ELARA POV
I knew I was going against the security protocols by getting closer to Kael, but I couldn't stop myself. I walked toward him despite the danger, knowing that if I was going to cross another red line, anything he did to me would be entirely on me. If he choked me to death, then so be it.
I fell to my knees right in front of him and looked at him, my eyes clearly red from all the tears I was holding back.
"I'm sorry," I said to him, unable to hold in my emotions as he seemed puzzled.
"Sorry for what? You did nothing wrong to me," he said as I laughed, wiping the small tears that were finding their way out and ruining my morning makeup.
I stood up and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know what to do. I don't have the heart to torture you or try to extract anything from you, but I don't want to lose my job. I have worked so hard for this," I said to him as he laughed.
"Who said you always have to do the exact job they assigned you? Thankfully, they don't have any microphones inside this lab to hear our conversations. You can just make them believe you are doing what they want you to do, and you stay at peace and live your life as a surgeon or whatever you said you want to be," he said.
I scoffed. Clearly, his suggestion was too simplistic, and he thought life was just that easy, that they would never push for more from me. He didn't even know I had a time limit to get information from him.
"I don't think I would be able to do something like that. It wouldn't even work. They gave me a time limit, and I can't do anything. I won't be able to force you to say a word to me if you don't want to," I said to him, taking a step back as he held me in place.
"Then pretend I am helping you. You don't have to force everything onto your own shoulders and try to do it all alone. I can always assist you to get what you want," he said again.
I stayed quiet. If only I could open up and explain everything to Kael, then he would understand that even talking to me was dangerous, because I was clearly here to extract information from him and nothing more. He would not understand.
I simply took my seat back as I opened the documents again, trying to go through them, searching for something I could use to present progress. Something I could offer as a result without actually breaking him.
"It feels like you are holding back so many emotions you badly want to pour out, and I am all ears to listen to anything you want to say," he muttered.
I did not bother responding and instead just kept swiping each page, trying to find something useful, something I could work with aside from the mind link he had shared with me. Otherwise, I might lose my job and become a mockery to Marcus and his team.
"I said I could help you. Why aren't you listening?" he said, his voice carrying a faint edge of frustration.
I looked up at him with a deep frown on my face.
"I don't want your solutions. They're not going to help. I am not going to put on a performance and pretend I am actually getting information from you when I am getting nothing."
"I would be of no use at that point. And what if they call me in one day and ask what my results have been since I started my experiments with you, and I have nothing to show for it?"
"All I could say was that I sat with you and chatted all this time. You are bored and you want to talk to me, but that is not a result. It's been a year. I know how humiliating this must be."
"I'm sure very soon one of your pack members is going to come in search of you, and then we'll have them. That is the only way," I said, just muttering words without thinking as he rolled his eyes at me.
I almost laughed at that. He was copying exactly what I usually did to him.
"Did you just roll your eyes? It actually doesn't suit you at all. You are not one of us. Stop trying to imitate us. I know living here for a year has affected you, but very soon you'll be going back to where you belong," I said to him, feeling so frustrated.
I had already gotten to the middle of the book, yet nothing. There were no good results. There was nothing to report, just empty pages. I closed the book and stood up, taking off my coat.
"You are already leaving?" he said.
I had not even made a full step, and he was already questioning me.
"Yes, I am actually leaving, and I don't want you to call me, mind link or whatever. I don't need any closeness with you. I want you to always remember that," I warned him, and yet somehow, I couldn't stop myself from drifting closer and closer to him as he laughed.
"I'm going to tell you something you won't be able to believe, Elara," he said as I folded my arms.
"What is that?" I asked firmly.
"We are linked. You might not believe me, or perhaps you will never believe in anything that does not have a scientific explanation, but we are connected. I don't know how, but I pray it is not one-sided," he said.
"Connected," I laughed. "Who told you I haven't gone through your people's history, documentaries, everything? I know exactly what you mean. You want to play a trick on me and make it seem like I am your mate, someone you have to be bonded with for life. We are not connected."
I turned and left. I left the building entirely. Only then did I feel at peace, knowing I was no longer in the presence of Kael. He had a way of pulling me down with him and not allowing me to leave his presence easily.
I started the car engine, ready to go back to my life, live it all over again, and be back here in the morning to continue my so-called experiment that was bearing no fruit.
Very soon, I would lose my job, I thought, when I saw Marcus standing in front of my car, a smirk on his face.
"Where exactly are you going? You've been summoned," he said, puzzling me entirely.