Page 78 of Depraved
I clear my throat pointedly, and my alpha glares down at me.
“Um … what about the wolf bodies?” I whisper, because there are a few scattered between the cars.
Black stiffens and doesn’t respond, but his eyes dart to where I’m looking.
There are at least two of them. Right now, they’re concealed from human view behind some vehicles. But … when the police approach, how can we sweep them under the rug? We can’t just deny their existence.
“Pets?” the butler offers a suggestion.
Black’s eyelids lower in a look that’s pure disdain.
Matthew hands Pluto his pocket square, and the alpha dabs at his nose for a moment before he takes a shot at explaining away the wolves lying on the asphalt. “We had bomb-sniffing dogs with us. This gang has attacked us before, and we know they have a penchant for blowing shit up.”
“Yes.” Black gives a stiff nod. “That works.”
So, our lie is set.
Pluto glances between Black and me. “What happened to the beta?”
I step forward, offended by the tone he just used. It was dismissive and uncaring. And I don’t care if his nose is the size of an ice-cream cone right now; he could still be respectful. “You mean the beta elite? The one who was kicking Thomas Stone’s ass? The only person who didn’t leave the omega vulnerable so they could have a fucking donut break?” My nerves are raw, and his stupid question puts me on edge, so I stretch the truth a bit.
Black doesn’t correct me.
I still want to go check on Jonah again, but Black swore he’d be alright, and we needed to come out to face the police.
Besides his reassurance, I feel a steady sort of mental thrumming from the mate mark Jonah gave me. It’s still active. We’re still connected. I’m not worried about my beta elite, but I don’t like being away from him when he’s this vulnerable. And Pluto is just … gah, he’s such a fucking alpha. One second he’s cool and nice. The next, total asshole.
Pluto’s lip curls up in disgusted disbelief at my defensive retort about Jonah. He stares down at me like I’m some sort of delusional child. “There’s no such thing as a beta elit—”
“There is. He monstered out,” Black interrupts whatever bullshit Pluto was about to spew.
“What?” Pluto spins and looks back at the ruined shop and then marches between the cars, over the sidewalk, ignoring the police captain yelling through a bullhorn, “Sir! Stop! That’s a possible crime scene!”
Pluto disappears inside.
“Should we …?” I trail off and look up at Black, wondering if we should follow his second. I don’t understand why Pluto’s so upset. I don’t understand why he said what he did. I thought he was working with Jonah while I was down south.
“Just wait, Elena.”
Less than a minute later, Pluto walks back out, his face as pale as if he’s seen a ghost. His hand is clenched in a fist around his handkerchief. He heads towards us and takes up his prior position at Black’s side.
“He’s fucking monstered out,” Pluto confirms though his tone is riddled with awed disbelief. “All the time you were gone, he couldn’t do it ….”
“Maybe he just didn’t have the right motivation,” Black responds.
Pluto nods distractedly, then shakes his head before nodding again. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Their wondering is light and casual because, to them, this is a minor issue. But to me … it means that Jonah lied, telling me everything was okay when it wasn’t. He acted like he’d found his place in the pack when he was still floundering. And it means that when he was in that dressing room with me, he thought he was going to die.
God, he must have felt so alone.
I feel so guilty.
So upset with him for lying.
But ultimately guilty because I knew he was having this problem before, and I just assumed he was better. I make a silent vow not to leave him hanging like that again.
My hand starts to reach for the mate mark on my neck instinctively to cement the vow, but I stop myself. I don’t know if Black’s seen the fresh mate mark on me yet. He hasn’t mentioned it. I don’t want Pluto to see it. Or my mother—who’ll fly off the handle. I don’t care if they see it tomorrow. But I’ll let them all think it came after. I don’t want everyone else seeing that mark and believing it’s the mate bond with me that makes Jonah special. He’s special all on his own. Special and selfless to a fault.
