“What?”
“You look ready to jump out of your skin. You feel anxious, right?”
He nodded rapidly, staring up at her in confusion, because yes, even female werewolves were taller than he was.
“It’s called intimidation, and it's not okay to use outside of situations where we feel like we need to defend ourselves. It’s especially not okay to use on you. Humans have a tendency to feel like prey around more dangerous supes, including werewolves. It’ll take a minute for that to go away.”
“But I’ve never felt that way around werewolves before,” he pointed out, letting her lead him toward the security office in the corner. He didn’t feel okay enough to go to his job just yet. He still felt like he was on the edge of a panic attack.
“That’s because you’ve only been around decent werewolves. Not only do we care enough to never throw those pheromones out into the air willy nilly, the security team was also trainedto keep it to ourselves, even if we’re feeling big emotions. We can control that ability. Kyle never bothered to learn. He’s an arrogant ass and said he could figure it out himself. If it happens again, tell me. I’ll need to let my alpha know. Intimidating people isn’t okay, even if it was an accident. If he can’t control himself, Ronan needs to know.”
He really hoped it didn’t happen again. He’d finally gotten to a place where he felt safe working at Spellbound. He didn't want that to go away just because of one bad interaction.
CHAPTER TEN
The last person Emmett expected to find in the security office when he came out of his meeting with Ronan and Alistiar was Jonah. He looked pale and a little shaken, and Emmett’s protective instincts skyrocketed. He made a beeline for the human, taking a step back in surprise when Jonah jumped when he saw him.
Before he could feel hurt over the reaction, Tasha stepped in to explain, handing a bottle of water to Jonah while she spoke to him. “He had a run in with Kyle. The jerk was intimidating him. He’s a little shaken, that’s all.”
A growl rattled his throat, and he would have turned on his heel to find his cousin and hurt him if Tasha didn’t stop him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t. You can’t cause trouble on a job. I’ve got it handled.”
He growled at her but didn't force the issue. She pushed his shoulder lightly, forcing him back, and he turned to give his attention to Jonah instead, kneeling in front of him so he wasn’t standing over the poor man.
“Sorry,” Jonah croaked. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I was fine last week.”
“It’s a magic thing,” Emmett explained, reaching to grip the back of Jonah’s neck supportively. “Humans are more sensitive to intimidation by werewolves. It’s a prey thing.”
He’d not mentioned it before because he didn’t want to make it harder for Jonah. He was already uneasy around supes. He didn’t want to scare him by detailing all the possibilities of what to look out for.
Leaning into Emmett’s hand a little, Jonah nodded. “Yeah, Tasha said the same thing. I don’t get it, though. It wasn’t like he was chasing me or snarling or anything. He was flirting. Badly. So why do I feel like I was being cornered?”
Emmett’s lip twitched against a snarl of his own. Kyle was going to get it once they were back home.
“It’ll wear off. Come on. Some fresh air will help.” He urged Jonah to stand, his hands going out automatically to catch him when he noticed how unsteady he was on his feet. Humans normally didn't react this poorly to intimidation, but it was Jonah’s first experience. He’d been isolated before now. Emmett wasn’t surprised it hit him harder than most.
“I’m supposed to check in with Kian,” Jonah argued, but he didn’t actually put up a fight when Emmett put his hands on his shoulders and ushered him out of the security office.
“I’ll text Kian. Besides, can you honestly tell me he’d be mad that you took some time to calm down?”
Jonah shook his head slowly, allowing himself to be herded outside. Once they were out of the way of the incoming employees, Emmett shifted the human to his side, tucked under his arm as they walked around the building. He pulled out his phone, typing a quick message to Kian letting him know where Jonah was and to call Tasha to ask why he was late. He didn't want to have to type it all out when he needed to be comforting Jonah instead.
For a few minutes, they walked in silence, their pace sedate while they walked along a plant-lined path. He liked that the company wasn’t just surrounded by concrete. There were green spaces everywhere they could fit them, and they were well maintained by a dedicated staff of gardeners. The plants should help Jonah calm down, if he was anything like Emmett, that is.
“Has it happened before?” he asked when he felt Jonah let out a long breath and settled a little.
“What? The intimidation thing? No, I’ve never felt like this before.”
“Not that,” Emmett said, hugging Jonah’s shoulders a little tighter to comfort him when he heard the hitch in his voice. “I meant people making you uncomfortable. Was this the first time?”
Jonah was quiet for a little bit, leaning into Emmett’s side as they walked, but he didn’t look like he was hiding anything. He looked like he was thinking about it, which Emmett appreciated.
“Uh… I mean, a few people have said stuff that made me think they were interested, and one or two have tried more than once to ask me out, but I wouldn’t say I was uncomfortable. They didn’t make me feel cornered like that guy did. Just shooting their shot.” He shrugged. “It’s fine.”
Maybe. It wasn’t like Emmett didn’t shoot his shot when he was into someone. But he didn't like it. He selfishly wanted Jonah’s first time with a supe to be with him. He was taking things slow because he didn't want to mess up their friendship.
“Maybe I should start telling people I’m taken,” Jonah joked, his shoulders loosening as they went down another path. “Supes respect that, right?”
