Page 55 of Grave Beginnings

We got halfway down the street before my stomach grumbled like a beast awakening from a millennia-long slumber.

I snorted out a laugh. “Sorry. Guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”

Angel dug out a donut and held it to my lips. I took a bite without thinking, the scent of sugar and vanilla overwhelming. The cream filled my mouth and squirted messily around Angel’s hand.

“Sorry,” I laughed, and chewed. I licked the cream from around the donut, sticking close to his side, and grabbed his wrist to keep him from pulling the donut away. But Angel slid his thumb along my mouth, catching a bit of stray cream. I took thedonut from him and he sucked on his thumb, while I couldn’t help but watch and wish it were another part of my anatomy he sucked on.

“Want a bite?” I asked, holding it out to him.

He paused, and I did too, waiting for an answer, donut an inch from his lips. Despite standing in the gloom across the Veil’s empty street, being close to him felt safe. He leaned in and took a bite of the donut, tongue sliding out to lick up the extra cream. He left that last bite for me, and I stuffed it in my mouth, sad that it was gone, but knowing there were more in the bag. I licked the sugar off my fingers.

“Will you survive until we get back upstairs?” Angel teased, licking cream off his hand and rebalancing the bags.

My jeans tightened as I stared at him, and I took a step back. “I’m good. Promise,” I offered, jolting ahead toward the SED building. “Coming?” I asked when he didn’t immediately follow.

He stared at me a minute longer before reaching my side and walking with me.

18

We walkedthrough the lobby to the elevator in silence, and I pushed the button. The door opened with abingthat made me jump, but I got in, surprised to see two other unknown people inside, both with variant bands. I made my way to the back opposite corner, immediately missing the warming touch of his magic. Angel took his place in the elevator in front of me.

The two moved back as soon as Angel entered, as if they didn’t want to be close to him. I could feel their eyes on me, and my heart hammered as I glanced towards them. They looked away, jaws tight, the entire situation intense, as if they weren’t happy to be in the elevator with us. Was this what Angel meant about no one liking SVs, or was this related to shifters? Neither of them had the orange band I’d begun to associate with shifters, nor were they red. What did blue and green mean? Some kind of mental powers? Could they read my thoughts?

Fuck. And, of course, all I could think about was the fact that Angel stood in front of me, a six-foot wall of beautiful man with wide shoulders, a defined ass encased in a snug pair of dark jeans, and his hair pulled back into a ponytail.

I took a step back, as though to put distance between me and the unknown duo in the elevator, pressing myself to the back wall and trying to be small. There were two ways to live life when the world slapped a target on your back. Become loud and annoying, scaring people away, or shrink yourself to avoid notice. I was actually an expert in both, depending on the situation, but being new to the SED, I went with hiding until I could better find my place in this crazy world of supernatural mixing with the mundane.

Angel glanced back, then over, took a step between the duo and me, and another half step back, as if to hide me from their view. I sucked in a calming breath as his presence slipped back around me. Like gentle waves on an ocean, his energy meshed with mine. I leaned forward to rest my forehead on Angel’s back, taking in his strength and breathing through my anxiety. He shifted both bags to one hand and slid his free hand behind his back to hold out his palm. I slipped my fingers into his, squeezing lightly as the elevator reached the floor below ours and opened.

The other two rushed out, neither saying anything, but the tension was heavy as they fled. Angel waited until the door closed and we lifted to our floor before moving at all. He tugged me out, toward our office.

“Friendly bunch,” I muttered.

“It’s not you. You’ll find very few non-shifter variants who like shifters,” Angel said. He didn’t look at me when he said it. “As you experienced with Merrill this morning, the fact that you’re not uncomfortable with shifters will make you an outcast among the others.”

“I don’t need those kinds of people. Is that how you thought I’d be?”

He shrugged. His irritation at our first meeting made sense.

“But we all work on mixed teams, right?”

“Yes.”

Our bullpen buzzed with energy. Kerry and Victor were on theopposite side of the pen from our office with a handful of other NHVs I didn’t know. Wade, Bobby, and Ezra were in the center, flipping through folders spread out across a wide, flat table. Angel pointed out Tiana in another office, on the phone. He walked by them all, waving, and murmuring names. I followed, giving everyone a polite ‘good afternoon,’ though no one met my gaze, rather, offering nods of acknowledgement as they kept working.

If anyone understood how hard it was to work in a place where everyone looked at you like you were somehow part of the problem instead of a coworker, it was me. Joe had betrayed my trust when I’d given him years of proving I had his back. He’d failed me. Like so many others in my life. I could only imagine how terrible Angel had it.

His team included shifters and NHVs. Then, they’d dropped me on his team; some weird, newbie SV that had no clue how his power worked. No wonder he’d hated the idea when I’d first arrived. Was there a way to fix it? To be friends—if we couldn’t be anything else? I dropped my bag on my desk as Angel headed toward his.

I caught him, wrapping my arms around him as we entered our office. The backward hug was awkward, but I couldn’t help squeezing him. He froze, as if surprised that I’d willingly touch him.

“I’m sorry people are shitty to you,” I said. “And I’m sorry if my presence makes that worse. I know you didn’t ask for me to be on your team, but I’m glad I am, and hope I can be an asset.”

Angel glanced back. “You don’t care that I’m a shifter?”

“Why would I?”

“Is that because you think I’m hot?” he teased.