Page 1 of Her Cruel Alpha

Chapter 1 - Katie

I chewed on the tip of my pen, trying to find an answer to the problem I had written down on my notepad. I had over a hundred women that I was working with to help get them pregnant, and I had only managed to help a few. People were becoming discouraged, including Nessa, who I wished had been the first to see the little plus sign on the pregnancy test.

I pinched my nose, knowing I was getting to that point myself where I didn't know if we would ever get out of this mess. This was a big task, but I had hoped I would have had better outcomes. I'd been working on the virus and the women for a year now, and I didn't feel I had gotten anywhere. I was going in circles, getting the same results.

I glanced up at the door and then looked at my phone, checking the time. Sam said she was going to meet me here after her meeting, but it was already running late compared to the time she had given me.

"Do you need a refill on your coffee?" Lily, one of the waitresses, stopped at my table, giving me a gentle smile. Sam and I started coming to the cafe regularly, which meant we got to know the people working there. It was one of the few places where I felt I could relax. I wasn't known asthescientist. I was just another customer.

I shook my head. "No, but thank you for asking. If I have any more, I'll end up pulling an all-nighter at the lab again." Maybe that wouldn't be a terrible idea. When I lacked sleep, my brain seemed to work better. But at the same time, it didn't.

I looked back at the door and heard my phoneding. I glanced at it, seeing a message popped up.

The meeting is running longer than I anticipated. Won't be able to make it to lunch. Eat a sandwich for me.

I frowned. I had looked forward to our time together. In truth, Sam was one of the few people I could really consider a friend, and she was one of the few who managed to get me out of my lab. Anytime she asked, I was more than willing to go out.

I set my phone aside and took a sip of my coffee, looking back down at my notebook. The math problem was still unsolved.

I decided to flip the page a few back and read the names of some of the girls I needed to call and check in on. There were a few we were working on fertility treatments, and others we were working on birthing plans.

There was Sasha, who had gotten pregnant, finally, after working for three months. She was overjoyed when she called me, nearly bursting my eardrum with happiness.

There was Natalie, whom we had tried several times, but nothing worked. The virus had taken full effect on her uterus and put her into menopause. Nothing I had done was reversing the effects.

I had learned that the inability to get pregnant was only stage one of the virus. It was terrible, but it was nothing like the next stage. It would travel from the uterus and start attacking the entire immune system.

I had managed to find out that each person lacked vitamin D, folic acid, and vitamin B. But with the added knowledge now that this was magic, it was changing my understanding. It could remain the same even if I were doing everything right.

Even though a lot of the girls were doing everything I wanted, they were still failing to get better. They were still failing to conceive.

I sighed and leaned forward, resting my head on the notebook. I was tired of feeling like I was going in circles with no answers. I worked hard to solve the unsolvable. I had always done extremely well with every other project. I mastered everything thrown at me, yet this seemed to have me at a standstill.

Why had I agreed to this job? What made me think I could do this?

I thought back to when the council called me to see them. It was just a simple day for me, but it all changed when I received that letter. I had questioned why they would want me. I was a nobody, and no one really knew who I was.

They explained that I was the person they wanted to solve this. I had the qualifications and was probably the only one in the entire Valley who had a background to back it up. It was true I had worked on other viruses before and that I excelled in microbiology, but this was different. It was… harder.

When you mix magic with science, anything could happen. What should have made sense suddenly wasn't going to, and it was making my life hard. I wanted to go back to the work I was doing. Stuff that I understood.

I flipped back to the other page and scowled at the equations. I had eraser marks and notes. I didn't know magic, but I needed to. I should start getting some books and read more into it. I knew the basics, but the person that Sam described was not some newbie doing this. This person was meticulous, and they knew what they were doing. They had likely planned this for a long time and worked hard to make sure there was no roomfor error. We knew so little about whoever was doing this besides that it was a man.

Sam had told me she saw a glimpse of a man, but more than she heard him. She had said he was filled with anger, and so much that she felt it vibrating around her. I couldn’t imagine feeling what she had told me. Having nothing but darkness surrounding you and feeling such pure…well, rage.

It had been eight months since it attacked them, and I knew that I was working on a timer, but didn't know how much time was left. I didn't know if this guy was going to release another virus or if he was changing the one we already had. We didn’t know anything, and that was the scary part. I had been working on this for almost two years with few answers.

I knew so little, and I needed to know more. Everyone was counting on me to know more.

My phone dinged, and I glanced down. I couldn't help but smile.

PS: Put your notebook away. I know you're probably spiraling. Eat your meal and take a walk. Get some fresh air.

I shut the notebook, wrote back to Sam a response, and took another sip of my coffee. I threw everything into my bag and headed out the front. I was checking my phone as I pushed the door open and felt my body smack into something hard.

My phone slipped out of my hand, and my bag popped open, spilling all the contents onto the ground.

"Shit!" I said, quickly bent down, grabbing my phone and laptop. I hoped neither was damaged. My boss would not be impressed if I ruined another company's computer.

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