Content Warning:  This chapter contains discussion of a case of sexual exploitation of a minor.

***

Gabriel’s first days in his new job had been a blur. The legal fund’s mission was two-pronged: to lobby for changes to the legal system and to provide free legal advice and representation to forced-claim and trait-based-violence victims and their families. Gabriel’s work would be focused on the latter, which was what most of his volunteer work experience, his clerkship, his work on law review, and his master’s in social work had all prepared him for. 

There was a massive backlog of Omegas out there in need of help, but Gabriel was happy to roll up his sleeves and get started. Until he passed the Maryland Bar exam, however, he was limited to consulting and giving legal advice. Determined to get through the exam one try so that he could really pitch in, he spent every free moment he had prepping for the test.  

Gabriel's colleagues working on the legislative side of things were laser-focused on a Minnesota case, Katzen vs. the State of Minnesota. The case hinged on the constitutionality of a law that treated forced claims as a form of sexual assault rather than as a form of simple assault. Minnesota’s law applied the stricter penalties for sexual assault crimes to forced claim convictions, including placement on a national sexual offender registry, to forced claim convictions. 

Katzen had run its way through the appeals circuits and the Minnesota State Attorney had written a cert petition, hoping to get the case before the Supreme Court of the United States. With four liberal justices seated on the court, one of whom was the first Omegan justice in US history, there was a real chance the case would make it onto the docket.  

If the SCOTUS decided in Minnesota’s favor, it would be a massive step forward for Omegan Rights. The new legal precedent would grease the wheels for changing antiquated laws nationwide, including in Maryland. Gabriel had been trying to pitch in any way he could with Katzen on top of his own work and study. Sleep and relaxation were fond memories, but he’d never felt more focused or hopeful that real progress was on the horizon.

At six o'clock on Wednesday evening, Gabriel was still hunched over his desk looking at his notes from a meeting he’d had earlier in the day with a new client, Jaiden. Jaiden was a sweet sixteen-year-old Omega, barely mature enough to be producing pheromones.

Seven weeks ago, Jaden had been claimed by his twenty-seven-year-old Alphan “boyfriend.” Jaiden had successfully hidden the claim from his father for a few weeks, but then his father, an Alpha, had detected the changes in his scent. He’d pulled Jaiden’s hoodie back and seen the claim mark. 

In a rage, Jaden’s father had ejected him from their home. The “boyfriend,” meanwhile, had stopped taking Jaiden’s calls and was nowhere to be found. Since being thrown out, Jaiden had been couch-surfing at different friends’ homes, but he was running out of places to go.  

Needing to get home and study, Gabriel made himself a to-do list for the next morning. His first job was convincing Jaiden to go to the clinic to get checked out, his second was securing funding for his treatment in case he decided on a reversal, and his third was finding the kid some reliable shelter. 

He’d call over to the clinic in the morning and see what appointments they had available– it was past time he showed his face over there, anyway. Did Teneisha still worked there? Gabriel really hoped so. She had been a lifeline for him when he was drowning in the lowest point of his entire life. 

He made himself another note to find out if she was still there and to pick up some kind of gift for her if so. What did you give to a person who had pulled you back from the brink with a sour apple lollipop, a hair tie, and a hand squeeze?

Jem poked his head into Gabriel's office. “Hey Gabriel… We’re getting ready to head out. Want to join us for a drink? We’re meeting some friends of mine. One of them is a very cute and very single guy who is not at all my type, and I thought maybe…”

A drink? His Maryland law books were calling him, but he hadn’t done anything fun since his move.

All work and no play makes Gabe a dull boy.

“Yes to the drink, hard no to the cute, single friend. Save him for someone else. I don’t date anymore.”

“Wait. What do you mean?”

“I don’t date.”

“You just… don’t… date?”

“Yep. Single and not gonna mingle. I’m in romantic remission. I haven’t been on a date or had a heat cycle in four years thanks to the magic of a full year of high-dose suppressant therapy and a lot of good luck. I don’t miss that rollercoaster.”

“So… like… never. You never date? Are you Ace? Aro?”

“Neither, historically speaking. Just uninterested. I was force-claimed and went through reversal a few years ago, right before I left Baltimore. That’s why I went to law school. That’s why I went to Berkeley for law school–to get access to the best Omegan Rights scholars around. That’s also why I took this job. I got treated at the Anderson clinic, and wanted to come back here and pay it forward. This position is full-circle for me.”

Jem’s mouth popped open in surprise. “Oh, wow. I’m so sorry to hear about the forced claim, but the coming back to work here? That’s… awesome. That’s super inspiring. Way to take your power back!” Jem offered him a fist bump.

Gabriel shrugged away the compliment and bumped. “Just trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear… Anyway, I chose the extended high-dose suppressants, and between the drugs and the trauma of the whole thing, I lost interest in dating. By the time I finished the suppressants, I was neck-deep in law school, trying to get on law review, and volunteering in Oakland. I was just way too busy to socialize. I’ve had some invitations from objectively tempting people, but I haven’t been tempted. I’m just… Over romance. Which is fine.”

“Because I know people asked you out!  Look at you! You are a whole cinnamon-swirled snack!”  

Gabriel made a face. “Yeah, well. Probably not at the moment. I’ve gotten, like, 5 hours of sleep max for the past three nights. Anyway, in the end, I decided to make ‘I don’t date’ an official policy. Simple and easy. It weirds people out, but it ends the discussion a lot more quickly than trying to make up individual excuses for avoiding individual dates.”

Jem nodded. “Alright then! Message received. Come on out, have a badly needed drink, and don’t-date my cute, single friend or any of the rest of us.”

“Alright, I won’t!” Gabriel said with a smile, grabbing his bag.