Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Rule Number 2 of being a feeder: honesty is key.

Okay, so technically, Avery didn’t sign up for the job. There was nothing wrong with it. Being a feeder was like any other job. Waiter, mailman, feeder. You apply online, go in for an interview, and do a drug test to see if you’re clear headed when signing the paperwork. Lots of Supes needed sustenance and, if you were willing to feed them, they generally paid pretty well.

It’s not what Avery signed up for, though.

He’d been working for a temp agency for the past two years. The pay wasn’t great, and the jobs were sometimes horrendous, but he liked the variety and the flexible schedule. It gave him time to work on his novel. He knew the likelihood of a human getting published was slim, but it was a lifelong dream and he wanted to see it through, even if it took years to do it.

He had just finished a job at a shipping plant, filling in for a chimera secretary who apparently was also the company therapist. No one seemed to care that he wasn’t the normal secretary, and they showed up in droves to complain to him about their lives and ask for advice. It was actually really interesting, and he’d been sad when the real secretary came back from her vacation and he had to move on to a new job.

Avery was rarely in the temp agency proper. He job hopped so often, he usually only showed up if he needed to fill out paperwork or if there was a staff meeting they weren’t allowed to skip. But at the end of every job, he had to come back to write up a report of the job and the experience and receive his newest assignment. He waved to Doreen, the only other human in the office and the friendliest receptionist he knew, and dropped into a chair in front of an empty desk. None of the temps had an assigned desk, since they weren’t around much, but this one was his favorite because it was right next to the window overlooking the city. He logged into the company computer and pulled up the documents he needed, filling them out carefully so maybe in the future he could be sent back. He wanted to hear more about the love triangle between the vampire, the werewolf, and the demon.

He was just finishing when his boss came rushing out of her office, the snakes that made up her hair all in a tizzy. Medusas weren’t as dangerous as other humans liked to pretend they were. Morana was trained as a child to control her ability to turn people into stone. Avery could look her in the eye without issue, and he did so now as she hurried to his desk.

“Avery! Good, you’re here. You just finished your last job, right?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m just finishing up the paperwork now. Are you okay?” Avery asked, concerned. His boss was normally the picture of calm. Nothing could shake her patient exterior. Except now, she looked almost panicked.

“No. I mean yes, I’m fine. I need you on a job. Mariella was supposed to take it, but she called in sick again . This client is very high profile, and if things go poorly, we could lose a huge account. I know you’re supposed to have a few days off, but this is an emergency. I’ll put in a word for you to get a bonus if you take it.”

Blinking rapidly, Avery tried to catch up with her chaotic rant. Everyone normally got two days off between jobs, and he’d been planning to work on his novel, but he could see the desperation in Morana’s bright red eyes.

“Okay, sure.”

Her shoulders sagged with relief, and the snakes on her head all seemed to collectively sigh. Avery had to purse his lips to fight off a laugh. It wasn’t polite to comment on a medusa’s snakes, but Avery had always loved how animated and emotional they were.

“When did you need me to go?”

He was hoping to at least have time today to get a few pages out, but Morana dashed those hopes before he could even get the thought fully formed.

“Now. I need you to go now. If you hurry, you won’t be late.”

She grabbed Avery’s arm, pulling him out of his chair and nudging him towards the exit. He barely had time to grab his messenger bag before she was forcing him out the door, snatching his phone to plug the address into his GPS app.

“I’ll fill out all the paperwork for you and finish what you were doing before. Go straight to the top floor, CEO’s office. You’ll be working for Mr. Hawksley. Now hurry!”

She shoved his phone back into his hand and physically pushed him down the street toward the station. Avery stumbled over his feet, shooting her a stunned look over his shoulder as he hurried toward the subway. If he didn’t know his boss any better, he’d be upset about the way she treated him. But Morana wasn’t an unkind boss. She was actually very fair and understanding if things didn’t work out and a company sent him home before he even started because he was human. Not all Supes liked working with humans. Whatever job this was, it was important enough to Morana that she skipped all protocol to get him there. He didn’t even know what job he’d be doing.

Since he knew she wouldn’t be rushing him if it wasn’t important, he sprinted to the subway. He dodged around the droves of Supes in the station, shoving his way into the subway car just as the doors closed. He had just enough time to yank his bag out of the way before it got caught in the doors. While he waited for his stop, he looked up where exactly he was headed. When he realized, his jaw almost hit the ground.

Spellbound Corps was the leading supernatural company in the country. Probably in the world. Avery read in a magazine once that it started off as a small business in someone’s garage. The founders created spells and gadgets to make life easier for Supes who didn’t have the capacity, or the opposable thumbs, to work ordinary jobs. They were now the leaders in magical innovation and had the most diverse personnel in the city.

It made more sense now why Morana was so panicked. The temp agency worked closely with Spellbound Corps, and losing that contract would be catastrophic for the agency. It did make Avery a little nervous about whether or not they’d accept his presence. The company was literally created for Supes, and they might not like it if a human showed up to work for them.

Well, there was nothing he could do about that. At least if he showed up, they’d be more likely to accept a little lateness so he could find a replacement. He hoped he wouldn’t need a replacement, though. He was good at his job, adaptable to most situations, and a quick study. If they gave him a chance, he knew he could pull off whatever they put in front of him.

His punctuality was even more important now, so the second the doors opened at his stop, Avery dodged through them and tore out of the station. Spellbound Corps was easy to find, given that it was the tallest building in the city. A lot of little buildings of different sizes combined to form a massive skyscraper, with green spaces dotted on most of the roofs. Avery had to crane his neck to take in all of it, and he was pretty sure the top was in the clouds. Lucky for him, he wasn’t afraid of heights.

Pushing through the rotating glass door, he tried not to gape at the company entryway. The marble floors actually sparkled and the floor to ceiling windows let in tons of natural light. It was also stuffed to the brim with Supes of every different race and color. And size, apparently. Avery had to dodge out of the way when a pair of golem guards stomped past him. They could squash him in one step if they weren’t careful.

Slipping through the crowds, Avery stopped at the front desk, sucking in a deep breath to calm his frantic panting from running all the way here.

“Can I help you?” The hydra behind the desk stared at him with no less than three of its dozen heads. Avery never knew where to look in situations like this, so he focused on the one in the middle as he answered.

“I’m Avery Whitman. I’m from Charmed Away Temp Agency. I’m supposed to be meeting a Mr. Hawksley?”

She blinked a few times, the ridge of her brow wrinkling as she studied him. Avery held his breath, waiting for the inevitable dismissal. But the hydra only pressed her lips together, her tail snagging a temporary badge from her desk and handing it to him.

“Top floor. Use the gold elevator; it will bring you straight there.” She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You don’t have a sensitive stomach, do you?”

“Uh… No?”

She huffed, clearly not convinced but unwilling to argue with him about it. She jerked several chins toward the turnstiles behind her desk.

“You’d better hurry. Mr. Hawksley doesn’t appreciate tardiness.”

“Right. Thanks. I’ll just?—”

She had already moved on to helping someone else, so Avery shut his mouth and headed for the turnstiles. He had to press the badge to the screen on top before it turned green and allowed him to pass. He edged his way around the lines of people waiting for the elevators, stopping in front of the last one on the right, the only gold elevator in the bunch.

There was no one else waiting in front of this one, and he got a few funny looks when he pressed the button to call for it. He ignored the stares, shuffling into the elevator after the doors opened and a few people offloaded. Right before the doors slipped closed, a little green goblin darted inside, giving him a once over before ignoring him completely.

The hydra’s question about sensitive stomachs made more sense when the elevator shot towards the top floor at dizzying speeds. Avery clutched the handrail on the wall in a death grip, praying his stomach didn’t stage a revolt. When it slowed to a stop at the top floor, he felt almost as green as the goblin, and his hands were clammy as he stepped off the elevator.

“You get used to it,” the goblin commented, finally looking at him.

“You promise?” Avery croaked, taking a second to breathe through the nausea.

The goblin chuckled, bobbing his head. “Yes. I felt the same way you did for at least a week when I started here. Are you a new recruit?”

“I’m a temp. I’m supposed to be reporting to Mr. Hawksley.”

The goblin’s forehead wrinkled in surprise. If he had eyebrows, they’d be in his hairline. But he had neither eyebrows nor hair, so it was irrelevant.

“I see. Well, his office is on the left. You can’t miss it. And… good luck.”

Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.