THIRTEEN
1100 Words
The dining table was cleared of the plates when Elara stepped into the room. The room was empty too, with no sign of Harry anywhere.
Her mind ran straight to the task she had failed to accomplish when Kael was out in the morning; finding a way out of Amarok Hegemony.
She was on it in the morning before Kathy dragged her to the kitchen but she was here now. And the sooner she found something tangible, the sooner she would be free from Kael.
Looking over her shoulder once, she marched up the stairs and slipped into Kael’s room.
Her feet sank into the carpeted floor as his musky scent filled her nose. The room, just like Kael, had a darker vibe than she had failed tonoticed in the morning.
Hurriedly, she rushed to his drawers and began searching them. Half empty bottles of perfumes, personal care items. Nothing useful.
In another corner of the room was his wardrobe. She threw the doors open and searched them. Nothing.
Just as she was about walking in the walk in closet, Kael’s hearty laughter drifted into the open windows. Against her better judgment, she slipped between the curtains and glanced outside.
Her eyes ran between Zara who was smiling up at Kael, and Kael who was saying something with his own bigger smile.
Yup, she thought, her ‘friend’ was definitely her captor’s Luna.
A beeping sound came from the middle of the room pulling Elara away from the window.
Quickly, she pulled away from the curtains and turned back the room as she began searching for whatever made the noise.
The sound beeped again, this time, Elara was sure it came from the bed.
She hastened towards the bed, searched it and found a laptop in the middle of the bed bundled between the duvets.
The laptop beeped again. She pulled it out from the bed, sat on the bed and placed it on her lap.
Just as she opened the laptop, the door burst open.
“What are you doing?”
Elara heard jerked up, shivers running down her spine. That lazy bun on his head stood taller than she could remember.
Her breath hitched. Why did it have to be him?
Harry took slow steps as he walked to where she was sitting. “I asked you a question; what are you doing?”
“I…I, Ka— Alpha Kael’s laptop.” She stammered.
“I can see it’s Alpha Kael’s laptop. My question was, what are you doing with it. Were you going through the Alpha private messages? Stealing important information from the Alpha of the Amarok Hegemony? So help me, I will have your head at a stake if I found out you’ve stolen anything from the Alpha.”
“Come on, Harry. Who do you plan on beheading this time?” Kael asked as he casually walked into the room.
“Oh, Elara.” He kept his gaze on Elara for a moment before walking to her and picked the laptop off her laps. “And there I was thinking you didn’t find it. What took you so long?”
Elara blinked rapidly, “sorry?”
“My laptop. I asked you to bring it, I didn’t think you found it that’s why I came upstairs myself. Now, who’s head were we having at a stake, Harry?”
“She was going through your stuff.” Harry sneered.
“I wasn’t.” She jumped to her feet. “ I was only getting the laptop just like he said me to.”
“Mhh, just like I asked you to.” Kael sucked in sharp breath, looked at Harry before fixing his gaze in Elara.
“Elara wouldn’t be stupid enough to go through my stuff, of course she knows there would be a consequence for that, no?”
She swallowed thickly and kept mute.
“But you should have asked me to get it for you, Alpha Kael, instead of her. She can’t be trusted with your things.”
Kael then turned to Harry. “Yes, but how else would I use her as my slave if I don’t put her to work?” He handed the laptop to Harry. “I wanted to go over the proposition we got from Grimblood pack again, do you mind starting without me? I want to drive Ms. Fitzgerald home.”
“Home?” Harry’s brows were furrowed. “I have asked that the guest room be prepared for her.”
“Ms. Fitzgerald didn’t make any arrangements on sleeping over.”
“But we can provide her with whatever, besi-”
“We would respect the lady’s wishes.” He thrust the laptop to Harry. “I wouldn’t be out for long.”
Elara’s eyes bounced between both men, her heart in her mouth as Harry stretched his hand and took the laptop.
Her heart dropped. Again, her plan for an escape had failed and she was stuck with Kael for a minute longer than she was supposed.
Without any more word, Harry turned on his heels and left.
Kael turned to Elara sharply. “For a minute there, I thought you are wise enough not to go where you are not wanted.” He took small steps to her but Elara stood her ground and kept her face straight. Her eyes, however, were fixed above Kael’s head.
Her confidence was forced. Faked.
“You took advantage of the access I gave to you. I could have had you locked up in one of the cells, you know that? But I let you walk about freely like you are not a prisoner here and you tried to steal from me.”
He closed the gap between them.
Quickly, he grabbed her jaw and forced her eyes to look at him. “What did you plan on doing with that laptop? Steal confidential information?” When Elara said nothing, he squeezed her jaw tighter till tears gathered in her eyes. “Did you plan on stealing from what your parents have left?”
Elara gritted her teeth. “I don’t want to be here.”
“Hmm,” Kael hummed as he let go of her jaw and began stroking her chin softly.
He ran his fore and middle fingers along her chin and under her lip, slightly grazing her lower lip.
“You have shown that you can’t be trusted, Elara. So congratulations, you have earned yourself a permanent shadow.”
Kael pulled Elara’s face closer to his till they were a breath away.
“Mine.”
- Writer
