Page 60 of The Werewolf's Deputy
The ride passed in silence aside from the radio playing, and Jonah didn’t hear a single note of it the entire time. His ears were filled with white noise, and his stomach twisted uncomfortably until he couldn’t even think about putting anything in it. They were supposed to go to The Lodge when they got back and join the rest of the pack for dinner, but after Jonah parked his truck, he made an excuse to skip it.
“Hey, I’m not feeling too great. Mind if I take a rain check on dinner? I think I’m just going to go to bed.”
“Are you sick? Do you need to see a healer?” Emmett asked, concerned.
Jonah shook his head. “I’m probably just tired. I’m sure it’ll be gone by morning.”
By that point, he would have a better idea of what he was going to do next. He couldn’t keep pretending he was going to stay. He didn’t belong here. He needed to start making concrete plans for what happens next.
It took some convincing, but Emmett finally agreed to go to The Lodge with the pack and eat. He looked over his shoulder a few times at Jonah, but eventually went inside. Jonah let out a breath of relief, bypassing the front door to head around back instead. He didn’t actually want to sleep. He just needed a few minutes by himself to think. There was a bench in the backyard Emmett had shown him. Jonah sank onto it, letting his head drop forward into his hands and taking a few minutes to breathe.
“What’s the matter? Is the poor little human having a bad day?”
Kyle’s taunting voice made Jonah’s shoulders go up. The smarmy werewolf was the last person Jonah wanted to see right now.
Dropping his hands, Jonah ignored him, staring into the forest behind the houses instead. Of course, Kyle couldn’t just leave it there. He was a bully. If Jonah ignored him, he’d keep pushing until he got the reaction he wanted.
“Planning out your next move?” he sneered. “Gotten your fill of werewolf cock and considering what supe you’ll chase next?”
It took work not to comment on that. It had never even crossed his mind to sleep with anyone else. He wasn’t with Emmett just because he was curious about sex with supes. Technically, he wasn’t with Emmett at all. They’d never gotten to have that conversation Tasha had started. He still didn’t know what Emmett thought about the idea. If it was something he wanted, he would’ve spoken up already, wouldn’t he?
The hairs on the back of Jonah’s neck lifted as that feeling that he was somebody else’s prey settled on his shoulders. He finally looked at Kyle, taking in his bared teeth and the way his fists were clenched at his side, his muscles taut like he was poised to attack. Jonah swallowed hard.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to stay the hell away from my pack,” Kyle snarled. “You don’t belong here.”
Every time he said that, it was like a knife to Jonah’s heart. He couldn’t come up with a response because he secretly believed it was true. He just would never admit that in front of Kyle. That jerk didn’t deserve to feel like he was right.
He was going to give in, to tell Kyle he’d be leaving as soon as he could afford a place of his own, but before he could get the words out around the lump in his throat and the tremble out of his voice from the force of the intimidation, Emmett showed up. And he was pissed.
He didn’t speak, didn’t shout, just went after Kyle with a single minded purpose. Jonah could only watch in horror as the sweet and caring werewolf who wasn’t interested in takingdangerous jobs because he didn’t like fighting lost his ever loving mind. He was out for blood, and Kyle wasn’t even given a chance to run before they hit the ground, and Emmett started hurting him. He fought back because what else was he supposed to do when Emmett was trying to kill him, but Emmett had gotten the jump on him, and he wasn’t giving Kyle much opportunity to protect himself.
“Emmett! Stop!” Jonah shouted, finally able to stand now that the intimidation had ended. “Emmett!”
Whether it was the sound of Jonah shouting or the snarls of the werewolves fighting that got their attention, the pack came running. Anyone who got close enough got swiped at by Emmett, who seemed almost lost to the blood lust. Jonah felt tears stream down his face, the reality of the situation almost too much to bear. This was his fault.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Emmett had gone looking for Jonah in hopes of coaxing him to eat something. He understood not wanting to be around the pack if he wasn’t feeling great, he wasn’t going to force him, but if he was getting sick, he needed to eat to keep his strength up. He got a plate of food for him and was about to go inside his place, thinking he’d find Jonah in bed, when he heard voices around the back.
The minute he realized Kyle was intimidating Jonah again, his vision went red. He dropped the plate of food and attacked, the one thought going through his head being to protect Jonah.
Protect, protect, protect mate!
He went a little feral, the look of fear in Kyle’s eyes only incensing him further. He should be afraid. Emmett had sworn if Kyle upset Jonah again, he’d kill him. He was going to follow through on that promise.
He felt hands drag at him, heard the shouts, but he ignored it all, shoving away anyone who tried to get between him and hurting the asshole who hurt his mate.
A force like a wrecking ball hit him in the side, sending him skidding away. Before he could get on his feet again, Ronan hadhim pinned with his teeth perilously close to his throat, forcing Emmett to freeze.
“Enough,” Ronan growled, and the word held power as his alpha injected his magic into the demand. He felt it like a weight on his mind, forcing him to settle and his vision to clear. “That’s enough, Emmett.”
He was breathing like he’d run a marathon, and his side ached where Ronan had tackled him. His senses came back one at a time, until he heard the shouting demands for a healer, and the chaos that he’d left in his wake.
“Alpha…”
Ronan leaned back, studying his face for a long moment, probably to ensure Emmett was back to normal and not at risk of attacking again. Emmett didn’t even look in Kyle’s direction. He couldn’t. He’d never reacted like that before. Nothing had ever pushed him that far. He felt like he’d almost gone feral.
