Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Jonah wanted to believe the wolf man’s words more than anything, but he’d already offended two people since he started; plus, he ran like a coward when he saw a snake person coming down the same hallway he was in, and wound up colliding with the wolf man again in his haste to get away.
He was making a fool of himself, and it’d only been a few hours.
He kept his head down as they entered the server room. There were people scurrying in and out, but the only person who cared about his arrival was a satyr named Wendell, who snatched the power supply out of his hands without a word, crouching to switch it out with the old one.
“Let’s hope this works,” Derrick, the terrifying demon from before, muttered. “We can’t afford to wait much longer.”
“Tell me again why IT couldn’t be here?” Kian asked.
Jonah listened to the conversation without looking up. He didn’t want to freak out about something else and embarrass himself all over again.
“This isn’t the only one that went out. Two servers crashed in Medical Innovations, and since it happened first for them, the employees qualified to fix crap like this were all over there.”
Kian sucked in a sharp breath, and it was such an intense reaction that Jonah couldn’t help but lift his head to look at him. The fae actually looked concerned, instead of his usual bland, disinterested expression he’d worn all morning. “Medical Innovations? You’re sure?”
Derrick nodded. “Yeah, I was the one who called for IT. They said they’d get here as soon as they could, but it’d be a minute.”
Whipping out his phone, Kian started typing faster than Jonah could track, but before he could send the message, it dinged, and he scowled at whatever had popped up.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” he growled under his breath, shoving his phone back into his pocket and turning to look at Jonah.
“I need to check on something. I’ll be back in a little while. ”
Jonah nearly let out a squeak of protest. It was a very close call. Forcing a smile that probably looked more like a grimace, he nodded. “Okay,” he croaked.
Kian hesitated; he’d obviously heard the discomfort in Jonah’s voice. Jonah tried his best to project confidence. He probably failed miserably, but what else could he do?
A warm, claw-tipped hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “I’ll keep an eye on him. You go kick whatever ass that needs kicking,” the wolf man said encouragingly.
His response made Kian smirk, and he didn’t argue. Whatever was happening was more important than babysitting Jonah. Which was fair. He seriously needed to get himself together.
With a snap of his fingers, a portal opened, and Kian disappeared through it, letting it close behind him.
“Aha!” Wendell crowed in triumph as the server rebooted. “You were right, Jonah! Way to go!”
Jonah let out a slow breath of relief. He might not be comfortable around supes, but he knew tech.
And if the issue with the server had been anything but the power supply, it would’ve been a lot more complicated to fix.
He’d been hopeful when grabbing the power supply, and he was relieved it was that simple.
Derrick grunted, and his tone was relieved even if his face was still all scowly. “That fixed it? How long will it take to fully be up?”
“Should only be a few minutes,” Wendell reassured him as he stood, brushing off his hands and grimacing at his palms. “Someone needs to clean up in here. I’m betting dust in the power supply did it, and that could be a fire hazard.”
“I can do that,” Jonah volunteered. At least cleaning the server room wouldn’t require him to interact with anyone. Hopefully anyway.
Wendell seemed to consider it before nodding. “Sure. I don’t have anything else I need you for right now. I’ll show you where the cleaning supplies are, then I need to get moving. I was in the middle of something when this issue popped up.”
The hand he hadn’t realized was still on his shoulder squeezed again, capturing his attention.
“I need to get going too, I’m supposed to be meeting the security team, but I’m only two floors up.
” He released Jonah’s shoulder, and Jonah immediately wanted to step closer.
Why did he feel safe around the guy who had terrified him a few hours earlier?
Derrick the demon wandered off now that the issue was fixed without saying goodbye and the wolf man and Wendell led the way out of the server room to a smaller utility closet down the hall with all the cleaning supplies.
Then Wendell hurried off, leaving Jonah and the wolf man alone.
Jonah sighed, dropping his head again. He really needed to get himself together.
He’d never find any work if he was too terrified to be around supes.
And he refused to isolate himself the way his family had.
It was all flavors of wrong to be that willfully ignorant.
“You okay?” the wolf man asked.
“Yeah,” Jonah breathed, though he wasn’t sure he believed himself yet. He’d keep trying, though. Hopefully, the wolf man was right and he’d get used to it soon.
When the guy didn't leave, Jonah finally looked up, offering him a smile that was more of a grimace. “I’m alright. You don’t need to babysit me.”
The wolf man, whose name he really needed to ask for, just hummed. “I can’t imagine how crazy it feels being surrounded by supes for the first time. Especially at your age. You’re what, twenty?”
“Twenty five,” Jonah corrected, feeling his shoulders come down a little. He couldn’t explain it, but the wolf man didn’t make him feel anxious like other supes did. He seemed chill, and any time he’d touched Jonah to stop him from getting hurt, he’d been gentle. He seemed like a nice enough guy.
“That’s a long time in a human’s lifespan to go without being around supes. Be patient with yourself. You’ll settle eventually. It’s not like there’s a manual for this out there.” He paused, cocking his head a lot like a puppy might when confused. “Right?”
The confusion made Jonah snicker, and he shook his head. “Not as far as I’m aware. A few of my university classes had supe history and stuff in it, but it wasn’t like they went through all the supe types and their behaviors.”
There had been a course about famous supes and their contributions to the world, which may have given Jonah more insight, but it had directly conflicted with one of the classes he’d needed for his major, so he hadn’t taken it.
He wished he had. Maybe then he’d at least have a clue what he was getting into.
The wolf man eyed him for a long moment before putting a hand out. “Give me your phone.”
Jonah’s brows snapped together in confusion. “What? Why?”
Snorting, the wolf man rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to steal it or anything.
Security, remember?” He pointed at the logo on his collared black shirt that Jonah hadn’t noticed before.
He honestly hadn’t noticed the uniform at all.
He’d been too busy staring at over seven feet of grey fur, huge teeth, and long claws.
The guy even had a tail. There were no human features in him that Jonah could tell.
Long snout, ears that flicked and moved around like a dog’s, and big paw-like feet with no shoes, which made sense because what kind of shoes would fit on paws like that?
The uniform only registered now that he’d pointed it out.
It wasn’t the logo for Spellbound on his shirt, and Jonah studied it a little closer with a frown.
“Moonfall Security?”
The wolf man nodded. “My pack was hired to help revamp Spellbound’s security. So if you see anyone with this logo on their shirt, they’re my pack and good people. They’ll help you out. Now, phone,” he demanded again.
Still confused, Jonah pulled out his phone and handed it to the wolf man, frowning at him as claw-tipped fingers typed something in. He wanted to ask if texting with claws was hard but that felt rude. He decided against it. He didn’t want to offend the people who had been nice to him so far.
“Here. That’s my number. Any questions you’ve got about supes, you can ask me. I’ll be your manual.”
Surprised, Jonah took back his phone, studying the new contact information for Emmett Moonfall. He’d even added a wolf face emoji next to his name, and underneath it said— “Supe Guru Extraordinaire?”
Emmett nodded proudly. “I’m your new guru on all things supe. Any question you can think of, send it my way.”
Jonah clutched the phone to his chest like a lifeline, even as he asked, “Are you sure? I don’t want to offend anyone by asking stupid questions.”
Emmett waved that away. “There’s no such thing as a stupid question when you’ve been isolated your whole life.
Just ask. I gotta get upstairs. I sent a text to myself already, so if I don’t hear from you soon, I’ll start pestering you.
Never doubt the tenacity of a werewolf, Jonah.
If you want to be spared, text me first.”
Snorting, Jonah nodded. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Ooh, fancy human with his big words,” Emmett teased, walking backward toward the stairs. “I’ll be around the building so if you really feel anxious, just text me. I’ll be here in a flash. Try not to panic, though. I promise, we’re not as bad as humans make us seem.”
Giving him a little wave, Jonah waited for him to disappear back into the stairwell before looking down at his phone again.
The only people he had saved in his phone were his family.
Even his friends from school eventually shunned him when he started asking questions about why they needed to avoid supes.
Having Emmett’s number felt like a good thing.
Like maybe he made the right choice when he threw himself into working with supes, even when he wasn’t comfortable.
If he kept an open mind and didn’t panic, he might finally be able to make some real friends.
Tucking the phone away, he stepped into the closet, grabbing a broom to start with.
He hesitated before stepping into the hall again, peeking out to make sure no one was there.
The hallway to the server room was empty, and it didn’t look like many people came down here often since once the problem was solved they all dispersed, but Jonah felt the need to check to make sure the snake person wasn’t around.
On a whim, and taking Emmett’s warning into account, he fished out his phone and typed out a quick message to the wolf man.
Jonah: Do snake people eat humans?
Supe Guru Extraordinaire: Not unless you’re talking in a sexy way ;)
Jonah snorted. That wasn’t what he meant, and Emmett knew it. Still, he liked the teasing response. It made him feel less awkward about asking questions if he knew Emmett wouldn’t be offended.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire: The ‘snake people’ are called lamia, by the way. Most are normal. Only time you need to worry is if they’ve got their tail around you.
Jonah: Why???
Supe Guru Extraordinaire: They have a tendency to get cute aggression and will squeeze the stuffing out of you just out of excitement.
Jonah jerked his head back, surprised.
Jonah: You’re kidding.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire: Nope. Happened to me once. Granted, the lamia was still a baby so it wasn’t like I was hurt, but the little thing was still strong. Nearly lost feeling in my arm.
Laughing out loud, Jonah shook his head. He might need to take Emmett’s explanations with a grain of salt. The guy couldn’t seem to be trusted to be serious.