The Genius Delta novel Chapter 11

When we stepped out of the elevator, I’d been excited to leave and spend time with Persephone far from the office. But, of course, that was impeded by Shikoba. The other staff that saw her snag me by the collar probably assumed I was in trouble for something. While no one in the building but Shikoba and now Persephone knows who I am, they all know that Shikoba is the eyes and ears of the mysterious Silvercloud.

“Want to tell me what’s going on with the intern?” Shikoba signed as she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Not really.” I shrugged and signed back to keep our conversation private.

Usually, if she is dealing with someone, it’s done through a text-to-speech device I designed for her. I’m working on a side project at the moment, which, if Shikoba is down, would involve an implant in her brain that would instead take her thoughts, and the computer would speak them, eliminating her from even having to type. It will be groundbreaking once I get it perfected.

“Right, because you randomly make out with women in your lab.” Shikoba rolled her eyes before looking at Persephone. “Does she know your secret? Can she be trusted?”

“Okay, so I don’t randomly make out with anyone,” I tell Shikoba many things, but the one thing she’s not allowed to know is that I’m a werewolf. “And yes, she knows who I am, and I trust her. It’s tough to explain.” I sighed.

“Try to explain it.” Shikoba was giving me a serious all-business look. “If you can try to explain string theory to me, you can explain to me why the intern you asked to have assigned to you knows your secret and was playing tonsil hockey with you.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “It’s a cultural thing. Sort of like how Logan ended up with Aurelia and John with Sarael. Persephone is my person.” I tried to explain, hoping she would leave it at that.

“Great, so some weird cult leader arranged this.” Shikoba rolled her eyes.

“It’s not a cult.” I shook my head.

“It is till you tell me what the real reason is.” Shikoba countered. “But I’ll drop it for now. Just make sure you two keep your relationship private. I don’t need to deal with an HR uproar over an intern sleeping with her mentor.”

“We will keep it professional in the office. And oh fuck. I need to go rescue Persephone.” I groaned as I noticed Mila.

“Pull everything you can about the new intern named Mila. I don’t like her and don’t trust her. She’s an HR problem waiting to happen, and if she touches me again, Persephone might kill her.” I added, not waiting for Shikoba’s reply before hurrying over to intervene before blood was shed.

The more Mila spoke, the more I didn’t trust her. Shikoba will pull what records she can find. I’m going to do some research of my own as well. Logan had to sign off on her being in the territory so we would have more information on her back home. At least I got her off my back and away from my mate. I don’t want Persephone in a bad mood. I want her to be in a good mood, and based on her shocked smile, she was in a better mood.

“You… you have an Aston Martin DB5.” Persephone gasped, eyes wide as she took a step closer to my car. “I’ve never seen one outside the Bond movies my papa, and I would watch.” Her voice was soft, filled with nostalgia and the pain at knowing her dad was gone.

“He would have lost his mind to see this car.” She smiled sadly, running her fingers across the hood.

We’re both orphans, but it feels different for us. I barely remember my parents, so I don’t have this ache and nostalgia about them. She was a teenager when she lost hers, so that hurts deeper. I stepped closer and put my hand on her back.

“Then he’d have lost it if he realized it’s got more gadgets than any Bond vehicle.” I grinned.

She spun around to look up at me, those green eyes full of wonder and curiosity. Shit, we are like peas in a pod. If John thought my office needed more insurance, he would have to tell Logan the pack needs it because Persephone will be our new Delta female.

“Can I drive?” She asked eagerly.

“As hard as saying no to you should be… no.” I shook my head and laughed as she frowned.

“Maybe another time when you’re familiar with the area. While the onboard computer can navigate you to Mount Hood, I’d rather not on your first day.” I added so she didn’t think it was a hard no but more a not this time.

“Fine. That’s at least a maybe. Alec, Katrina, and André are all touchy about their sweet rides back home, which is ridiculous. I’m a far better driver than Katrina and Chesed. And okay, I drive more aggressively than Alec and André, but still.” Persephone huffed.

I chuckled, glad that the mood had changed from the growing melancholy of memories of her dad. “I’ve never had to ride in a car with them. Interestingly, Alec’s wolf has driven a vehicle while controlling the human form. I don’t think I know anyone else whose wolf has had that level of control before.” I commented as I unlocked the car and opened her door.

“Thankfully, Chesed has spent less time in control since Crista entered Alec’s life. She put him in his place.” Persephone shrugged as she climbed in. “Not sure you’re one to talk. While your eyes don’t go full amber, some of your wolf’s eye color swirls in your own.”

“Oh… yeah..” I bashfully rubbed the back of my neck as I went around to the driver’s side. “Jaci and I are kind of unique. John says it’s because of my shaman heritage. My connection with Jaci is less divided than most werewolves. Our spirits are more entwined, I guess.”

“Huh… that’s pretty cool. Almost as cool as this car….” She grinned as she ran her hand across the dash. She gasped as the dash opened to show various buttons and as I started the car, the inside of the windshield lit up with displays associated with the controls.

“Whoa… you were serious about this being tricked out more than a Bond car.” She whistled as she reached to touch a button. I quickly stopped her, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Disable all combat programs,” I commanded.

“Combat programs disabled.” The computer confirmed, and several of the icons went dark.