The Genius Delta novel Chapter 13

I felt terrible for Hana. Honestly, I do, but at the same time, she knows I’m not her mate, and I can’t and won’t fault Persephone for what she did. Show me a werewolf who would shrug off someone throwing themselves at their mate, especially their unmarked mate, and I’ll show you that you’re really on a movie set, and it’s just make-believe. No werewolf would be chill about that. Mila was bad enough trying to touch and flirt with me. But she didn’t push the limit of Persephone’s patience by trying to kiss me. Even if I knew Hana would kiss my cheek, Persephone didn’t.

I’m glad Logan and Aurelia didn’t get angry at Persephone. Not that I’d have expected Aurelia to, she was the first person to put Hana in her place. Plus, she’s had to put horny bitches in their place when it comes to Logan. She understands all too well that you can’t let others try to force themselves between you and your mate. And while it’s a hard lesson, it’s one Hana needs to learn.

So I might have left Persephone to the metaphoric wolves, but I know Logan won’t do anything. Even if it was his daughter she put on her ass, Persephone is his future Delta female and the sister-in-law of our ally Alec. So she’s fine, and my brain laser-focused on wanting to dig into Mila’s background more. Jaci and I both had a gut feeling about that girl, which wasn’t good.

I don’t have an official office at the packhouse. I suppose I should be sharing an office with Charles and John, or more likely, I should be sharing an office with Charles while John shares with Logan or gets his own, but that’s beside the point. I’ve never needed an office of my own. I don’t officially meet with anyone to require one. I think my office at Silvercloud HQ is a waste of lab space, but I was told I needed it for appearances.

So I went to Logan’s to use his computer and dig into Mila. It didn’t take me very long to find her request for permission to be within Bloodmoon territory for the three-month internship program. We only had three requests for this year on file. Persephone and Delilah, of course, are the other two. I’ve already looked at Persephone’s request when I was researching her.

I started scanning Mila’s file looking for anything that stood out. And then I saw it. I saw one word that made my blood freeze. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, wishing the word would disappear or change to anything else. But there it was, staring at me, and it was probably my imagination, but I think it was laughing. The word in a p*f on a computer is laughing at me.

I quickly jumped up from the chair, my heart beating irregularly as I glanced at the computer and that word taunting me. Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps I remembered things wrong. I know I’m not. I wouldn’t forget that word, EVER. But I needed confirmation. And suddenly, feeling more like the scared boy I was when I first came to Bloodmoon than a grown-ass man who’s now the Delta of the pack, I rushed to the office’s doorway.

“LOGAN! Get in here!” I shouted, needing him to calm me down.

Shit, I haven’t needed Logan like this since I was eight, and the nightmares that plagued me of the massacre of my birth pack finally stopped. I haven’t had a nightmare, at least of the massacre. It took two years of therapy with Charles and a sleep device I invented to work through my nightmares and turn them into something else. But right now, I feel like I’m in a waking nightmare.

“Silvercloud? What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Logan frowned as he entered the office, Persephone right on his heels.

She doesn’t know me even a fraction as well as Logan, but even she seems to know something is wrong. There’s worry in her green eyes, and it’s like she’s resting the urge to hug me. If that word is on that file, I will need many hugs.

“I need you to look at the file and tell me if I’m seeing things.” I pointed to the laptop.

“Um… okay. I can’t imagine what would be in a file to make you this out of sorts.” Logan frowned as he patted my arm to walk around me.

“Jonathan?” Persephone asked, her voice soft and laced with concern as she stepped closer and took my hand. “What’s going on?”

“I…I want to be wrong.” I shook my head. “Tell me I’m wrong, Logan. Say I’m overworked and losing my mind and should see an optometrist or schedule a session with Charles to get my head shrunk.” I pleaded as I looked at my Alpha, brother, and quasi-father figure.

Logan frowned as he looked at the p*f. I don’t know if that frown is because he sees what I saw or that he’s still a slow reader. I should have highlighted the word, but I didn’t want to because somehow that could make it real. His frown turned into a scowl and a low growl. Shit, shit, shit. That means I didn’t see things.

“Want to clue a girl in? What’s going on? What does the file on Mila say?” Persephone asked.

“Demonclaw,” Logan growled the vile word.

I shuddered involuntarily as he saw the word. I haven’t heard that name since I was a kid. The mention of it essentially became taboo. I’m sure some people may have still said it, whispered it, but always away from me.

“Um, hello. Not from here. Who or what is Demonclaw? And why is everyone losing their shit?” Persephone asked.

Logan looked at me with rare sympathy in his eyes as he sighed.

‘Do you want me to tell her? That way, you don’t have to.’ Logan offered through the link.

It was a nice gesture. Logan knows that talking about it hurts me, like someone wanting Kurt to discuss Seigfried. Under any other circumstances, I’d have let Logan explain, but Persephone isn’t just anyone, she’s mine, and it would be cowardly for me to let my Alpha explain my life story.

“I told you that my parents died when I was young. About how my pack was massacred.” I sighed, instinctively squeezing her hand.

“Yes. So was Demonclaw your birth pack or the ones that attacked?” Persephone asked, squeezing my hand back, leveraging the bond to try and offer me an anchor.

“They…they are the ones that attacked my back,” I confirmed.