Page 9
I was working on my coffee when Henrik walked in. He rubbed a hand over his face, and my eyes widened as I took in his six-pack. Henrik was wearing a pair of shorts but no shirt. I expected he would be comfortable, but I hadn’t prepared myself for this.
I knew that the Alphas were in top condition. I heard about their training, and just looking at the guys, I could tell they were fit. But seeing it was another thing.
Henrik just finished a shower, and I could smell his cedar soap as he stopped near the fridge. His biceps were bulging, and his back muscles flexed as he opened the fridge.
I swallowed, feeling heat pool below. It was one thing to deny myself and say it was because he wasn’t that attractive, but that would be a lie. I knew my body was reacting to how perfectly his body was sculpted.
“Morning,” Henrik said as he shut the door, holding a container of eggs. “You want breakfast? I can make some eggs.”
I slowly nodded, unable to stop myself from looking back down at his abs. Henrik followed my line of sight and tensed. “Shit, sorry. I thought I was doing good remembering to throw a shirt on.”
I felt a blush roll over my face, and I offered him a coy smile. “Well, you're not naked. So, I’ll give you that.”
He laughed. “That would be Aaron. I feel the need to contain this.” He waved a hand around his crotch area. “But I can put a shirt on. I want you to feel comfortable.” He walked down the hallway and came back, pulling on a short-sleeved shirt.
I sat and watched as he made eggs. I sipped my coffee, watching as he flipped the eggs like he’d done it a million times before. It only took him a few minutes before he was setting a plate of eggs in front of me. “Do you want anything else to drink besides that nastiness?”
I looked up from my coffee. “What is with you and disliking coffee?”
He scrunched up his nose. “It’s gross.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. “You sound like a child.”
He chuckled. “You’re just figuring that out now? I know we’ve only been married for a solid eighteen hours, but I thought you would have figured that out already.”
I couldn’t deny that Henrik had made me laugh before and always made me feel comfortable. But I just thought of his rejection and how quickly that seemed to disappear. He suddenly seemed like a different person to me.
“So what you're saying is I married a child? Are there any other adult things you like to describe as gross?”
His smile grew. “Would you like a list?”
I laughed. “Why do I feel like it would be long?”
He leaned forward, and his eyes twinkled. “To some people. Would you like to see it?”
I knew he was joking, but I could see the twistedness in it. He wasn’t just talking about a list but his dick. And my insides twisted up because I couldn’t deny I was interested.
I swallowed, trying to make my expression flat as I sighed. “I’m sure it’s just like the rest.”
His mouth hung open. “Wow, you know how to destroy a man's ego without even knowing it.”
I smirked. I couldn’t help it. Henrik always made me feel different.
“What are your plans today?” Henrik asked as he stabbed a fork into his eggs.
I shrugged. “I don’t really have any plans. Why?”
“I have a meeting with some members, and I thought you should come along with me. You could meet everyone and get to know them a little. Would be a way to get you out of the house.”
I swallowed because I knew myself. I was going to embarrass him somehow, maybe even just by being there. Did he really want that? He was probably offering because he was trying to be nice.
“Are you sure you want me to join?” I asked, rubbing my hands together nervously in my lap. “I don’t need to go.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I think you’ll find that this pack is a little different from all the others.”
I wanted to say no and just spend the day hunched over my laptop, but I knew that I couldn’t do that forever. I needed to immerse myself in the pack, and now would be a good time to do it.
So, I agreed, and we were driving to the town hall twenty minutes later.
I took in the town, enjoying the view. Summer was in full swing, and everyone seemed to be outside.
There was a park that was filled with children and a couple having a picnic under a tree.
Flowers were blooming everywhere, and the trees and shrubs were a lovely green.
There was a large river we drove by, and I could see a couple of people fishing in it. I had no idea if you could even catch fish, but they seemed to be having a good time.
“It’s very nice,” I commented as Henrik parked. The town hall was near the river and had a beautiful view.
“We used a lot of money to redo the roads and added new lamp posts, so they were solar-powered. It’s supposed to save money in the long run.”
I nodded as we got out of the car and headed up towards the town hall. The building itself was a bright blue with large open windows. It gave me a comforting vibe, which threw me for a loop. I was used to the one in Jay’s pack, which was run down and in need of a refurbish.
I could see that the outside of the building had recently been done with new mulch and neatly trimmed grass. The windows looked like they had been cleaned and seemed to shine in the sunlight.
“Let’s head inside. Everyone is waiting.”
I followed Henrik and tried to stand tall.
I knew little about Henrik’s pack, and it was a little embarrassing.
I should have tried to learn more about the other packs when I was first told about needing to find them mates.
Maybe I would at least know who I was meeting and could have prepared myself better.
As we headed inside the building, I noticed it was decorated nicely. There was a large open space with high vaulted ceilings. There was a large blue rug that covered the light wood floor. There were pictures hung up and I guessed they were previous Alphas.
I walked closer, taking some of the pictures in. I scanned the wall, looking for Henrik, not finding him. “Who are all of these?”
Henrik paused next to me. “Alphas.”
I continued to scan the wall. “Where are you? Am I just not seeing you?”
“I haven’t earned to be on the wall.”
I looked at him, surprised. “What do you mean? You’re Alpha, so shouldn’t you be up on the wall?”
He shook his head. “No, the people of the pack make that choice. You get picked to be put up on the wall. Some never make it up there.”
My eyes widened at this. “Seriously?”
He nodded and pointed towards an open door. “Everyone’s in here.”
I took another glance at the wall before following after him. The room was filled with a handful of people already in chairs. There were two chairs on the far end that remained open, and Henrik walked over to them. “Thanks for waiting, everyone. I brought Katie along with me today.”
I scanned the group. There were three men and two women in the room.
“Katie, this is Kyle. He’s my Beta, and Kent is my second in command if Kyle is unavailable.”
I nodded as I looked at them. Kyle was the same height as Henrik. He had dark brown skin and deep blue eyes. His hair was a dark black that was braided. Kyle was a little short with a golden tan. He had brown hair and light blond hair that had blue tips.
“And that’s Davina, Elli, and Ronald. There are a few of the Honeycomb Valley Council members who could join us today.”
“Your others couldn’t join?”
“Scott’s wife is down with the flu, and he’s watching after his four kids,” Davina said with a soft smile. “And Quinn and Vivian are twins who are out for their birthday.”
I took that information in and nodded my head as Henrik pulled his chair out and offered it to me. I sat down and swallowed as Henrik sat down in his chair. “Well, since introductions were made, let’s get into this.”
All of them quickly dove into different events and problems the town members had brought up.
I was shocked at how they all voiced their opinions without concern.
Henrik was clearly the person who ran the meeting, but everyone was free to say what they wanted.
They even argued back if they felt he was misguided.
Davina raised an eyebrow at me. “I am interested in how your algorithm works, pairing the Alphas. How is it that you two were paired together?” She pointed between Henrik and me. “I mean…no offense, but I don’t see how you guys would go together?”
“Why, because she’s out of his league?” Kent asked with a wicked grin.
“Yeah.” Davina nodded her head. “No offense Henrik but she’s a fricking scientist with several degrees, and you haven’t even made it on the wall outside.”
I blinked, staring at them, stunned. Were they honestly saying I was out of his league? How could that even be? Henrik was drop-dead handsome, and surely they saw that.
“I’m sorry,” I shook my head. “Aren’t you meaning to say I’m out of his league?”
Kyle snorted. “He may have the looks, but there isn’t a lot of thinking going on inside that head of his.”
“Hey now,” Henrik said, looking at Kyle. “Are you calling me stupid?”
“Well, we aren’t calling you smart.” Kent quickly added.
I swallowed, expecting a fight to break out, but Henrik laughed. He laughed hard, and it shocked me. I expected him to get angry, but he wasn’t. He was… laughing.
Henrik patted his hand on mine. “A few things you should know. Davina has a statistics degree, and Kyle has a degree in engineering. So, I wasn’t kidding when I said there were other odd people out there.”
“Who are you calling odd?” Davina asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Because you’re clearly the odd one out in this group.”
I listened as they continued to joke and poke fun at Henrik. But it was friendly. I sank into my cushion, finding that the people surrounding Henrik were people he truly trusted. I could see it in the way he looked at them.
“Speaking of outside, how do you get onto the wall?” I asked.
Everyone went silent, and I felt I had spoken out of turn. But Kent gave me a soft smile. “The town has meetings every quarter, and if anyone thinks that the Alpha deserves to be put up, they have a vote. You have to have the majority vote to get your picture up.”
“And you haven’t?” I asked, looking at Henrik.
“He’s only been Alpha for a few years,” Kent added. “Sometimes it takes years before you even get your first vote.”
“But he deserves it more than some of those that are up on that wall,” Davina commented. “Honestly, some of them, I’m sure, purchased their way on that wall.”
“Each and every one of them made their way up there for good reason,” Henrik said, shaking his head at Davina. “Some just…lose their way near the end of their ruling.”
“Our last Alpha let this pack fall apart, and Henrik has been working to put all the pieces back together again,” Kyle said. “It’s a lot of work, and sometimes people don’t notice the changes, but they are there.”
I didn’t know what the pack looked like before, but it was stunning now. It was clear that it was being taken care of. The meeting went on for a few more minutes before we headed out.
Henrik took me around town, showing me some things they had worked hard on. It surprised me just how much work he’d already done, only being an Alpha for such a short time.
“Why hasn’t anyone nominated you to be on the wall in City Hall?” I asked as he drove us back home. “It seems to me you’ve earned it. You’ve done so much. You redid the river walk you guys have. You put all the new lamp posts up and redid the roads.”
Henrik shrugged. “I just haven’t.”
I thought it seemed rude that he hadn’t. He clearly loved his pack. I could see it from the way people waved at us and the way he spoke about everyone.
As we got home, I slipped my shoes off and stretched. Henrik then looked at me. “Would you like to go to the next meeting? We’re going to be talking about the school and local shops. Should be a good meeting.”
I headed for the hallway, and Henrik followed me. I looked at him. “Sure, was there any specific topic?”
He nodded, and his eyes sparkled. “I know the school is bringing up a new program they want to use in the school. It’s to help get kids focused on the sciences and math fields.”
This caught my interest. “Oh?”
He nodded and continued to talk. “Yeah. They said they have a hard time getting kids into it, but they know there are kids who want to be. So, they want to start an after-school program that gets them on a career focused in that. So, the students would visit hospitals, clinics, and shadow people. We even reached out to some local shops if they had anything they would be willing to let kids shadow for.”
“That would actually be a really good thing. Being able to see what is out there would actually pique some kids' interest. What do you have so far?”
“We have a few nurses and a doctor willing to offer up one day a week. We have the police station offering up a desk and an officer twice a week. The meeting will actually help see who else is willing to help.”
I turned and I hadn’t realized how close Henrik was standing or the fact that he followed me all the way into my bedroom. I felt a heat cover over me like a blanket, and swallowed.
I scrambled my mind for anything to say. My mind was suddenly hyper-aware of where we stood and how close he stood to me. My bed was just to the right of us, and it seemed to be beckoning us.
“Where did you even get this idea?”
Henrik looked at me and smiled. It was a soft smile. “The school brought it up to me, but I just thought of how I wished there were more people out there like you. That saw the world differently.”
I blushed and watched as his eyes looked down at my lips. I could see a glimmer in his eyes, and then they flicked past me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I followed you all the way in here. I’ll let you get some rest.”
I suddenly felt a tug as he turned, stepped out of my room, and headed down the hallway to the kitchen. My shoulders sank, and I frowned.
Why did I feel sad when he walked away, though? Wasn’t that a good thing? Isn’t that what I wanted? Space?
No. That’s never what you wanted. You just wanted to be noticed, and he noticed you.