Page 3 of Season's Greetings
Almost a decade ago, Matthew had made a choice that both of them were still feeling the ramifications of. Then he made another—one Daniel didn’t like—but he’d learned to live with it.
Make peace with it? Hell no. That was why his home was a festive-free zone.
When he received Matthew’s card, all the joy of the season fizzled and died. The moment Matthew walked away from what they shared and didn’t look back, something in Daniel had gone cold.
It wasn’t in a bear’s nature to pine for a love lost—yet it was part of his nature, nonetheless.
The rest of Daniel’s weekend was miserable. He spent most of it hiding from himself and the world. It wouldn’t have been seemly for a bear alpha to be a drama llama, so he stayed holed up in his den, burrowed into soft blankets, watching Disney movies and eating comfort food.
That was something else he wasn’t supposed to like.
Jeez, it was ridiculous that in the twenty-first century, the old mindset of what was and wasn’t expected of an alpha still held fast. So what if he enjoyed watching films meant for children? That was no one’s business but his—much like whom he mated with. Or it shouldn’t have been.
He wasn’t fooled into thinking the Council wasn’t watching him. He’d known it for some time. Felt the pushback when he petitioned them on behalf of his clients. Knowing pack law was, after all, part of his job—not justbecause people depended on him to have his shit together as the firm’s senior partner, but because of his position in the pack.
He had an image to protect, even if it wasn’t the true him.
He’d barely tasted the oatmeal he swallowed down that morning, or the too-bitter coffee bought from a drive-through on the way to work. He’d just pulled into his parking spot in the office’s underground garage when he heard shouting.
Really? Mondays were the worst. The working week had barely started, and already there was drama that made Daniel want to turn his Jeep around and drive home.
Custody battles were never pretty when cubs were involved, and Ms. Williams was being—well, to be blunt—a real bitch about shared custody. They didn’t need a lawyer so much as a referee.
Any hope he had of sliding out of his car and heading to the elevator unnoticed was dashed when the couple of wolf shifters turned in his direction and rushed toward him.
“Alpha Sanders, will you tell this jerk-off that there is no way he’s getting sole custody of the cubs? They are my heirs, and I’ll not have their future tarnished by the company he likes to keep,” the alpha she-wolf sneered toward her soon-to-be ex-husband before turning her gaze back.
It was far too early for this crap, and after the weekend he’d just had, he wasn’t in the mood to placate the shrew curling her lip at the thought of her omega husband finding his true mate in another alpha—and a male alpha at that.
Some alphas still clung to the old ways, believing their omega spouse was their property merely by placing a ring on their finger. Putting his personal views aside was nearly impossible when faced with such blatant homophobia.
Stephanie Williams wasn’t just a spiteful female alpha—she was a sitting member of the Shifter Elder Council who thought she could twist the law to her advantage. How the tenderhearted Carson had weathered her storm this long was a miracle.
When Daniel was first approached about filing Carson’s separation, he was reluctant to take the case. All it took to change his mind was one threatening email saying that further prejudicing the Council would not be in his best interests.
Ms. Williams had a lot to learn about bear shifters if she thought her thinly veiled threat would intimidate him.
“Ms. Williams, I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but that would be a lie. Carson, if you’ll follow me, we can talk upstairs in my office.”
Turning to block out the woman beside him, he hoped to coax the omega into the lift. The loud, indignant screech from the enraged female made him wince.
“If you think that badgering my client will force a more favorable outcome to this case, you’re very much mistaken. Unless you wish to find yourself subject to a restraining order? I doubt that would be a re-election winner.”
Her eyes burned bright for a second as her wolf bled through. Did he think crossing the she-wolf would be an issue? Without doubt. Did he care? Not one bit.
The similarity between Carson’s situation and his own was a bitter pill that stuck in his throat. He wanted thiscase done as soon as possible. Shielding the omega was at the forefront of his mind.
Turning his back on the other alpha, he ushered Carson into the lift and mashed his finger on the up button, scarcely holding back his smirk as the doors closed in her face.
“Th-thank you, Alpha Sanders. I don’t want to be any trouble, but after meeting my true alpha—my fated mate—I couldn’t keep living a lie.”
Carson Williams was small, even for an omega. The top of his curly brown hair barely reached Daniel’s chest. There was no way he could have fought off his former alpha if she’d been of a mind to attack.
Whereas Daniel would’ve had great pleasure in introducing her head to the wall. Repeatedly.
He wasn’t usually violent, but his tolerance for bullies? That was something he couldn’t let slide. Everyone deserved respect, regardless of rank or size. Just because he was bigger and stronger than most alphas didn’t mean he could throw his weight around.
Not that it didn’t come in handy sometimes. It did.
