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“I eat like a five-year-old with a credit card.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s a little embarrassing at a place like this.”
Teyval rubbed her shoulders. “Denith knows. It isn’t a surprise.”
She blinked. The server assigned to their table removed the empty plates and gave Myrtle a long look that didn’t indicate admiration.
She sat, and the second course was set down in front of her. Carefully arranged greens and tomatoes with a vinaigrette made her smile back at the plate arranged in a smiley face.
The others got a more adult version of a salad. The server sneered at her as she set the plate down, and Myrtle took a deep breath as she tried to take a few bites. The food turned to acid in her stomach. She hated being on display and hated her food preferences being flagged even more. Home was one thing. This was humiliating.
She set her fork down and folded her hands in her lap. Her stomach churned as she saw the gazes of the kitchen staff moving over their little group and her in particular.
Toros asked her, “What’s wrong, Myrtle?”
“I don’t particularly like being stared at. The server hates me for some reason, and I have a hard time eating new food, let alone when I am being watched. I am just intensely uncomfortable.”
Teyval got up and switched places with her. He slid his chair back, stood, and lifted her, chair and all, to set her in his place. Now, she was between him and the wall. She relaxed a little.
She sighed. “I thought it would have been so much fun to look like this and have a pack, but it is remarkably unsettling. Though, the being able to rip apart the Elite energies is fun.”
Byron chuckled. “That part is fun for us as well.”
Teyval smiled, but Toros looked concerned. “You can work with our energies as well?”
She sighed. “Did I close the gaping wound in you?”
He paused. “Ah. Right.”
The server took the plates away and smirked at the remains of the salad. She looked at Myrtle. “Not to your liking, miss?”
Myrtle looked at her and said, “No. It must have been the spit on the lettuce.”
The server jerked in shock. Her eyes widened, and the three alphas turned to glare at her.
Myrtle had used the vinaigrette to conceal it, but Denith appeared behind the server and yanked the plate from her. He held it to his nose, and his eyes flared red. “Get to front of house, and we will discuss your future here after service today.”
The server flinched, and Denith sighed. “I am sorry, Myrtle.”
“It’s not fine, but it is what it is.” She shrugged. “Just another reason for me to get takeout.”
His expression was thunderous. Myrtle got up, walked out of their little enclosure, and looked at Denith. “Please ditch the bitch.”
The server gasped, and Denith turned and set the plate down. Myrtle cuddled against him, and he shuddered slowly, relaxing against her.
“Why aren’t you angry?”
Myrtle leaned away from him and extended her hand. She drained just enough life to cause the woman to drop to her knees. Myrtle smiled at the woman. “Well, that replaced the salad. Shouldn’t you be heading to front of house?”
The woman looked wildly around the kitchen, and no one was coming to her aid. She muttered, “You wouldn’t be so tough if he weren’t here.”
Myrtle stepped toward the woman. “If he wasn’t here, I would have pulled the energy from your body and left you a barely breathing husk. I would have taken your soul and put it in a little container so I could look at it from time to time. By the way, they can’t hear us, so you can say what you like.”
“He was mine.”
“Did he know that? He was always going to be mine. He and Toros are a set, and Toros wandered off for a bit, and it almost killed Denith. Do you really think your body could have handled both of them? That is the only long-term option. Oh, and his full form is solid black, and there is no way you would have managed it. If you were lovers, it wasn’t all in.”
The woman blinked. “I was going to ask him out, but he’s our chef.”
“Oh, so you licked him, and he’s yours? Sorry to wreck it for you, but that doesn’t count, and I have covered way more square footage on him than you have. Also, having caught your scent, it wasn’t on him. Now, are you going to be a good employee and get back to work? Or shall I peel off some more of you to make up for my ruined salad?”
