Hated By The Alpha Bound To Me (Completed)

Chapter 53 - Caught Again

Thorne watched as Elara shoved another oversized piece of cake into her mouth.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Ever since moving out of his room, she seemed determined to keep as much distance between them as possible. Unfortunately for her, the bond made every reaction impossible to miss.

He took a step closer.

Every muscle in Elara's body tightened.

"You were in my office again."

The statement hit her like a physical blow.

Without thinking, she swallowed the mouthful of cake she had just crammed into her mouth.

The decision immediately proved to be a terrible one.

Her eyes widened.

A coughing fit erupted from her chest as she doubled over, desperately trying to breathe while crumbs sprayed across the counter.

Thorne sighed.

Turning away, he grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and placed it in front of her.

Elara snatched it up and drained half the contents before the burning in her throat finally eased.

When she looked up, Thorne was already watching her.

One eyebrow was raised.

The expression on his face only made her more nervous.

"If you're trying to come up with a convincing argument that you weren't in my office," he said dryly, gesturing toward the counter now littered with cake crumbs, "your performance just destroyed any chance of that."

Heat rushed to Elara's face.

Her wolf promptly disappeared from the conversation, abandoning her to deal with the humiliation alone.

Elara stared at Thorne, completely at a loss for words.

Normally, she believed the truth was the best option.

Unfortunately, the truth in this situation involved sneaking into the Alpha's office, using his private phone line, contacting Valamere, and investigating the circumstances surrounding his sister's death.

The truth felt considerably less appealing now.

She swallowed the last remnants of her coughing fit and quickly turned away, reaching for a cloth.

Anything to buy herself a few more seconds.

There had to be an explanation somewhere between a complete lie and the full truth.

Preferably one that didn't end with her being thrown back into a prison cell.

The thought alone made her wince.

Behind her, Thorne remained silent.

She could feel his eyes following her every movement as she wiped cake crumbs from the counter that was already clean.

Then she wiped it again.

And again.

Heat continued creeping across her cheeks.

Of all the situations she had imagined finding herself in, standing barefoot in a kitchen before sunrise while desperately scrubbing an already spotless counter to avoid answering difficult questions had never crossed her mind.

Yet somehow, that was exactly where she had ended up.

The worst part was that Thorne appeared perfectly content to stand there and watch her suffer through every second of it.

"Elara."

The sound of her name cut through the silence.

She bit her lip and finally looked at him.

The moment their eyes met, her courage abandoned her and she glanced away again.

A half-truth.

She could work with a half-truth.

"I called home."

The words came out far less confidently than she had intended.

For a moment, Thorne simply watched her.

"You know all outgoing calls are routed through the communications center first. Approval is required before a call is connected."

Of course she knew.

Rowan had explained the process shortly after she arrived in Draegon.

Every call was monitored and approved by Thorne.

Exactly the reason she hadn't used the proper channels.

"I didn't want to discuss personal matters over a monitored line, Thorne."

This time her voice sounded steadier.

That part, at least, was true.

She had never understood the need for so much oversight. Since arriving in Draegon, she had spoken to her family far less than she wanted to. The moment she crossed into pack territory, her cellphone had been confiscated along with anything capable of communicating beyond the borders.

According to Draegon, it was a security measure.

Elara had always suspected it had more to do with keeping track of her.

The thought made her frown.

Being watched had never sat well with her.

Especially when the person doing the watching was standing a few feet away, studying her with those infuriatingly observant eyes.

"I wanted to hear my sister's voice without feeling like half the pack was listening in."

Thorne took another step forward and gently pulled the cloth from her hand.

"The counter is clean enough."

Heat rushed to her cheeks.

He crossed to the sink and rinsed the cloth beneath the running water before setting it aside.

Elara watched him in silence.

The longer the conversation continued, the more confused she became.

The first time he had caught her in his office, he had cornered her, seething with anger.

Tonight, he seemed remarkably calm.

After a long moment, Thorne let out a quiet sigh.

"If you want to call home again, you don't need my permission."

Elara blinked.

"You can use my phone."

Her mouth fell open.

Surely she had misheard him.

There was no way the same Alpha who monitored outgoing calls and confiscated cell phones upon arrival had just offered her unrestricted access to his private line.

For several seconds she simply stared at him.

Thorne raised an eyebrow.

Part of her remained convinced this was some elaborate trap.

Any moment now he was going to tell her he was joking, take the offer back, and remind her exactly why sneaking into the Alpha's office was a terrible idea.

The moment never came.

"You are serious?"

The question slipped out before she could stop it.

A faint look of amusement crossed his face.

"No, Elara. I enjoy wandering through the pack house in the middle of the night making random offers I don't mean."

Suspicion immediately flared.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"That sounds exactly like something you would do."

Something shifted in Thorne's expression.

A genuine smile spread across his face.

The sight caught her completely off guard.

She had seen amusement before and the occasional smirk when she said something ridiculous. This was different.

The smile softened his features and transformed him from the intimidating Alpha she had grown accustomed to into something far more dangerous.

A man.

Her heart skipped several beats.

"If you say so."

Still smiling, he stepped around her and headed toward the door.

"Get some sleep, Elara. It's still early."

Before she could think of a response, he disappeared into the hallway.

The kitchen felt strangely empty after his departure.

Confused by both his behavior and her own reaction to it, Elara grabbed her forgotten slice of cake and reluctantly made her way back to her room.