Page 6 of The Werewolf's Deputy
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.
CHAPTER FOUR
Snickering to himself, Emmett tucked his phone back into his pocket. He’d hoped Jonah’s questions would be off the wall. He got the feeling asking about lamia would be just the beginning for the clueless human. He couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say next.
He stepped into the security office on the fifteenth floor, looking around curiously. It looked the same as the smaller security offices in the tech building and the interdimensional division he’d been to the week prior. An empty reception desk separated the general visitors from the cubicle filled room, with two separate rooms in the back: one for the leader of the security team and one with a wall of monitors and one or two security members watching over them. The rest sat around waiting for something to happen, which wasn’t at all helpful. It was the first thing Emmett noticed— all of his packmates did. The security personnel should have been walking the building, not sitting around waiting for trouble to come to them.
The leader of this team was an orc with a scowl that looked permanently engraved on his face when Emmett knocked on his door. He grunted and waved Emmett inside his office, glaring at the screen in front of him.
“You from Moonfall?”
“Yes, sir. Emmett Moonfall,” Emmett replied, offering him a hand to shake. “I promise, we’re only here to help.”
He’d found the other security leads weren’t too happy about their involvement, pointing fingers at each other over whose fault it was that the company got swindled by a coup and then another employee participating in corporate espionage. It wasn’t any one person or division’s fault as far as Emmett could tell, which was why the whole security system was getting an upgrade, including a brand new cyber security division that was being set up in the main building. Apparently, they had a few guys doing cyber security, but they’d had to split that work with other IT tasks, and it wasn’t enough to cover the entire building, much less four other divisions. That changed, as did the security teams themselves. The golems, while well-meaning, were easily manipulated and moved to outside projects with chaperones. They were the muscle, not the brains of the operation.
Apparently Alistair’s mate also did loyalty interviews on the remaining security staff. He was some kind of hot shot telepath, but people seemed to like him enough to let him do his job without complaining. Emmett visibly shuddered when Ronan had first told them about that. He did not want someone poking around his head.
“Name’s Zed. I’d say we don’t need help, but that’s a godsdamn lie. I’ve been tellin’ Grimsley for a while now that we needed to be doin’ more. He was so distracted with that IT kid, he wasn’t listenin’.”
His response surprised Emmett, and he sat in the chair across from the man, head cocked curiously. “Why do you say that?”
He huffed, spinning his screen around to show what looked like an empty hallway. He jabbed his finger at a door on one side. “See that door? Two of my guys went in there twenty minutesago. Haven’t come out yet. They’re supposed to be walkin’ the building like that woman from last week told us. Tasha?”
Emmett nodded. “She’s the second for this job. Where is that? I can get them moving.”
