I was feeling a lot of emotions until I saw Katie.

It wasn’t every day you got a message from the Council to go track a person down.

I had no clue why they sent me, but I wasn’t going to argue with them about it.

It was better that I went than any of the other Alphas.

They might not have been kind when they found her.

I knew how important Katie was to the survival of the pack right now. She was the one person who understood what was going on and was kind enough to keep trying. No one else had even come close. Other people were working on this and trying to figure it out, but no one was getting results like her.

And I needed her to find mine. If I wanted to keep my status as Alpha, she would be the only person who could find my mate. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was going to get answers.

“What are you doing here?” Katie snapped as she stood on her bed holding a lamp. I would have laughed if I were so frustrated with the drive here. It started raining halfway, and now I was soaking wet and cold.

I crossed my arms. “I asked you first.”

She scoffed. “You’re the one breaking into my hotel room!”

I looked back at the door, which hadn’t even been locked. Could we really call it breaking in if the door was technically open? “The door wasn’t even locked.”

She lowered her hand holding the lamp and ran her other hand through her hair. She shook her head as she sat down on the bed. “Why are you here?”

I scowled. “I got a call from the Council that you're running away? Are you kidding me? Seriously? Running?”

She glared and looked away from me. “This doesn’t concern you. You shouldn’t even be here.”

I laughed. “It does. The Council called me. Are you trying to ruin your life?”

Katie fell silent, not answering my question, and I took a deep breath, trying not to snap at her.

I was running on low sleep and had a long day of meetings.

Half of this was because I was soaking wet and wanted to warm up, but I certainly wasn’t doing that here in this hotel, which looked like it needed an inspection.

I sighed. “Katie, grab your stuff.”

“No.”

I ground my teeth together. “Katie, I’m not joking. Grab your stuff. You can’t honestly be thinking you’ll stay in this shitty hotel.”

She crossed her arms. “There is nothing wrong with this place.”

I laughed. “Really? Because the front desk didn’t ask for my ID when I came in, saying I was your husband.

They just gave me a card, which I didn’t even have to use because your door wasn’t even locked.

So, I wouldn’t call this a safe place to stay.

Your car is probably more secure than this building. ”

Her face went red, and her nostrils flared. “You don’t get to tell me what I can do, Henrik! You made that perfectly clear, so I don’t understand why the hell you're going hot and cold with me.”

I rolled my tongue over my teeth. She had me there. “Katie, grab your stuff.”

“You can get out.”

I ran a hand over my face and sighed. “Why are you even here? Do you even realize the persecution you’ll face when you get back?”

I watched her fingers knit together in her lap. “Who said I was going back?”

So, she was trying to run. Well, shit.

I didn’t understand why. I thought she loved her work.

She always spoke so passionately about it.

So why the hell was she just going to desert it?

And had she thought about what the Council would do when they got to her?

How angry were they going to be? They told me she was running, but I didn’t believe it.

This was Katie, after all. She was a smart girl. She wouldn’t just run for it.

Something was clearly going on, but I wasn’t seeing it. “Katie, what’s going on? It’s far too late for me to have to figure out whatever the hell happened. You should just tell me.”

“Why? So you can tell me to pull myself together and be a big girl?” She slammed the lamp down and took a few steps towards me. “Henrik, get out.”

I watched as pain flicked across her face, and I knew it wasn’t just her running.

She was scared, but I didn’t know of what.

I felt a tug deep in my chest, wanting to pull her close and hold her.

I had always thought Katie was a sweet girl, but I was seeing a different side of her.

A side that was trying hard to hide her other half.

“Fine, sleep here. I’m taking you back in the morning.” I said, taking a step back. “We can talk more later.”

She looked almost relieved, and I turned towards her door.

I pulled it open and stepped outside into the hallway.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay here. My car was probably cleaner than the rooms, but I was too exhausted to even think about that.

I stopped at the front, seeing that the front desk person wasn’t there.

I rang the bell and leaned back on my heels.

I didn’t even have a change of clothes or a toothbrush.

I just left my meeting as soon as I got the call from the Council.

I yawned, looked outside, and froze when my eyes landed on a man in all black walking through the parking lot.

A shiver ran down my spine as he rounded a car, his eyes glued to one of the windows.

I looked at the window and quickly realized it was Katie’s room.

The Council hadn’t just sent me, but someone else.

I watched him watch her window for a while before he started coming for the doors. He started to come inside and stopped at the door. I scanned the man, wanting to bare my teeth at him, but I offered a polite smile instead. I just gave him a head nod. “Needing a room?”

The guy scanned me and shrugged. He pulled his hood down, revealing thick black hair. He was older, possible in his fifties. I didn’t recognize him.

“Yeah. I’m getting a room.”

I watched him for a second when an idea popped into my head. “Do you have your car insurance paperwork on you? The guy just told me I needed it before booking a room. Said something about needing to prove we have insurance in case of an accident.”

The man’s eyebrows went up slightly. “Really? That seems weird.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I said. He’s running it through the computer in the back since this one broke down. I figured I’d save you the time, and you can grab it now.”

The man nodded and headed back out the door. I watched as he walked back to his car, and the front desk man stepped to the front. “Sorry, I was putting some laundry away. How can I help you?”

I turned to the man and frowned. “You see that man out there? I’m pretty sure I saw that the police were looking for him.”

The guy's eyebrows went up, and he looked out the window. “Seriously?”

I nodded, putting on a worried expression. “Yeah, and if I were you, I would call him in. You’re responsible for all these people here, after all.”

The man looked worried as he looked back at the window. “Why is he digging in his front compartment?”

“Couldn’t tell ya. I bet he’s going to show you a bunch of paperwork so he can book a room. Maybe even show you that his car is insured. I think that was a trick he pulled at another hotel he was staying at.”

“What’s he on the run for?”

“Robbery,” I said, shaking my head. “Don’t think he’s dangerous, but I would be careful. Call the police, and don’t let him book a room.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

I nodded and slipped back down the hallway. The front desk guy was going to keep whoever that other guy was busy, so I had probably ten minutes to get Katie out of there before he realized that we were gone.

I made my way back down to Katie’s room and tried the door. She’d locked it this time, but I still had my key. I unlocked the door and slipped inside. The room was still light, and Katie stood near the foot of the bed. She scowled as she turned to look at me.

She waved her hands and groaned. “Jesus, do you not understand? I want to be left alone, Henrik.”

I forced a smile. “As much as I’d love to argue right now, we don’t have the time.”

I crossed past her and ripped the sheets straight off the bed. Katie gasped. “What the hell are you doing!?”

I turned and threw them around her, tightly winding them so she couldn’t break free. Katie yelled, trying to free herself, but I worked quicker, wrapping another sheet around her.

“Henrik! What the fuck are you doing? Would you stop!”

“I’m taking you back.”

“ No !” She wiggled, trying to claw herself free. “I’m not going back!”

I ignored her words and hoisted her up and over my shoulder. Katie was soft as she fumbled against my shoulder, wiggling hard to free herself.

“Oh my god, Henrik! You are such a fucking dick! Put me down! This is kidnapping!”

I headed outside the hallway and took a right towards the back exit. I could hear someone talking in front of me, and I knew it was the guy. I had minutes before they would realize what happened.

Katie wiggled, and I tightened my hold on her. “Katie, stop wiggling. You’re going to make me drop you.”

“Then put me down! Do you have any idea how bad this looks? How humiliating this is?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it’s a good thing we are somewhere where no one knows who we even are.”

I shoved the door open and pulled us outside. The temperature had dropped, and it was cold. I headed towards my car, opened the passenger seat, and set her inside. I buckled her in and made it to the driver's side.

Katie was fuming. Her eyes were glaring at me angrily as she tried to free herself. She’d unlocked her arms, and I quickly locked the door as I started it up. “You have nowhere to go, so you might as well give up.”

I could see the fear fill her eyes as she looked back towards the hotel. “You can’t do this to me, Henrik. You don’t understand. I can’t go back!”

I didn’t understand, but I knew she couldn’t run. It wouldn’t solve anything. It would only make things worse for everyone, including herself.

“Katie, what were you even going to do? You can’t run. The Council will never let you. You will never be able to be a scientist if you do.”

“I already ran! They sent you after me. So, you might as well let me go.”

I couldn’t accept that. “We can just say you were on a trip.”

Katie shook her head. “You don’t get it! Just let me go! Please.”

I pulled the car into drive and started to turn us to exit. “Sorry, Katie, but no. You’re coming back with me.” I had no idea what I was going to do when we got back to the pack, but I would need to figure something out.