Page 127 of Demon Demands

“Two,” she sighed, “and I left them in the cages so the others could eat them, but I’m regretting that decision now.”

My phone pinged, the motion detector I’d set up at the alpha’s office notifying me of someone entering the building.

“I need to go,” I stated abruptly, jumping from my seat.

“Where are you going?” Katie screeched at me.

I glared at her. “To see the alpha. He’s just gotten back, and I need to talk to him about Briggs.”

For someone who was meticulously organized, she seemed to forget the most important part of our plans quite regularly. We’d been waiting for Charles King to come home for days. Spying on him had been useless while he was in Hell.

The ride to his office building was short, too close to our warehouse for me to feel comfortable driving a straight path. I took the long way around, cutting through back roads and a small shopping center before getting back on the main road.

There was only one light on inside as I pulled into the lot. Throwing my car in park, I waited for a moment, collecting myself and letting a small amount of perfume settle into my clothing.

Once I stepped out of my car, I ambled straight through the front door, not bothering to warn him. He’d heard me, so that should be enough.

“Knock, knock,” I called politely, slipping a smile across my lips as I rapped my knuckles on his cracked office door at the back of the downstairs hallway.

“Anna,” he sighed, not glancing up from his desk as I pushed open the door. “I’ve just gotten back from my trip. I haven’t even taken my bags home yet. Can we have this conversation tomorrow? Whatever it is can surely wait.”

“It’s very pressing, Alpha,” I simpered, desperately looking for an in.

“Fine,” he grumbled, peering over his paperwork to lock deep green eyes on me. “What do you need?”

“I would like to be considered for an apprenticeship,” I confessed carefully, needing the position to further my experiments.

His reply was immediate and clipped. “Denied.”

“On what grounds?” I demanded, stomping a foot before I could catch myself.

“You seem to have forgotten your place in this pack,” he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously as his wolf sensed a challenge. “And I am in no mood to deal with you tonight.”

Cautiously, I tilted my head down and to the right, exposing just enough of my throat to calm him.

“Then I’d like to ask permission to mate on the pretense of raising my status,” I tried, hoping the ounce of truth was just what he needed to agree.

“And who would you choose?” He hummed under his breath.

I cleared my throat. “Briggs Elliott.”

The alpha snorted at me. “Briggs already has a mate.”

“Since when?”

“That’s not your business, Anna,” he bit out through clenched teeth as he stood from his desk. “Leave. And when you learn to control yourself, we can talk about possibly picking another.”

“I don’t want another,” I confessed around a strangled sob, tears streaming down my face for his benefit.

I stormed out of the Alpha’s office, slamming his door behind me. Once I made it outside and into my car, I slammed my door also, just for consistency's sake.

As I sat in the silence, my hands shook with frustration, my plan slowly crumbling while I wiped the mascara off my cheeks.

Pulling my cell phone to call my best friend, I began to put my next plans into play. Katie answered on the first ring, waiting for the good news that she wasn’t going to get. Leaning my forehead on my steering wheel, I cranked my car and started backing out.

“So, he’s ours now?” She squealed in excitement.

I growled, anger at the alpha making me see red. “No. Change of plans. We’ll have to be a little sneakier to trap him.”