Page 12 of The Shapeshifter’s Secretary (Charmed Away Temp Agency #3)
CHAPTER TWELVE
Zephyr was not nervous. No matter what anyone said. This project was important for his people, and he had the time and the faculties to volunteer to get it off the ground. That was it. He was not nervous about running into his ex-best friend and his first love, who he knew owned half the company that was running the project. It was unlikely Taron would show up anyway. He had his own fancy friends and a company to run.
Oh, who was he kidding? The project was interesting. A perfect combination of useful and dangerous. He’d be surprised if Taron didn’t show up. He’d always been a little reckless.
It was him and two others who volunteered for this project. One he was familiar with, since the younger man grew up in his convocation, but the other was visiting from another realm to help this project along. Having limitations on where they could fly was hard on their animals. And by allowing them closer to cities, thousands of jobs would open up. Most thunderbirds wouldn’t even consider working in the cities because it took too long to get far enough away to shift, and made them feel trapped in their own skin because of it. It was something Zephyr had experienced a long time ago before he too decided to steer clear of the city. Though that was only half the reason.
“Good morning everyone!” a female researcher called out, putting her hand up to draw everyone’s attention. “I want to thank everyone for being here. My name is Vilyra Montero. I am the head researcher for this project. Our head engineer is Mr. Washburne. And the head of security is Bishop Lupo. We’ll have one more joining us from the head office, but he’s running a little behind this morning and sent me a message to start without him.”
She kept going, talking about the goals they had by week and the precautions they had set out to prevent any damage to the nearby buildings. Zephyr already read through the paperwork, so he tuned her out, scanning the small crowd of scientists and security personnel. What were the chances that the person who was late was Taron? And what would his response be if it were?
His relationship with his childhood best friend ended… poorly. Their strong personalities, while meshing well in their youths, ultimately became the relationship’s demise. They were too stubborn. Too different. And when they stupidly added sex to the mix, it only made things more complicated. It ended in a screaming match where they both said things they regretted and parted ways without looking back.
Since then, their interactions were limited and what little they did interact was always fraught with tension. They went from friends to lovers to rivals, where Zephyr’s electronics company fought for dominance against Taron’s, much like they had in their relationship. He didn’t often meet with Taron himself in those dealings, their tech company was headed by an impassive vampire with a superiority complex, but every once in a while, Taron would join in on the conversation just to stir up trouble.
Little shit.
His chest tightened just thinking about him and he had to shake off the ache he’d long since learned to ignore.
The head researcher finished up her speech and separated everyone into smaller groups. Each volunteer needed to do a few tests to see their output levels so they could adjust accordingly. Zephyr was the oldest and had the most ability to temper himself if he needed to. He couldn’t outright turn it off, no thunderbird could, but he got pretty close. That kind of control would be useful for both ends of the experiment, since he could also increase his output by significantly more than the other two. With age came power for thunderbirds, and he had at least two hundred years on the one who came after him. The youngest was only eighteen, but his participation was important too, because they needed to prepare for a complete lack of control.
“Mr. Cloudwalker,” a young gargoyle landed beside him, offering him a smile. “I’m Iza. I’ll be assisting Vilyra. She’s asked me to do your assessment, since you are the oldest. Do you mind?”
She was obviously younger than the rest of the scientists, probably a fresh graduate learning her trade. If he had to guess, they sent her to him because they assumed he’d have the most patience. They assumed correctly. He dipped his chin to acknowledge her.
“Go ahead.”
Her smile brightened considerably. She’d probably prepared for a rejection and didn’t want to get her hopes up. She guided Zephyr with a bounce in her step over to a magic circle near the middle of the lot. The circle was large enough for him to shift, warded for now to protect the staff while these tests were being done. He studied the spells before stepping in, having learned young to never foolishly step into a spell circle without reading the fine print. This one was fine, mostly monitoring spells and wards. Only one spot was left empty, and Iza was quick to add his name in the empty spot so the results would be tied only to him.
“Okay, first we will test your human form, just for a baseline. We don’t want to assume every thunderbird can control their magic in every form.”
Smart. Powerful emotions could cause outbursts of magic, even in human form. The few thunderbirds who did live in or around the cities had to carry grounding staves in case of emotional upheaval. It didn't remove the chance for damage, but it did minimize it.
Taking a deep breath, he followed her instructions. He felt the magic on his skin, which made him want to shake it off, but she was polite about it and only used enough to get the information she needed. She was almost through when a familiar voice caught his attention. His head snapped around as Taron entered the open area where they were conducting the experiments. Long dormant emotions swelled, leaving him a little breathless. Taron didn’t see him, his attention on the head researcher, but it gave Zephyr a chance to take the man in.
He’d changed since they last saw each other. That was normal for shapeshifters. He was taller, his skin darker and his hair softer. Normally, there would be a piece of him that looked odd, Taron liked to play with his form when he could get away with it, but this time Zephyr couldn’t find it. Either he was learning to settle in his skin more or the change was under his clothes. Zephyr would bet good money it was in his pants. The idiot always thought he could embarrass him by making his dick bigger. Unless he was going to whip it out here and now, it wouldn’t work.
“Woah. What just happened?” Iza said, startled.
Zephyr pulled his attention back to her and the security personnel next to her. They both looked confused, frowning at her tablet. “What is it?”
“Oh, uh, the readings went wonky for a second. Your output picked up. It’s probably nothing, it was only for a second. I’ll check with Vilyra for just a moment. Hold on.”
She scurried away, and it took Zephyr a second to realize what had changed. The output had gone up because he’d been looking at Taron. Great. That would be fun to explain. He couldn’t chase after her without leaving the monitoring circle, and he wasn’t sure what that would do to the results, so he had to wait to explain. While she conferred with her boss, his gaze skipped back over to his rival. Taron still hadn’t noticed him. He was instead hovering around another man. A momentary tick of irritation flashed through him, but when Taron stepped out of the way and he saw who he was fussing over, he paused.
The man, human by the look of him, was wide-eyed and curious as he looked around. His big brown eyes trailed over the space before eventually landing on Zephyr. It was only for a second, he got distracted before they could exchange any meaningful glances, but for that moment, Zephyr’s heart skipped a beat. Oh. He was a handsome one, wasn’t he?
The human’s gaze shifted back to Taron and something like amusement flashed over his face before he nodded and followed him away. That’s when Zephyr noticed the injury. He leaned heavily on a cane, favoring his right side, and his steps were hitched like it hurt to put pressure on the right leg. Now that he was looking, he saw slight scarring on his cheek and neck too, almost like a burn. What happened to him?
“Mr. Cloudwalker?” Iza got his attention again, giving him a tentative smile. “I’m sorry. We don’t know what happened, but I promise it won’t affect the results. I–”
“It’s not you. I saw someone from my past and reacted. I apologize. I will refrain from letting that interfere in the future.”
Her eyes widened in understanding. “Oh! That was an emotional response! Okay, that’s understandable then. I’ll mark it as an upper threshold for this form then. You never gave off any electricity, it was just a small uptick, but it’s important to be thorough.”
He dipped his chin once, determined not to let his emotions get the better of him again. He was here for a purpose. He would not let Taron ruin this for his people.
They finished up the monitoring in his human form before the others did. Iza was just discussing what to do once shifted when Zephyr noticed the human again. He was seated against the wall of the nearby building in a plastic chair. He had a notepad in his lap and he was listening to Taron talk to the head researcher again and taking notes. Assistant maybe? His positioning was all well and good, and he was well out of the way of danger, but the cane propped against the side of his chair made Zephyr frown. What were the chances that it was metallic?
“Excuse me. Do you mind if I go check something before we begin?”
Iza paused in her speech, looking up at him curiously. “Oh, sure. You’re free to come and go from the circle. The monitoring pauses when you’re not inside it.”
Good. He’d leave it anyway, but he was glad he didn’t feel guilty about it. Leaving the monitoring circle, he strode across the gravel to where the human sat. Taron was close, but not too close, his back to them both, so Zephyr was confident he could speak to the man without drawing the attention of the resident brat.
“Excuse me.”
The human looked up, chocolate brown eyes widening in surprise when he noticed who was speaking with him. He moved to stand, gripping the arms of his chair, but Zephyr put a hand out to stop him.
“No, don’t get up. I don’t want to disturb you. I was just curious, what is that made out of?” He pointed to the cane that the man had reached for when trying to get up. The human settled in his chair again, frowning at the object in question.
“Uh… I’m not sure. I never asked.”
Putting his hand out, Zephyr asked, “Do you mind?”
The human didn’t even hesitate to hand it over with a shrug. Trusting man, wasn’t he? Taking a step back, Zephyr let his magic swell and was unsurprised when it zipped along the surface of the cane before snapping to the ground. The human’s eyes widened so much that Zephyr could see the whites around his pupils, his jaw hanging open in surprise.
“I thought as much. Metals are conductive. The wards will do their job to block most of our magic, but it’s not one hundred percent perfect, and if there’s something metal around, it could draw power in your direction. Do you mind if we store it while we’re experimenting? I promise to give it back once it’s safe to do so.”
“Oh, sure. Sorry, I didn’t realize–”
“Tony? What’s wrong?” Taron came out of nowhere, jogging over to them. His focus was on the human, and he barely glanced in Zephyr’s direction, but he did a doubletake once he realized who stood nearby and straightened abruptly.
“Zephyr,” he breathed, open conflict on his face. To be professional or not. Which way would he go?
Taron’s gaze dropped to the cane, and his expression darkened. “What are you doing? Give that back.”
Unprofessional it is, then.
Zephyr yanked the cane away before Taron could snatch it, raising an eyebrow at him. Of course, Taron could never back down from a challenge. He swelled, matching Zephyr’s general size, and tried again, growling when Zephyr kept the cane just out of reach.
“Give it back, you cretin! Why the hell are you bothering him? He hasn’t done anything to you!”
How would he know? Taron didn’t even ask before he attacked him. Putting his hand on Taron’s face, he pushed him away, holding him at arm’s length with a shit-eating grin on his face. All these years later, the little shit still didn’t know how to gain the upper hand.
“T-Taron! He didn’t do anything! Calm down!” the human protested. He pushed to his feet, but the plastic chair wasn’t strong enough to bear his weight on the arms. Zephyr saw it bend wrong, sending the poor man to his knees. He let out a sharp cry, dropping to his hands to bear more of his weight. Taron immediately whirled around, rushing to the human’s side.
“Tony! Goddess, are you alright?”
Guilt ate at Zephyr’s gut. He was the one who’d taken away the man’s cane, which he’d have used to stand if he had it available. He’d only done it for the man’s safety, but he obviously caused him pain.
Determined to right his mistake, he nudged Taron out of the way and carefully scooped the man off the ground. He was wide for a human, mostly in his upper body, but he was lighter than he looked. He whimpered as Zephyr moved him, but he was in too much pain to argue.
“Zephyr! What are you doing? Put him down!”