuesday, which won’t be too late,but we really need every day we can get. It’s nothing more than an intent to file notice, but it will get us moving in the right direction,” she says, half speaking to herself and not looking at us.

Eli and I share a delighted look, relief flooding my system. That’s much sooner than I would have ever expected.

“Last thing I need is what name y’all picked and who’s going to be Prime Alpha,” Rita says with a soft smile.

We’d never discussed anything like that. I’m not sure how to answer.

“Do we need a name right now?” Eli asks, picking up on my thoughts.

Rita hums, chewing her bottom lip. “I suppose not. But I’ll need one so I can file the paperwork for review. We can’t get a court date until that’s done.”

Fuck. I look at Eli, who has the same hesitant expression on his face that I can feel pinching mine. The gears turn in his head, but I’m already pulling out my phone and typing a message. I have no idea what time it is in Vegas, but Tori always has her phone on her. I decide against sending her a private message, opting for the group chat Eli made for our household, excluding Logan for now.

What should we name our pack? And who should be in charge?

“And we have to name a pack leader now?” Eli asks, trying to buy time.

“A Prime Alpha, yes,” Rita replies.

“Why does it have to be an alpha? In Sweden, we can have omegas or betas as pack leaders,” Eli protests.

Rita lets out a long sigh. “However y’all want to run your pack at home is y’all’s business, honey. If I had a dollar for everyclient who wanted to have their omega in charge, I wouldn’t need to have a practice anymore. But the laws in the fine state of Louisiana aren’t as progressive as we might wish they were. The Prime Alpha is your legal decision maker. They speak for y’all in court, and they’re the ones who open pack bank accounts and sign for pack assets, like houses or cars. Federal law overruled the ‘male’ part of the statute a few years back, but they haven’t quite gotten around to fixin’ the designation part.”

Rita and Eli let out matching chuckles, but I can’t focus on anything except my phone screen. Seconds feel like hours. I’m sure the weekend delay won’t set us back too far, but I’m not willing to risk it.

Tori

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