Page 20 of Hunter

“SOMEONE FROM MY organization will be by this afternoon to pick me up,” Ary said as Kana sat down to a quick breakfast. “I probably won’t be here when you get back, so this is my opportunity to thank you again for saving me.”

“Did you tell your organization you think one of my parents was a hunter?” Kana asked while spreading jelly on a piece of toast. He didn’t need to keep as close an eye on the clock as usual since he didn’t have to catch the bus, but he still couldn’t tarry for too long.

Ary nodded. “I had to, but I told them you were under control and, erm, weren’t likely to pass on those genes to any children.”

Kana laughed. “I guess I’m that obvious?”

Ary snorted out his own laugh. “The way you and your alpha are dancing around each other is adorable. One of my superiors might request an interview, but they also know you’re part of the pack, so they’ll be respectful about it.”

“Thanks. It was nice to meet you, even under these circumstances,” Kana said. “I hope they can fix your spear.”

Ary laughed again. “They’re bringing me a replacement and will definitely be studying my old one for years to figure out if there’s a way to prevent what you did from affecting another weapon. The woman in our research department I spoke to about it sounded really excited.”

Kana giggled through his bite of toast. He finished chewing and swallowed. “I’m happy to recreate the spell if they want to see how I cast it.”

Ary stared at Kana for a long moment as a grin grew across his face. “They might conscript you into their research unit if you offer that, you realize.”

A chance to practice magic with other experts, particularly experts who wouldn’t care he was male? Kana wouldn’t say no to that! Still, he didn’t want to commit to anything, so he just shrugged and took another bite of toast.

You’re going to be late, Mika called. He and Sora had vanished to get breakfast elsewhere—apparently one of the kitchen staff had a soft spot for cats and was spoiling them rotten—but they were both now waiting by the doorway to the dining room.

Kana stuffed the last piece of toast into his mouth and guzzled his tea. “I have to go to work,” he said when his mouth was empty again. “It was nice to meet you, and I hope next time we meet under better circumstances.”

“It was nice to meet you, too, and thank you again for all your help.” Ary grinned and waved as Kana jogged off.

The usual car was waiting for Kana by the door. He climbed in with Mika and Sora. The car took off the second the door was closed behind Kana, which was good because Kana caught sight of the clock on the dashboard and realized he was definitely going to be late.

Traffic on the roads was thankfully light, so they made good time. Kana was only a few minutes late when he hurried to his desk.

“I wasn’t sure you were coming in today,” Beth said with a happy grin when she saw him. “How are you feeling?”

“I think I got some bad takeout the other night,” Kana lied. “Once I was done throwing up, I felt better.”

“Geez. That sucks. Glad you’re feeling better, although I have to say you chose a really good day to call in sick.” Beth shook her head sadly.

“What happened?” Kana sat at his desk, but he turned to look at Beth rather than switching on his computers.

“Every last bit of tape we had for the interview with the hunter is gone. The final tape, the stuff from the editing room, even the backup servers. It’s all gone!”

“No!” Kana gasped.

Beth nodded. “All of it. And they only figured that out about five minutes before we were supposed to air the segment. Stephen and everyone were scrambling to find something to fill the slot instead. It was a crazy morning.”

“I’m sorry I missed it,” Kana said.

“No, you’re not,” Beth said with a laugh.

“I bet it was less awful than throwing up all night,” Kana replied with a shrug. He couldn’t tell Beth he had spent the night babysitting the very same hunter whose interview had been lost, just in case Kana’s magic had hurt Ary. Although, it was interesting every single bit of that interview had completely vanished. That meant it was either an inside job—that someone in the office had done it—or a spell had been cast on the building to remove the interview. At this point the magic had already dissipated, so there was no reason to waste any magic testing for it. The problem was the bosses at the office wouldn’t automatically think magic. They would assume an inside job, and Kana was the only one not at work during the incident.

Kana reached to turn on his computers, but footsteps sounded outside their cubicle, and he looked up to see who was there before his finger hit the button.

Amanda, Kana and Beth’s boss, was standing in the entrance to their space. She was frowning slightly as she studied Kana.

“Kana,” she said. “Will you come to my office please?”

Damn. Kana nodded and stood so he could follow her down the hall and into her private office.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Amanda asked as she sat in her desk chair and Kana took one of the chairs on the other side.

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