Chapter 6 - Persephone

What the hell is wrong with me? I am not the jealous type. If I were ever going to be jealous, I would’ve been jealous of Crista growing up. She was the firstborn and, therefore, the Beta heir. She was the one with a white wolf making her special before we knew just how special. But I never was, so there is no reason I should suddenly be the jealous type just because I met my mate.

‘That fucking bitch was flirting with him and touching him on purpose. She’s a werewolf too. She knows he’s not her mate but still flirted with him.’ Sara growled.

‘She must have sensed the chemistry and tension between you and Jonny. She’s a fucking bitch, and we should claw her damn eyes out.’ Sara snorted.

‘We can’t do that, and you know it. We are at work.’ I reminded my wolf.

Something tells me getting into a fight wouldn’t just risk my potential future working for Silvercloud, but it would put Jonathan in the middle. I’d feel terrible if my being possessive cost him his job. Sure, he has his position in his pack, but I’m sure he enjoys working here. Who wouldn’t if they love tech even half as much as I’ve been told Jonathan does?

‘We can’t risk our future with the company or Jonathan’s job.’ I pointed out.

That seemed to work as she huffed and went back to lie down, which let me focus on the conversation and try to explain away these unnecessary and unwanted feelings of jealousy. Not that Jonathan laughing at me made me feel any better. I knew I was giving lame excuses and still sounded jealous, but he didn’t have to laugh at me.

I wanted to be mad at him for laughing, but he had to go and be all sweet. It shouldn’t work. I’m not the girl who melts for a few sweet words. I gag during scenes like this in movies or books. Yet here I am, melting because he told me he’s never had a girlfriend because he was waiting for his mate. Maybe it’s not the words making me into some swoony girl and the mate bond.

Yes, that’s the problem here. Jonathan was touching me, and the mate bond sent sparks all through me. Every cell in my body was buzzing, wanting more of his touch. And then he went and kissed me. I don’t want to ask if this is his first kiss. Just because he hasn’t had a girlfriend doesn’t mean he hasn’t kissed someone before. And I’m not so close-minded that I would be pissed at him if he had.

I’ve never kissed someone, but that’s more to do with a combination of being a tomboy most of my life and then these last few years living in Incubi being the sister-in-law of their Alpha. Delilah and I were labeled off-limits due to our family ties to Alec. Not that I’m going to complain. There wasn’t anyone in any of the Sicilian packs I’d want to kiss. Plus, even if I had kissed someone before, it would pale compared to Jonathan’s lips and how his beard felt against my skin as our lips moved in sync.

I moaned, instinctively wrapping my arms around his neck, wanting more. Thankfully he got the hint as his arms pulled me closer, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping past my lips to mingle with mine. He growled into the kiss as one of his hands reached down to squeeze my ass. I squeaked in surprise, but it quickly became a moan as his tongue swirled around mine.

I’m pretty sure we would have just kept making out in his lap if his pocket hadn’t started buzzing like crazy. With a groan of frustration, he pulled back, licking his lips as more amber swirled in his brown eyes. At least I’m not the only one affected by the mate bond and general attraction.

“I… I should answer this.” Jonathan let out a controlled breath.

“Right. For all you know, it’s Kinsley business.” I nodded.

I didn’t want to say pack or Bloodmoon in case someone would poke their head in or this room was monitored. No need to give away our secret of being werewolves. But I blushed and turned pale as the last part of my thought hit me like a ton of bricks. The labs would be monitored in a company as high-tech as Silvercloud. They wouldn’t want someone to steal company secrets or risk an accident.

This means whoever monitors the security footage probably just saw us making out. Oh, cazzo! This is not how I wanted to start my internship. This is a HUGE HR issue. If it gets out that Jonathan and I are together, I’ll probably get reassigned to a different mentor or, worse, released from the program. I’m sure I violated some policies I agreed to during orientation.

“Crap…” Jonathan groaned as he pocketed his phone.

“Everything okay?” I hesitantly asked.

“Yeah… just got warned about interoffice relationships and that while the company can’t control relationships, it is encouraged to keep intimacy beyond the occasional hand-holding outside the building.” He sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face.

“Cazzo. So, I was right. They do have security cameras in all the labs.” I sighed, feeling even more embarrassed now that it was confirmed.

I glanced around the room, and sure enough, I found the glowing red light from a corner of the lab. Why didn’t I think to look for a camera? Why didn’t he? Right mate bond. It tends to trump rational thought. Is this going to mean I’m on a warning? Is my internship in danger?

“Hey… Persephone.” Jonathan sighed, holding my hand. “It’s okay. Stop freaking out. You aren’t saying anything but the look on your face, especially in your eyes. It’s like you’ve got a million thoughts happening all at once.”

“How can it be okay?” I asked. “This is my first day at my dream job, and I’m already blowing it. I’m probably on some warning that I don’t know about yet. HR will most likely be requesting to see me.” I shook my head, taking my hand from his as I started to pace.

“It was so stupid of me to let this happen. I always said I would never let love interfere with what I wanted most. My work would never take a backseat because I found my one.” I frowned and turned to look at him, realizing what I said may come off as dismissive of him.

“That sounds bad. And I don’t mean it as a slight against you. It’s just that I saw how the mate bond affected my sister. I mean, it wasn’t instant, but it felt like it. She went from my strong big sister to a horny bitch more interested in fucking than anything serious.” I sighed.

“It’s okay. I didn’t take offense. Trust me. I totally get it. Last of my… friends to find love. I was a kid when I watched Charles fall for Sybille. Then I watched, with popcorn, as Logan and then John fell. I’ve always watched my best friends like Kurt falling in love.” Jonathan shrugged, like me, not mentioning being a werewolf and his pack.

“I was like you. I always said finding love wouldn’t change my priorities.” He sighed.

“And now that you’ve found me?” I arched my eyebrow.

“I’m not sure. We are too smart and rational to let it interfere with getting our jobs done. You’ve made it clear that working here is important to you. And I live and breathe inventing, so my work here is as important and part of me as my wolf.” He explained.

“So I think we can manage to control ourselves.” He smiled. “Not like we won’t see much of each other outside of the office.”

“That’s true. You are supposed to be my ride to and from work from now on.” I nodded. “But what about the text you got? Won’t I get in trouble with HR too?”

“Don’t worry about it. It was a warning from someone I know. It was a heads-up. They’ll make sure the footage is squashed.” he assured me.

“Seriously? Are they part of… your friends?” I ached my eyebrow, silently asking if the person who warned him and was going to handle the security footage was part of Bloodmoon

“They are a friend, but not in the way Logan and John are my friends. But don’t worry, it’s handled.” He assured me. “So how about we try to work to distract ourselves from what we really want to do.”

“And what do we really want to do?” I teased.

“You’ll have to wait till after work to find out.” He winked as he directed me to the only area in the lab that seemed to be clean and somewhat organized.

“This will be your workstation. I tried to clean it up before you arrived, but I got here a bit later than planned. I fell asleep in my personal lab and found I had made something in my sleep, so I had to test it and see what it was. Thankfully it wasn’t an explosive.” He chuckled.

“I’ve heard that story. You invented something when you were younger, and Kurt pushed a button on it and ended up blowing part of the building.” I laughed as I jumped on the stool to look at what he had at the workstation for me.

“Yep. And we will never be allowed to live it down. I’m sure John and Logan will lord that over our heads to their dying day. May that be many years away.” He sighed. “Now, back to work.” He pulled out a blueprint.

“This is what I’ve been working on recently. It’s a bot that will be used in dangerous medical conditions. Like if there is a highly contagious disease. These bots, once functioning properly, will be able to care for those afflicted without putting the regular doctors and nurses at risk of catching the disease.” He explained, leaning close behind me, one arm around me, so his body basically trapped me.

I bit my bottom lip as I reminded myself I needed to focus and not let myself sink into his warmth and smell. The assignment he’s working on would be life-changing for so many people. I didn’t realize Silvercloud did things like this. I’m only familiar with the tech that is sold in stores.

“Wow, that sounds amazing.” I smiled as I thought of how this medical bot could help the world. “It could also be used to bring medical care to areas lacking medical staff either due to economic reasons or because they are so remote few people are willing to go to them.”

“Exactly. So I want you to look at this draft blueprint and start thinking of ways to make it possible and if there are improvements to be made. I’m going to be working on the medical coding program.” He smiled.

“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed, turning my head to look at him, and found my breath caught in my throat at how close our faces were.

The urge to close distance and kiss him was so powerful. Sara was all for it. And based on the amount of amber in his eyes, his wolf agreed. But he managed to step away. Probably for the best. We did say we wouldn’t give into temptation at work.