Page 16 of Depraved
The butler looks down at my dessert, which I totally admit, looks like a five-year-old has been digging into it. I just started from the top and now it has a giant crater in the middle. But like Pluto just said. “Near-death experience?” I play the only card I’ve got.
Luckily, it’s a good one.
Matthew rolls his eyes and shoves the deli bag of meat across the countertop, an entire pound of sliced roast beef. Heaven.
“Fine. But take some Tylenol with it,” he orders. A water bottle comes sliding my way too.
I swap food as I watch Matthew start to build an array of mouthwatering subs.
“Those are for us, I hope,” Pluto comments around a bite of strawberry cake.
“Nope. Elites are meeting.”
“WHAT?” Pluto stands clumsily, knocking his barstool over backward so that it clatters to the floor.
“Sit back down.” Matthew stops what he’s doing and circles the massive marble countertop to pull Pluto’s chair upright for him. He gently helps the alpha back into his seat. “You wouldn’t be allowed in anyway. You’re recovering.”
Pluto’s pissed as fuck. “Bullshit. I’m fine.”
“If you’re fine, there’s no tropical vacation.”
Pluto growls, his eyes flashing gold as he tries to stand again anyway. “I’m his second.”
“Sit down and put your fangs away,” Matthew walks over to the wall, where the intercom is.
“Don’t fucking call him.” I hear an edge of alpha command in his voice, but that won’t work on Matthew, who’s human.
“If you’d calm down, I’d tell you that this intercom system has a little feature you might find useful.” The butler presses the button and immediately, voices come through the speaker.
I recognize Black’s voice. There are other male voices there too, but I don’t know them.
“You can spy on our meetings?” Pluto does not look impressed the way I do. In fact, he looks downright livid.
“Only when you all hold them in the formal dining room instead of the official meeting room upstairs.” Matthew is calm. He’s not affected at all by Pluto’s rage as he plates sandwiches. I want to be him someday. Just completely able to rile up alphas and then shrug them off. Damn. “The dining room is typically where Black hosts guests. And normally, I record those meet-and-greets.”
“With permission?” Pluto is pretty much vibrating with fury.
“Do you think I’d still be alive if it was without?” Matthew retorts as he opens a jar of spear dill pickles with a pop.
“Shifters can’t kill humans.”
“Untrue. They can. They’re just not supposed to.” Matthew starts to build a platter of pickles and olives.
I lift a slice of the lunch meat I’m eating so that it hides my smile. But when Pluto’s head turns sharply towards me, that smile dies.
“Maybe you ought to leave.”
He’s right. I’m not an elite. This is stuff I shouldn’t hear. I start to push my seat back. My bones already hurt at the thought of stairs. Maybe I’ll just lay on the floor in the front hall.
But Matthew walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. He gently presses down to keep me in my seat.
“He’s Elena’s mate.”
“So?”
“So … Elena is the pack luna. She’s Black’s—”
“I don’t want to get into the weird kinks of what Black likes to do with his dick,” Pluto snarls. “He’s not an elite. He’s out.”
