Emmett nodded. “Yes. He’d been doing well, too. He doesn’t overreact anymore.”
Ronan scowled at Kyle. “And thanks to this incident, his progress was probably set back. I’d like to meet him. Kyle will need to give him a formal apology at the very least.”
Kyle squawked in protest but couldn’t argue. The growl from earlier had magic to it, Ronan’s alpha energy wrapped around the room and forcing them all to behave. They could only speak when spoken to when Ronan growled like that.
Fortunately, Alistair’s mate arrived before Emmett could get himself into trouble arguing with Ronan. It wasn’t that he disagreed with the demand, Jonah very much deserved an apology, but he knew how much the interaction that morning had freaked Jonah out. He was so happy right now surrounded by all the new tech. He didn’t want to ruin that by dragging Jonah down here to listen to Kyle’s apology.
While Alistair stood to go to his mate’s side, keeping himself between the red haired man and Kyle, Ronan gave Emmett a considering look. Being alpha, he could pick up on his pack members’ emotions. He must have picked up on Emmett’s uncertainty because he nodded in understanding and didn’t make any demands of him. They’d come back to the topic later.
Letting out a relieved breath, he leaned against the wall next to the door, watching as Elijah was read into the situation, and Ronan explained what he wanted. His fingers itched to text Jonah and check in, but he reminded himself he was safe and dealing with the Kyle situation was just as important. He’d check on the man when he was through.
The meeting took longer than he would have liked, apparently Elijah had gotten several complaints about Kyle in the past, and Ronan was beyond pissed about it. In the end, Kyle was forcedto take a sabbatical and return to pack land. Ronan decided he’d been living away from the pack too long, having gotten his own apartment in the city a few years back ‘for an easy commute’. Ronan didn’t trust him anymore and said he needed correction before he’d be allowed back to work. Kyle wasn’t happy about it, silently stewing while Ronan explained the precedent to Elijah, who filled out the paperwork for them, but he smartly kept his mouth shut. Tasha and Axel were pulled to escort Kyle to his apartment to pick up some things and bring him home, where his parents would likely be waiting for their own turn to berate him once Ronan brought them up to speed.
Once Kyle was gone, Emmett couldn’t fight the urge anymore to go check on Jonah. Having to hear the details of the incident from Tasha and from Elijah’s reading, he was more than a little pissed, and the only thing he could think to make him feel better was seeing Jonah and checking that he was okay.
He didn’t have to go far, Jonah was just heading for their normal meetup spot for lunch where Taron and Miguel were already waiting for him when someone stepped in front of him. Annoyed, Emmett picked up his pace, catching the tail end of the guy’s words.
“...was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me? You said you were busy before, but everyone has to eat,” the man purred.
Gods, Jonah hadn’t been lying when he said he was getting a lot of attention here. And Emmett couldn’t even argue, since he was hung up on the man as well. Something about his smile drew people in.
“Uh… I’m seeing someone,” Jonah replied uneasily.
The wannabe suitor, a vampire with weirdly slicked back hair, frowned at him. “Really? Who?”
Jonah locked eyes with Emmett just as he stepped around the vampire, putting his arm around Jonah’s shoulders. He gave the vampire the stink eye.
“He’s with me.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jonah was starting to think someone was pranking him. Why else would he get hit on this often? He’d never gotten this much attention before. Yes, he’d been raised on a farm and only ever interacted with the farmhands and his family, but still. It wasn’t like the guys he’d hooked up with in the past were beating down his door. Jonah was pretty sure he was usually the one to make the first move with them. And yet, at Spellbound, he was getting way more attention than he was used to. What was even happening?
“He’s with me.”
The way Emmett had said that, so possessive and growly, made Jonah breathless. So there was at least one supe he wanted attention from. It just happened to be the same supe who offered to be his fake boyfriend. If Emmett were actually interested, he would have truly asked him out, not just offered to play pretend, right?
The vampire, Neil, who Jonah had met before, narrowed his eyes on Emmett, leaning in closer to draw in a breath. It weirded Jonah out, and he leaned back automatically, not that Neil seemed to care.
“He doesn’t smell taken,” Neil pointed out with a smug grin.
Emmett let out a low growl, and Jonah was a little worried they’d start a fight or something, but before he could say anything, Emmett grabbed Jonah’s chin, tipping his head enough to run his tongue along his neck. Jonah squeaked, actually squeaked, in surprise, a shiver rolling down his spine and leaving him breathless.
“There. Fixed. Now go away,” Emmett growled.
Neil didn’t look convinced, crossing his arms with a scowl. “If you were actually together, he’d smell like you. Werewolves are all about marking their partners. There’s no need to lie–”
“We’re still new,” Jonah blurted out, grabbing Emmett’s hand and darting away. “We gotta go.”
Thankfully, Neil didn’t stop them, and Emmett didn’t protest walking away, letting Jonah drag him over to where their friends were waiting. His face felt like it was on fire, and it was embarrassing just how quickly he got hard from a simple lick. He was seriously considering heading outside to find a rock to crawl under so he could hide out for a few years. At that point, maybe the embarrassment would fade.
Taron cocked his head at him with a concerned frown when they joined the group. “Why are you all red? You look like you’re going to combust. Do humans do that? Should we be concerned?”
Tasha rolled her eyes at him. “You’re mated to a human. Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?”
Taron pointed at Jonah. “My mate’s never been that red before. Seriously, are you going to faint or something? Emmett, what did you do?”
Jonah jerked his head up, giving Emmett a pleading look, but Emmett just grinned. “I licked him. He’s mine now.”
