Page 12 of Her Cruel Alpha

I didn’t know if he knew. I felt that if Henrik had known the truth, he wouldn’t have asked me several times what waswrong. He would have been angrier if I had run when I was supposed to be with him.

I shook my head, not wanting to think of the expression of concern he had given me.

“I can order some coffee to be brought in.”

I crossed my arms and leaned onto the counter. “What’s your plan here, Henrik? Are you going to keep me locked up forever?”

He scowled. “I’m only keeping you here until I figure out what to tell the Council. I’m sure we can meet with them tomorrow and discuss this like civil adults.”

I laughed. “Oh yeah, because the Council is always so civil.”

He crossed his arms. “And maybe you should have thought about that before you ran for it.”

I ground my teeth together. “Stay out of my business.”

“I would love to, but it would seem they pulled me into it, so why don’t you just tell me why you were even running in the first place.”

I looked away, hating the feeling that crept over me. It was like someone had a large hand and just grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go. I tried to take a deep breath in and gripped onto the counter.

See, you couldn’t even run away because you're not good enough. Anyone else would have been able to. They would have been able to get free.

“Katie,” Henrik walked closer, giving me that worried expression. “What’s going on?”

Anger filled me suddenly. “You wouldn’t get it. You were raised to be that perfect soldier.”

I watched as he flinched, but I kept going. “Tell me, Henrik. Would the Council bat an eye if you stepped out of line? No, probably not. I’m sure they wouldn’t be pleased, but you’re a leader, so there isn’t much they can do about that. I am not the same. They own my ass. They own everything I am and what I do.”

He frowned. “That’s not true.”

I laughed because he truly had no idea. They found me. The Council sought me out. Just how mad would they be once they figured out I couldn’t hold myself up to their standards. They knew how to get rid of people. One second, you were here, and the next, you never existed.

The space fell silent, and I turned away. “You’re an Alpha, Henrik. You're above the rest of us. So, you wouldn’t understand the pressure.”

Henrik rubbed at his face and sighed. “Katie, I promise it’s not that bad. Whatever is going on can be solved.”

Just then, his phone started to ring, and he turned. He grabbed it and scowled. “Damn it.” He looked back at me. “I have an emergency I need to attend to. I will grab your coffee on my way back. We can discuss this and deal with this when I return.”

He walked back to the living room and grabbed his jacket. “Don’t even think about sneaking out because I have cameras all over this place. And all the windows are locked.”

I glared at him, watching as he pulled his jacket on and left. I could hear the front door open and shut. The solid sound of a lock turning. I huffed.

I did another scan of the space and walked over to the patio. Sure enough, it was locked and wouldn’t budge.

“Asshole.”

I searched his entire kitchen, looking for coffee. He didn’t have anything, not even a canister stashed away somewhere. And I was bored.

I wandered through the entire house. Henrik had a three-bedroom house with a basement, laundry room, and storage. I was a little surprised at the simplicity he lived for someone with such high status.

He decorated each room accordingly and had pictures of him and the over five Alphas together. He had pictures of his family and Sam together. He had the life people dreamed of.

I walked by his bedroom and found his bed made. The room was large, with a solid wood-framed bed and matching dresser. He had two bedside tables that each had a lamp. It reminded me of a catalog.

“I wonder if he has a maid?” I walked down the hall and noticed cameras in several spots. He had one in the living room and in the kitchen. He had one in the hallways and near all the doors and windows. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he would see it all. But I wondered why he had them to begin with.

I stopped in front of the bathroom and paused. He had a camera angled towards it, but surely not one inside. An idea formed.

I walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I scanned the room, and my eyes landed on the bathroom window. I smiled as I walked over and pulled on it. Sure enough, it was unlocked.

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