“Well, damn. How long has it been going on?”
“Six weeks, give or take,” the bored guy shrugged.
Which probably meant they were only halfway through the process and splitting them up would lead to major issues. That human movie, Godzilla, was probably just a rampaging lizardfolk in the middle of its mating. Emmett had watched it with his cousins. It was hilarious then, but now he had to wonder…
The rest of the security staff filed in one by one. Ten in total, including the two being chastised. They all sat at cubicles or leaned against walls, socializing while they waited for their supervisor, who they likely assumed had called the meeting. Emmett didn’t bother correcting them. He just waited, taking them all in. They were a diverse bunch, and they looked at least physically ready to handle the job. They just needed some guidance, that was all. He preferred to remain optimistic until proven otherwise.
Zed’s door finally opened, and a lizardfolk and a blushing human both scurried out, heads ducked. They smelled similar, which was probably the whole reason for the rendezvous. Mated supes were naturally possessive, and he knew of a few species that needed their mates to smell like them in order to be able to focus. Werewolves were one of them, so he understood theurge. Still, they could’ve taken a long lunch and gone to a hotel or something. Technically they were supposed to do that stuff at home. In the restroom where anyone could walk in on them was not only stupid, it was potentially dangerous. Possessive mates weren’t what he’d consider stable. Rocco might have lashed out or hurt Jonah if he’d walked in on them.
The thought had a low growl rumbling in his throat. The human was already terrified. Being subject to that on his first day while he was still figuring things out would’ve been messed up.
Turning to face the group, Emmett summoned his patience and spoke, his voice just on the edge of gruff. “Hey, everyone. My name is Emmett Moonfall. I’m with the Moonfall Security team, and I’m here under the orders of Alistair Silverbreeze. There’s going to be a change in how things work from here on out.” He shot a pointed look at the couple who both ducked their heads again. “But first, we’re going to start with the basics. I need everyone’s names and where they were pulled from to attend this meeting.”
If they were needed somewhere specific, he wanted to make note of that before scheduling rotations and the like. As they went through each member of staff, Emmett thought about Jonah. No one should have to feel unsafe at work, especially around security. Had Jonah walked in on the couple in the bathroom, he would’ve never trusted security again thanks to the uniforms the guys were wearing. Mating or not, he needed them to act better. He didn't want anyone in the building afraid of approaching security.
Especially not the poor human who had barely managed to summon enough courage to walk into the building that morning. Emmett had seen him standing just out of the way of the influx of people, pale as a sheet and uncertain. He’d been on the wayto introduce himself and figure out what was wrong when Jonah had run into him.
He promised Jonah he was safe here. Emmett was going to make sure of that.
CHAPTER FIVE
After spending most of the morning deep cleaning the server room, which seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned in years, Jonah was starting to feel a little better. He’d had two visitors while cleaning, and he’d only jumped the one time. He gave himself a little grace for that one since the guy who’d come to check on him seemed to move almost silently. He looked human enough, and Jonah couldn’t automatically figure out what he was, but something about him made Jonah think not quite human. Maybe it was the eyes. Yellow eyes were strange.
The other visitor had been Wendell making sure he was doing okay and then asking him to start organizing the storage room once he was finished since it took way too long for Jonah to find the power supply that morning. Another task Jonah was happy to do since it was quiet and he could do it on his own without freaking out and embarrassing himself.
He had only just started in the storage room when Kian came back, gliding into the room with a self-satisfied expression that Jonah chose not to question. He was still a little unsure about the fae. He seemed nice enough, but people also avoided him like the plague, which was… unnerving.
“Alright, newbie, time for lunch,” Kian said in greeting.
Jonah stood from where he’d been digging through a box of wires, trying to see if there was a general theme to them or if he’d have to dump them all out and sort them. He took in Kian’s appearance, frowning at how disheveled the fae looked compared to when Jonah had seen him that morning. He’d had his hair pulled into a smooth low ponytail and his clothes had been immaculate. Now, wisps of hair were escaping the band, and it looked like someone had been jerking him around by his clothes. He was also flushed. From anger? Or was Jonah missing something? Was it rude to ask?
Kian noticed his scrutiny and frowned at him. “What?”
He wasn’t sure if he was overstepping boundaries, so he shook his head, figuring he’d ask Emmett once he had a minute. “Nothing. Uh, I didn’t bring any lunch, and I can’t really afford it, so I’ll just keep working.”
Kian waved that away. “There’s a cafeteria downstairs. Free for all staff, including temps.”
Well, that was nice of the company. He didn’t think businesses actually did that. His parents didn’t feed their staff, and there weren’t nearly as many as Spellbound had.
“Oh, uh, sure. That sounds good.” He looked around the room, his brows knitting together. “Do I need to lock up?” He couldn’t remember if the door had been locked that morning when he’d first been let in here.
“We’ll take the elevator so we can swing by Wendell’s office and let him know. If he wants to lock up, he can do it himself,” Kian said, leading the way out of the room. Following behind him, Jonah closed the door just in case. He figured it’d be better to be locked out and need someone to let him back in than leave it open and potentially cause issues.
They made their way down the long hallway, past the bathrooms that had apparently been occupied earlier that morning. It’d stunned Jonah silly to see half-dressed andpanicked security guards as they ran past him. It looked a lot like when Jonah and one of his first boyfriends were almost caught hooking up in the barn. They’d both had to run while pulling up their pants to stay out of Jonah’s dad’s sight. Jonah would’ve gotten yelled at, but he was pretty sure Marco would’ve been fired. They were both teenagers, and Marco needed the job to help his family. Jonah didn’t want to have him get into trouble just because they were horny little shits.
He made a mental note to listen before entering the bathrooms so he didn’t walk in on anything, pausing behind Kian as he ducked his head into Wendell’s office. While he was busy, Jonah fished out his phone to text Emmett.
Jonah:Is it rude to ask a fae why they look disheveled? Should I mind my own business?
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:Need more context.
Jonah:Kian showed up to bring me to lunch, and he looks like he got into a fight.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:Send me a pic.
That felt weird, but he noticed again how the neck of Kian’s shirt looked a little stretched out, so he discreetly sent a picture anyway. When he got a string of laughing emojis back, he assumed he was wrong about the fight thing.
Jonah:What?
