Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Jonah felt his face flush. He was doing it again. Making assumptions about supes just because of old stories. He understood why Kian sounded so annoyed, especially since Jonah had refused several times already to go back to Charmed Away for an easier assignment.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”
He didn’t have enough time to finish his sentence before someone darted past him and crashed into Kian, sending the fae to the ground. Jonah sucked in a sharp breath, fear making him yank out his phone to call Emmett, but Kian was grinning when the person popped up and beamed at him.
“Ha! Told you I could surprise you!” the chipper voice exclaimed.
Kian rolled his eyes. “I saw you coming, Peri. I just didn’t think you’d throw yourself like that. What would Wash say about you tackling people?”
Peri, the fairy who had tackled Kian, wrinkled his nose adorably. “He’d probably get all growly, then drag me back to his office for a punishment.” He considered it for a moment before grinning. “You should tell on me.”
A new person tsked, pulling both men to their feet with offered hands. “It doesn’t count as a punishment if you enjoy it, Peri.”
Peri stuck his tongue out at the man with the curly brown hair and golden brown skin.
The man took it all in stride, tossing a friendly arm around Peri’s shoulders and continuing, “Besides, Supernatural Resources has been cracking down on office hookups. Apparently the recent influx of mates has led to a lot of meetings about conduct in the office. Brennus is getting fed up.”
“Just don’t get caught then,” Kian commented, then gestured to Jonah, who was still pressed against the wall. “Guys, this is Jonah. He’s a new temp, and it’s his first day around supes. Ever.”
Both men spun to look at him, and the fairy with the pretty opal wings and blue hair was the first to speak, his tone worried. “Ever? You poor thing! You must be so overwhelmed!”
Surprisingly, he sounded sincere, and when the other man patted him on the shoulder, he looked just as understanding.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got your back.” He offered a hand with a smile.
“I’m Taron. This little cutie is Peri. He owns the best bakery in the city, right here in Spellbound.
Fair warning, if you taste his food, you’ll put on a few pounds.
Guaranteed. Lucky for me, all my weight went to my ass, and my mates appreciate it,” he winked, patting his butt.
Kian snorted, rolling his eyes. “Don’t traumatise the poor human, Taron. We need to feed him, and he’s afraid of walking into the cafeteria.”
“It is insanely crowded,” Peri agreed with a nod. “I’m glad I can fly when I get my food.”
Taron pouted at him, and Peri snickered, lifting high enough to pat Taron on the head.
The banter was… refreshing. It was so normal, so similar to how his friends interacted when they still spoke to him. All teasing and jokes, very little serious conversation. He forgot how much he missed it, and it went a long way in making Jonah feel more secure around the supes.
“Unfortunately, the busy period doesn’t die down for at least a few hours,” Taron said, looking out over the cafeteria. “And Kian got in trouble for using a spell to keep people away from him.”
Kian made a face. “I’m still pissed about that. He only complained because he turned too sharply and embarrassed himself by dropping his food. No one else even cared.”
They were considering their options, but it was looking more and more like Jonah would either skip a meal, which Kian wouldn’t allow, or he’d have to suck it up and walk in there.
He really wished Emmett was around. The wolf man was huge and no doubt would part the crowd with his big bulk alone. All Jonah would have to do would be to follow behind him.
Like his thoughts conjured the man, a group of wolf people rounded the corner headed toward the cafeteria with Emmett off to one side, his arm around another wolf man’s shoulders as he grandly gestured about something he was talking about.
When he noticed Jonah, his ears perked up, and he patted the guy’s shoulder, slipping away to join Jonah and his companions.
“Hey, Jonah! Is it lunchtime for you, too?”
Jonah nodded uneasily. “Yeah…”
He probably imagined it, but he thought he saw Emmett’s tail wag before he was pulled away from the wall and tugged toward the door. “Great. I’ll show you my favorites. I thought this place would be a lot like a school cafeteria, mediocre food barely warm enough to count as cooked, you know?”
No, he didn't. He was homeschooled. But he nodded along anyway, not willing to discuss just how far his ignorance went.
“Turns out, the CEOs went all out for this place,” Emmett continued, dragging Jonah along toward the lines for the food.
It was laid out in a large semi-circle with several stations for different types of food from pizza and burgers to more gourmet looking pastas and rice dishes.
He understood better what Peri meant when he said he could fly to get his food, since there were higher stations offering the same foods to anyone who could fly, splitting up the crowd a little.
Not that it did much good. Jonah was practically plastered to Emmett’s back as they got in line, with Kian right behind him.
They shuffled along from station to station, and Jonah did everything he could to only pay attention to the food and not who was leaning around him to snag some fries.
After the food line was the line for the beverage station, which included things like blood mixed drinks and magic-infused teas that seemed to steam even when filled with ice.
He stuck with what he knew for now, grabbing a soda while Emmett grabbed a protein drink, but he was curious about the rest. Would magic tea do anything to him?
Or would it just be a fun drink that he could try?
They scanned their badges to pay for their meals, and the dwarf watching the scanner nodded in approval toward his food.
Jonah looked down at it with a frown, but the line moved before he could ask and Emmett led the way back into the cafeteria dining room where round tables and longer ones were scattered throughout the room.
None were fully empty, but a long one was only half full, so they took the other half, with Jonah sitting between Emmett and Taron, who had nudged Kian out of the way to steal the spot next to him.
Kian narrowed his eyes on Taron, who flashed him an innocent smile. “You said we needed to help him. I can’t do that if I don’t get to know him. Be nice and share.”
“Help with what?” Emmett asked around a mouthful of food, apparently having already started eating.
Jonah did a doubletake when he looked at Emmett’s tray. He hadn’t noticed what Emmett had picked before, too busy trying not to step on anyone’s toes to pay attention. “Did you grab one of everything?” he squawked.
Emmett snorted, waving a hand at his big body. “Hungry werewolf.” Then he gestured at Jonah. “Puny human. I eat more than you.”
Spluttering, Jonah couldn’t help but laugh. “You did not just call me puny! You jerk!”
The rest of the group laughed with him, some of them teasing Emmett for eating way more than the rest of them while Emmett just grinned.
Compared to the mound of food Emmett had gotten, Jonah’s meal looked kind of sad.
He’d gotten a burger and fries, since he wasn’t feeling up to anything adventurous while he was so freaked out, with a small salad on the side and his soda.
Meanwhile, Emmett had gotten a burger, fries, pizza, pasta, some kind of meat dish over a scoop of rice, chicken wings, and what looked like curry.
Everything had meat in it, plus the protein drink. The wolf man seriously liked his meat.
A thought flashed through his head, and he leaned closer to ask quietly, “Is it werewolf or wolf man? I’ve read stuff that had the latter, so I thought that was what you were called.”
Emmett shook his head, taking a slurp of his drink before replying, “That’s a human term. Werewolf is our actual species.”
Another werewolf from a few seats down leaned forward to add, “I think most people wouldn’t care, but you get nuances with gender with the human term. Some of us would get offended being called a wolf man. Werewolf is gender neutral.”
She didn’t sound mad having to explain it to him, and the rest of them all nodded without looking annoyed. Jonah felt his shoulders come down a little. Maybe Emmett was right and they weren’t that bad.
“I’m a shapeshifter,” Taron said proudly from beside him. “Just in case you thought I was human.”
Jonah shot him a quick glance, then shook his head. “I don’t think anyone would confuse you for human.”
Taron blinked, surprised. “Really? Why?”
“Might have something to do with the ears,” Emmett pointed out.
“Or the eyes,” the female werewolf added. “Human eyes aren’t that big.”
Taron pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I’d honestly forgotten I’d done that,” he said with a shrug, then closed his eyes for a moment.
A ripple cascaded through his body, which was fascinating to watch, and when he opened his eyes again, they were normal sized and his ears were shaped like human ears and not the pointed ones from before. “There. Fully human.”
Jonah gaped at him for a long moment, making Taron grin and preen a little. “I know. I’m awesome. Watch this.”
He closed his eyes again, and after the ripple was gone, Jonah found him staring at a mirror image of himself. He let out a squawk of surprise, leaning back to look the man over. The only difference between them was their clothes.
“Humans are easy to reproduce,” Taron said, his voice an exact match to Jonah’s in a way that really freaked Jonah out. He could be anyone with an ability like that.
“Not quite,” Emmett interrupted, shaking his head. Jonah whipped around to look at him.
“You can tell the difference?”
Emmett nodded, tapping his snout. “The one thing shapeshifters can’t reproduce is scent. He smells like lightning and cologne. Your mates, I’m assuming?”
Taron-Jonah grinned. “Yep.” He closed his eyes and the original Taron reappeared, big eyes and pointy ears and all. “I’ve been shifting into Zephyr’s thunderbird a few days a week to practice. I can’t replicate his magic, but he’s teaching me how to fly. It’s… harder than I expected.”
Peri reached over, patting his arm. “You’ll get it eventually.”
Jonah had to ask, “Thunderbird?”
He’d never heard of that before.
Kian explained for him from where he was seated next to Peri. “Think giant eagle with lightning powers. Never get too close to a shifted thunderbird unless you’re mated to one either. As a human, you’ll definitely get hurt.”
Emmett snorted. “Most species would get hurt. Werewolves aren’t immune either.”
Jonah listened with fascination as they talked about what species magic they were immune against. The conversation was so interesting, he forgot entirely about being in the cafeteria and surrounded by supes he was unfamiliar with until it was time to leave and head back upstairs.
He stood automatically when Kian and the rest did, taking his tray to return it to the collection area.
He was still listening to the conversation and wasn’t really paying attention when Emmett stopped suddenly to avoid knocking into a giant golem stomping past. Jonah, who had been behind him, crashed into him for the third time in a day.
It was a good thing he’d finished everything on his plate or it would’ve ended up on his shirt.
Before he could steady himself, he inhaled sharply, dragging in the scent of the werewolf in front of him.
He smelled like pine, fresh soil, and clean air, and the combination left Jonah a little dizzy.
He recognized the scent, it was just like the cabin his parents took him and his siblings to every summer for vacation.
What did it mean that the werewolf who was basically his personal savior smelled a lot like Jonah’s favorite place in the world?