Page 58 of The Werewolf's Deputy
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Emmett bit back a sigh. They’d been so close to the conversation Emmett had been dying to have for a while now. The more time he spent with Jonah, the more he wanted. He didn't want to fake date anymore. He wanted something real. And he could’ve asked Jonah to be his boyfriend if his least favorite idiot hadn’t interrupted them.
He’d noticed when Kyle had come in with a few others, immediately zeroing in on Jonah the second he crossed through the threshold. Did he walk away like the bigger man? No, of course he didn’t. He stomped over like an idiot, glaring at Jonah like he’d done something wrong simply by existing. His overall body language was threatening, and Emmett felt his protective instincts flare, muscles tightening and tail bristling, his body poised for a fight as Kyle sneered at Jonah.
“Humans are all the same. Either trying to tear us down or chase the thrill of hooking up with a supe. Or maybe both, for some of you. So which one is it? Are you here just to cause more trouble for me, or are you done pretending you weren’t interested and coming to try out werewolf cock? I heard you’d never been around supes before. Trying out each flavor then?”He looked Jonah up and down, the disgust clearly written all over his face.
Emmett let out a low growl, his teeth bared, but stayed silent. He kept waiting for Jonah to say something. To stand up for himself.
It was hard to drag his gaze away from Kyle when he was acting so threatening, but Emmet chanced a glance at the human to see what was going on. Jonah had stopped eating, sitting frozen like a deer in the headlights as Kyle berated him. He didn’t stand up for himself, didn’t snap back. It wasn’t like him. The more Jonah got comfortable around supes, the more he showed his backbone and his snark. It bothered Emmett that Jonah wasn’t fighting back.
Kyle huffed, his expression smug. “Nothing to say, huh? Too embarrassed to admit you were asking for it before?”
“What’s your problem, man?” Grant demanded from in front of the TV. He’d been playing with Jonah and Tasha, but no one missed Kyle’s growl. It was threatening, not playful, and it put everyone on edge. The room had gone quiet after he spoke, all eyes on them as Kyle started throwing another tantrum. He’d done it several times since he got put on sabbatical by Ronan. The dumbass couldn’t seem to figure out that if he wanted to get back to his job, he’d need to prove he could act right.
“My problem is this guy got me fired and has the audacity to show up here!”
Emmett saw Jonah visibly flinch and reacted in instinct, launching out of his chair with a snarl and shoving Kyle away. “Watch it!”
He was not going to let Kyle get away with making Jonah feel bad. And he was more than happy to hurt him back if Kyle didn’t shut the hell up.
“Or what?” Kyle barked. “You think I’m just going to sit here while your flavor of the month stinks up our land? He doesn’t belong here.”
Miguel stepped up beside Emmett, Tasha taking up his other side, putting a wall between Kyle and Jonah. Several more crowded closer, and the tension in the room was so thick, it could’ve been cut with a knife. One look and Kyle would be able to tell he wasn’t just going up against the three of them. Emmett appreciated his pack’s involvement because he was ready to rip Kyle to pieces if someone didn't get the idiot back in line.
“He was invited by the alpha,” Tasha insisted. “He stays. Leave him the hell alone or you can explain to Ronan why you’re ignoring his orders.”
The threat made Kyle hesitate. He finally looked around and seemed to realize there were too many witnesses for him to get away with his usual shit. He gave one last scathing look at Jonah, his tone snide when he said, “You’ll never belong here. Humans aren’t strong enough to join a pack. You’ll only drag us down,” before he spun around and stormed off, slamming the door to the lodge so hard, a few pups yelped.
“He finally did something smart,” Miguel commented dryly. “He’s already on Ronan’s shit list. One more wrong move, and he’s looking at a much more severe punishment than a sabbatical.”
With an irritated growl, Emmett turned back to the table, freezing when he noticed the look on Jonah’s face. He looked… devastated. Emmett frowned. Kyle was just being an ass. He didn’t think Jonah would take him seriously.
“Jonah…”
Dragging in a breath, Jonah shook off his sadness, but when he looked up, his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m good.”
No, he wasn’t, and everyone knew it. They could smell it on him.
Jonah seemed to realize that after a moment of everyone staring at him because his shoulders slumped and he looked defeated. Pushing to stand, he gestured to the door. “I think I’m gonna head out for a bit. I could use some fresh air.”
Tasha squeezed his shoulder when he got close enough, her expression a cross between concern and reassuring. “You do that. Fresh air is a good idea. Don’t let him get to you, alright? He’s been in a shitty mood since he was put on sabbatical, and he’s been taking it out on everyone. It’s not just you.”
Jonah nodded, but Emmett could tell the words didn't fully hit the way she wanted them to. He followed Jonah outside, noting how Jonah stuck his hands into his pockets instead of holding Emmett’s like they normally did. The distance pissed Emmett off. He wasn’t mad at Jonah, he was allowed to feel hurt after someone verbally attacked him like that, but he shouldn’t have had to go through that. If Kyle came around him again, Emmett was going to hurt him.
“You’re growling,” Jonah pointed out, stopping outside Emmett’s front door, his eyes glued to his feet. “I’m sorry I caused trouble for you and your pack.”
A snarl ripped through him, and he moved on instinct, grabbing Jonah’s arm and dragging him inside, slamming the door behind him. He released him in the living room, pacing back and forth because he couldn’t sit still, he was so angry.
“It wasn’t your fault!” he growled. “That was all Kyle! He’s a dick, always has been!”
“Yeah, but he wouldn’t be pissed and picking fights if it wasn’t for me. I’m the one who overreacted–”
Emmett swung around so fast, it made Jonah jump. He immediately felt guilty for scaring him, slowing his pace as he approached so Jonah knew he was safe. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. But you need to stop saying you overreacted. No one reacts well to being intimidated. Even if it was somethingyou’d experienced before, it was still a power play to scare you, and considering he was hitting on you at the time, it was seriously messed up. I mean, who the hell intimidates someone into dating them?” He snarled that last part mostly to himself, spinning around to start pacing again because he had too much pent up energy, and the more he thought about Kyle and the times he’d made Jonah feel bad about himself, the more he wanted to go find him and hurt him for being such an asshole.
Jonah caught his arm before he could walk away again, and because Emmett was gone for the human, he stopped moving in an instant, letting Jonah turn him around to face him again.
“Thank you.”
