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“Matthyw King.”
Matthyw ignored his name. Jeffrey Rainey waited on the side, arms crossed over his chest, lips curved into that annoying smirk of his. His shoulder-length dark hair was pulled out of his face in a tight ponytail, dark eyes hidden behind sunglasses.
Matthyw hated this asshole.
“I’m surprised to see you’re back,” he said.
“Unlike you when Grey called on you, I know how to finish a job,” Matthyw replied without bothering to look at him.
Rainey said nothing in return. Instead, his smirk only deepened. “How was this one?” he asked. “Easy?”
“Not as easy as your sister, but easy enough,” Matthyw returned. This time, even he couldn’t fight the smirk on his face as he rounded a corner. “I wouldn’t be back if I didn’t finish it.”
“And the academy is safe once again, thanks to our black knight.”
Matthyw tried not to react to yet another nickname bestowed on him. This one aggravated him more than he was willing to admit.
“Tell me, Matthyw, whatever would we do without you?” Rainey continued.
“Unless you’re willing to train in physical combat with me, Rainey, I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut,” Matthyw growled. “Wouldn’t want you to waggle your tongue and wear it out before you have to get on your knees.”
“You sure do talk a lot,” Rainey said with a sneer. “Care to back up that vitriol?”
“Didn’t I just say I would?” Fuck, this guy was an idiot.
“You’re an idiot if you think you can take him.” The low mumble entering the conversation was new enough to throw Matthyw for a loop.
He slowed down and narrowed his eyes. The earth pack’s lieutenant. He couldn’t remember the hillbilly’s name, but he recognized the ripped sleeves even in the winter, the whiskered face, the hair falling into the eyes.
“No one asked you, Reedys,” Rainey muttered, keeping his focus on Matthyw.
Matthyw clenched his teeth together. As much as he wanted to punch the pretty boys face, he didn’t have time. He needed to go see Grey, and he needed to see Grey now.
Grey’s officewas bigger than Matthyw’s bedroom, even with his father’s substantial wealth. Rows of bookcases lined the walls and a large window overlooking the forest was behind Grey’s cluttered desk. Matthyw pursed his lips as he glanced over the variety of paper stacks and ink blots. He raised his eyes at the crimson parchment; Matthyw hadn’t been here for a while but even he remembered the significance of that.
He wondered who the poor soul was that would be assigned a Scarlet mission. As long as it wasn’t Adrya, he didn’t give a shit.
“Have a seat.” Grey’s warm voice came from behind Matthyw, who had been let in by some random secretary. He was surprised Grey trusted him enough to be in his office on his own, considering his hands were always red.
Matthyw slid to the edge of the seat slowly, tension piling in his back as if he wanted to be prepared to spring up at any second. He kept his eyes on the older Alpha as he maneuvered around his desk, causing a couple of post-it notes to fall from their place on his files like leaves falling from trees in the autumn.
“I’m glad to see you’ve returned,” Grey said. “How was it?”
Matthyw sneered. What the fuck kind of question was that? Did this old man think he enjoyed the killing he was ordered to do? It was a job, one he took because he wanted to secure his place here. He couldn’t claim a blood heritage to the Fire pack the way Adrya could; he was an orphan and he would always be an orphan. But if he did the dirty work, the work no one else wanted to do, then maybe he’d finally be seen as an invaluable resource. Maybe he’d finally have a place to belong on his own merit.
“Poor choice of a question,” Grey acknowledged with a small smile and a tilt of his head.
“It is done,” Matthyw replied. That should be sufficient enough.
“Yes.”
There was a heavy moment between them. Matthyw waited. He would not speak to erase the silence, nor would he ask about any new jobs. In fact, now that he was here, part of him wanted to stay a while. The full moon was coming up, and it had been many moons since the last time he was able to celebrate it with his pack.
“Were you seen?” Grey asked.
“By whom?” Matthyw furrowed his brows. There was something about the question, something that bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
Grey shrugged casually, like this wasn’t a big deal. Like Matthyw’s identity being revealed to someone who might have seen him wasn’t something worth being concerned over.
