The Alpha's Unusual Mate

Chapter 5

***Rose POV***

When I finally tore my eyes from their wanderings, I found his dark eyes staring at me again. I wanted to squirm in my seat, embarrassed to have been caught ogling him, but forced myself to keep still and meet his gaze. A knowing smile spread across his face and a chill went up my spine.

‘Do you know why you are here?’ Black asked in a low voice.

‘No.’ I answered simply.

This was, of course, a lie, but I would not admit to what I saw in the hopes that they might still decide to let me go.

‘Lying does not become you, Rose. Let’s try that again. Do you know why you are here?’ He asked again, his voice almost monotonous.

‘Yes,’ I said and in an attempt at bravery I added, ‘because you are a psychopath who gets off on kidnapping women because he can’t get some any other way.’ The moment those words left my mouth I knew it was a mistake and regretted it.

‘Really now? You think that, do you? You think this is about me wanting you? You think I want to touch you, run my hands over your long legs?’

I swallowed at his callous words. I didn’t know why, but as he spoke a vivid image of him doing exactly that entered my mind and I felt myself clench at the idea.

Black placed his other hand on the table as well and leaned forward. I could see his nostrils flare slightly as he breathed in a long, deep breath. He held it for what felt like an impossibly long time before closing his eyes briefly. On the exhale I could hear a low rumbling, like he was growling deep in his chest.

‘No, princess, that is not why you are here.’

I didn’t like him calling me princess. It felt like an insult rather than an endearment. Before I could respond, however, he continued, ‘You are here because you saw something you shouldn’t have.’

With this he dropped his gaze again and for a brief moment a look of regret flashed across his devilishly handsome face.

‘I didn’t see anything.’ I hated how small my voice sounded, but with his last words I was quickly reminded of how dangerous this man was.

‘You saw enough.’

His voice was clipped and dripped with anger again. Without waiting for me to respond he stood up abruptly and was out the room before I could take another breath.

I heard muffled voices on the other side of the door. After some silence, the door opened quickly, giving me a fright. I half expected Dimitri to appear in the doorway again, but it was not him. This man looked vaguely familiar, and I recalled that he was the third man who had broken into my house.

He was shorter than the other two men but looked no less dangerous. He had a kinder face than the other two as well, but it was set in a scowl. He did not say anything as he hurried into the room and took the cuffs off my wrists.

‘What is happening now?’ I asked the newcomer. He did not answer me at first and didn’t look at me. Just when I thought he would say nothing, he finally spoke.

‘The hell if I know what he is thinking. Come.’

He said the last and gestured for me to walk ahead of him. His response did, however, not answer my question, but I had a vague idea of what he was talking about.

He was clearly not happy with whatever decision Black had made. I also noticed that he did not once touch me. Not when he removed the cuffs. He did not even grab hold of my arm like Dimitri did. Did he think it was not necessary or did I repulse him?

Holding my head high, I walked past him, intent on showing my indifference. At the end of the corridor there was a guard waiting for me, and soon I found myself trapped again. This time it was the two broad bodies of men that blocked my escape.

The guard’s eyes went over my shoulder, clearly silently communicating with the man bringing up the rear. He gave a curt nod and turned on his heel. The three of us walked in silence through the various corridors of the building that housed the cells and interrogation rooms.

The sunlight that greeted us when we stepped out did nothing to heat me. The weather was changing quickly now as we neared the end of autumn. My blouse that used to be white, but was now covered in dirt, did nothing to shield me from the chill of the morning air. My already sore and cold feet started to ache as we walked over the wet grass towards what I assumed was the back entrance to the house.

I tried to scan my surroundings to look for an opening, but everywhere my head turned I could see people. There were mostly men around the square building and along the edges of the treeline, but as we neared the house, I could see a few women walking to-and-fro. Some looked in my direction, obviously curious as to who I was, but none of them showed any surprise or disapproval at my disheveled state.

‘We have a near full house, so you will have to stay on the third floor.’ It was my rear guard who spoke.

‘What do you mean stay? And in the house?’ I stopped and turned to speak to the man.

‘The boss has decided to keep you in the house instead of the cells. The only free room is on the third floor.’ He sighed as he spoke, clearly not happy with being given the task of escorting me or explaining these things to me.

I was baffled as to why it was important to state I would be staying on the third floor. Maybe he felt the need to warn me against trying to escape through a window. A jump from so far up would definitely break a few bones and could kill me. I was not going to refuse a warm bedroom, however. I was tired and cold, and desperately needed to use a bathroom for various reasons.

After leading me up the stairs, the man came to a stop in front of a closed, ordinary-looking bedroom door. He paused, gave me a once-over and opened the door.

‘There. In.’

Idly I wondered if he was always so short-tempered or if it was just me that brought it out in him.

‘What is your name?’ My question caught him off guard. He hesitated for a moment before answering me.

‘I’m Alex.’ He looked at me expectantly, clearly trying to figure out why I had asked him this.

‘Thank you, Alex.’

I figured it would do well to try and make a friend here and while he was curt with me, he had not once manhandled or sneered at me. With a small nod, he closed the door behind me, and I heard a key turning in the lock.

The room was bigger than my bedroom in the duplex, but it was plainly decorated. In the center stood a large bed with crisp white linen and two bedside tables. Under the window was a pinewood desk and a chair. The only decoration in the room was a gray lamp that stood on the desk.

At the other end of the room there was a door flanked by two sets of drawers. Opening the door confirmed my suspicions when I saw the large bathroom complete with vanity, toilet, twin basins, shower and bathtub. Without another thought, I rushed in to use the facilities before turning to the shower. The bath would have to wait until after I washed all the dirt and grime from myself.

The steam was slowly filling the large space as I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. My hair was sticking up on one side of my head and clinging to my cheek on the other side. My mascara had run down my face, leaving two streaks on my cheeks. My eyes were red and overall, I looked like a mess.

In the shower, I spent more time than absolutely necessary scrubbing my hair, face and body with the products in the shower. Once I was convinced I was thoroughly clean, I turned off the taps and looked around for a towel. Luckily, the railing with a series of white towels was close to the shower door and I padded on my toes to reach for the biggest and fluffiest of the bunch.

When I re-entered the bedroom, I noticed a tray of food sitting on the desk and rushed to it. I was greeted by the beautiful sight of a stack of thick pancakes dripping with butter and golden syrup. There was also a bottle of water and a glass of what looked like orange juice.

With one hand still firmly clutching the towel wrapped around me, I reached for one of the pancakes with my other hand. Syrup was dripping down my hand and arm, but I couldn't care less. I was starving, and the pancakes were delicious. When I rammed the last bit of the pancake into my mouth, I reached for the juice and took a large gulp. I was licking the sticky syrup from my fingers as I was turning around when I froze, my tongue still on my pinkie finger.