Page 8 of Real

Red wolf shifters are deliberately trafficked for this purpose and the omegas are threatened with violence if they refuse to cooperate. They also rarely, if ever, see a cent of the millions of dollars they are exploited to steal. But judges usually send thrall hustlers to jail for the rest of their lives if they’re caught. Stealing from a rich alpha isn’t something the justice system forgives people for. If the judge decides that’s what Candlewick did by helping Buddy, he’s in trouble.

Buddy and I watch several more episodes. I fade in and out. I’m not quite ready to leave him on his own yet, so this is the closest thing to a nap I’ll get today. At about eleven o’clock in the morning my phone buzzes in my back pocket. I open my eyes and pull it out.

Steppe is calling.

Buddy turns off the TV before I even ask. I thank him and answer the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey. I’m assuming you made it all right?”

I should have called him when we arrived. After chasing Buddy around, I completely forgot.

“Yeah, sorry. We were resting. How is the case going? Do we know anything yet?”

“Buddy has to go to court tomorrow. The judge will be doing a short hearing to determine whether he should be categorized as property or human. Can you get him ready? We have some slush money we can spare for a button-up shirt, a pair of slacks, and a tie. We’re not springing for a full suit this time. One of the lawyers will come by tomorrow morning to prep Buddy.”

I almost agree to prep Buddy for court, then I stop myself.

“You think Buddy should wear a tie?” It seems like that would just make him look more robotic.

“H, I have to be honest with you here. Dorian Gray is loaded. The lawyers made it clear that the chances of us winning this are almost nonexistent. Also, Buddy isn’t a red wolf shifter.”

In other words, he’s giving up on Buddy.

I understand his perspective. Sometimes we do have to make hard choices about how we use our resources, and we’re the only ones uniquely qualified to help red wolf shifters. Our resources should be used on them.

But who is uniquely qualified to help Buddy? He doesn’t have any family to advocate for him, and his only friend is stuck in jail for trying to rescue him.

We’re Buddy’s only hope.

“What angle are the lawyers using?” I ask. There are a lot of different ways to prove Buddy’s humanity. Maybe I could test some of their ideas today so tomorrow’s meeting is more productive.

“I’m not sure. We had a dozen kids sent to us this morning. I’ve been too busy with that to track specific court cases. I’m sorry.”

He shouldn’t apologize. Steppe is doing his job. He’s an important man, and his work makes a big difference in the lives of the people we help.

I’m a lot less important. I can do the extra work for Buddy.

“Who is the lawyer in charge of his case?” I can call them directly and discuss strategy.

“Hanson.”

I school my emotions carefully. Buddy is watching me, and I don’t want him to see me upset. Hanson is the lawyer we hired because his alpha father gives the sanctuary an obscene amount of money every year. It was a hard choice to make because we’re reliant on our lawyers, and most of them are incredible.

Which is why we can afford to have one lazy and entitled lawyer who is never put in charge of any cases.

“How did that happen?” I ask.

“He was complaining that he’s never the lead on any cases.”

I wish I was good at arguing like Steppe, then I would explain why Buddy deserves more than a cheap tie and Hanson as a lawyer.

Buddy must sense my concern because he curls into a ball again. He looks so scared. I won’t give up on him, even if his case is a long shot.

“I need you to assign him a different lawyer,” I say as firmly as I can manage.

“You know I don’t have control over stuff like that. We hired a good legal team for a reason. I can’t go over their heads—”

“Have I ever asked you for anything before?”

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