Page 27 of Her Cruel Alpha

We watched, and the mixture bubbled. “Is it supposed to do that?”

I nodded. “It’s what I hypothesized would happen.”

I set the flask down and scribbled the results onto my notebook. Henrik leaned over, a shadow falling over me. “You have nice handwriting.”

I could smell his aftershave, and I internally moaned at the scent. God damn, this was becoming almost painful.

I grabbed the flask, and heat radiated over my entire hand. “Shit!” I cursed quickly, letting go, and the flask slipped free, shattering on the ground.

He quickly grabbed my hand, pulling it up to his face. His eyes zoned in on my finger. “It’s fine,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “I knew I shouldn’t have grabbed it.” I knew not to, but having him so close clouded my mind.

Henrik started to blow on the finger, and a shiver ran down my entire spine. I quickly realized how close he was standing and how softly he held my hand. And Henrik opened his mouth slightly, pulling my finger towards his lips.

I inhaled slowly, and Henrik paused, my finger just pressed to his lips. I watched realization fill his expression, looking almost embarrassed as he looked back at me. “Sorry. It’s almost natural. You get a burn, and you suck on it.”

I swallowed. “Yeah….”

He slowly lowered my hand. “Why is that? When we get a burn, we have an urge to suck on it and think it makes us feel better? Does it go back to when we were younger?”

I blinked, finding I was staring at his mouth, and questions filled my head. What would it feel like for him to lick my finger? Would he suck on it softly? What else could his tongue do?

I quickly shook my head and snatched my hand back. “Yeah, it’s because it helps ease the pain. Uhmmm…what was I doing?”

Henrik took a step back. “I don’t really know.”

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. “I ahh…should clean that up and get back to work. Don’t you have work to get to? I’m sure I took up enough of your time.” I scanned the room, trying to look anywhere but at Henrik.

“Yeah…I should probably get going.” I glanced at him, watching as he moved towards the door.

“I’ll see you at home?” he asked as he stood in the doorway. I gave him a nod and looked around for the broom, still refusing to look at him fully.

I heard the door shut, and I felt my shoulders sink. This was the right thing to do. Henrik and I were only married legally, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be married to me. It was out of obligation.

I closed my eyes, trying to count down from ten to calm my heartbeat. I could feel it was racing.

“You’re fine,” I sighed softly. “Everything is fine. Let’s get back to work.”

I took a deep breath and turned to grab the broom, but the room started to feel off. I would move the broom, but it was staying in the same place. I looked at my hands, feeling that they were working correctly. I suddenly felt dizzy and grabbed onto the table. The broom slipped from my fingers as I tried to steady myself. I pulled a hand up to my face, pinching at my eyes, trying to shake the feeling off. But I couldn’t. I turned to look at the door and realized everything was black.

A shiver ran down my back as I felt cold. Like a draft had been let into the lab, but was I even in the lab still? It was like all the lights went out.

I turned, looking around, taking in slow breaths, trying to remain calm. Then it hit me. I wasn’t alone, and I had nowhere to run.

Chapter 10 - Henrik

I rode the elevator down, wishing I had stayed. I found myself relaxed as I stood next to Katie. As I watched her work, I could see the way she focused and the way her eyes tracked everything she did. It was so different from her shy, quiet self. She was like another person, fully in her element.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped off it, feeling a shiver run down my spine. I stiffened for a moment before I shook the feeling off. It was just my wolf wanting to stay close to Katie after the day we had. This was natural.

I started walking down the hallway, pushing the doors open, and stepped outside. The sun beat down on me as I walked to my car. I spotted other scientists heading into the building, not really knowing anyone.

Another shiver ran down my spine, and I shook my head. “Nothing is wrong. You're just sad because Katie asked you to leave the lab.” And I understood why. She was trying to work, and I was there. I got it. It was how I felt when the guys were around when I was working on paperwork. I knew I would make a mistake with eyes watching me.

I opened my car when I heard the sound of alarms starting to blare. I turned around and narrowed my eyes onto the laboratory. I stared at the doors, seeing red lights going off inside.

My body tensed up, and I sprinted towards the lab. As I got closer, I could hear people talking loudly.

“What’s going on?”

---