Page 39 of Her Cruel Alpha

I shook my head. “I’ve had people in the lab tell me they were in triple digits.”

“So wait, you're telling me you haven’t had any boyfriends?”

“No, I’ve had boyfriends, but nothing serious. I focused more on work. It was easier than trying to…well..you know.”

“Speaking of work,” Henrik leaned forward, resting his head on his hand. “Were you serious about what you recited to me about your degrees? That you're a microbiologist with a degree in physics, biochemistry, and biotechnology.”

I nodded. “I do.”

“Jesus, and I thought you were a genius before, but this is on another level. You’re brilliant. Katie, that's huge.”

I blushed. ”Well, I started college when I was thirteen, so I had plenty of time. No one was willing to hire me, so I just continued with school.” I tilted my head at him. “Did you go to school?”

Henrik nodded. “I went to school with Jay until we graduated. Then, we both went to college. I mastered in business for leadership and finance.”

“Did you need a degree for your position as Alpha? I always wondered about that.”

“They want you to at least have some kind of background. You have help, but the more you know as an Alpha, the stronger your pack is.”

I nodded. “Do all the other guys have degrees?”

He nodded. “Yeah, we all have something for business. I know Jay minored in something else, but I can’t remember what it was.”

“Did you always want to be an Alpha?”

Henrik was silent for a moment before he nodded. “I was always raised to be an Alpha, and I wanted change. I grew up watching Sam struggle, and I wanted to help. So, I worked hard to get to this point.”

I thought back to the guys and how I felt being in Henrik’s pack. It was different. There were more humans that I saw and even had high roles. It wasn’t that there weren’t humans in Jay’s pack, but it was clear where they preferred to be.

“Why don’t all the guys do that?”

“We each have our own issues and agenda. My main focus has always been giving humans a better place to stay, but the other guys have different views.”

I nodded at that and looked up at the sky. The stars twinkled, and I leaned back on the blanket and stared at them.

The silence was nice, and a shooting star fluttered across the sky. Henrik sighed softly.

I looked over at him and propped my head on his chest. “You do good work. I don’t know if people tell you that, but you do.”

He reached a hand up, twirling a strand of hair. “As do you. My work is nothing close to yours.”

I snorted. “Your work is just as important.”

He smiled. “Not as much as you are.”

I felt my heart skip a beat as he stared at me. I looked at his lips, aching for him. But I instead turned, resting my head onto his chest and stared up at the sky.

“How long can we stay out here?”

“As long as you’d like.”

I smiled, sinking into him. I wanted to stay there forever. I knew we couldn’t, but even an hour away from everything was enough.

As we got home, I couldn’t help but feel relaxed. The evening was wonderful with just us and no one else around.

Henrik grabbed my jacket, pulling it off as we got inside. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

I nodded. “I did. I had a wonderful time. Thank you.”

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