Chapter Text
Noah skimmed over the contract, but it appeared to be exactly what they had discussed before. In truth, he'd all but forgotten about the Gajos marriage contract that Claudia had told him about so many years ago. It wasn't until he was meeting with several state senators from nearby districts in preparation for his run that he'd even met Talia Hale, and the name had triggered his memory.
Talia, at least, knew how the world worked. She was making her bid for Lieutenant Governor, and she was more than willing to scratch his back if he scratched hers. Confirming that she was from the same Hale family that were connected to the Gajos's was just the kind of luck he needed.
It had taken them a while to translate the marriage contract itself from the original Polish, but Noah had finally gotten his hands on that a few months ago. No, this was the finalized contract specifically between himself and Talia. The one wherein he revealed the missing Gajos heir to her and supported her future political campaigns, and in return she would ensure that he successfully made it to the Senate seat for Beacon District, and remained there as long as he wanted.
The contract seemed fairly simple, and Noah didn't see any glaring changes from what they'd hashed out, so he quickly signed his name. The magic in it — something he was still uncomfortable with, but at least it meant that Talia couldn't double cross him — flashed when he finished, and before his very eyes the contract duplicated itself.
"One for you, and one for me," Talia said smugly, picking up her own copy.
Noah slid his copy into the folder he'd brought for it, "Glad to see it 'took'," he said. He was just grateful he wouldn't have to see Stiles learning any of this magic nonsense, or spend too much time around the kind of supernatural 'people' Claudia had warned him about. Save for those he would need to work for in the government — and honestly, he was assured they were all quite civilized, like Talia — he could cheerfully ignore that side of things from now on.
"Now, about the heir," Talia reminded him.
"Oh yes," Noah straightened. "My wife, Claudia. When I married her, she told me her name was Nowak. However, after she became pregnant, she admitted that she'd run away from her family, the Gajos clan. She told me all about their magic nonsense that she wanted to escape, and warned me that I should never speak her real maiden name, lest they find her. Our child, Mieczysław Wojciech Przemysław Stilinski, is the heir you're looking for."
With that, he walked out of her office. They already had their next meeting arranged — the one he would drag Stiles to — and in the meantime, he wasn't going to help her track the brat down by telling her his nickname. She could find out the official, legal information, but he couldn't risk her finding Stiles's social media accounts and realizing what a troublemaker he was. Not if Noah wanted her to follow through on the contract and take the brat off his hands.
When he reached his cruiser, Noah couldn't help but whistle cheerfully. Things were finally looking up for him.