Chapter 17

Iwas fuming, angry with myself for not having seen it sooner. But I was just as furious with the Director that he, too, should have been so blind to what was so obvious. This entire time, I had wondered how Darryl had been so effective in avoiding capture. Reading through their files, it had been uncanny how he systematically found the most powerful newborns in the midst of crossing over, so that he could feed on them in their most vulnerable state. It had been far too convenient that every time he siphoned the victim, it always happened to be at a time where no agent was in close enough proximity to intervene in a timely fashion. And the time they would have been close enough, out of sheer luck there happened to be no cameras in the area that could have given them an early heads up.

There were too many coincidences to continue to deny the truth.

When the lift stopped on the second floor where the offices were located, I made a beeline for his. I didn”t wait for Thomson to open the door, letting myself in before taking a seat in one of the two leather chairs in front of his desk. The Director eyed me warily, a frown marring his forehead.

“You wished to speak to me?” Thomson said while circling around his desk to take a seat.

“Darryl knows what is going on in this base,” I said matter-of-factly but in a slightly harsh tone. “You”ve been suspecting as much for a while now. And yet, you allowed my mate to leave this place without an escort and put her in harm”s way.”

Thomson cringed and lowered his gaze, guilt washing over his features. However, I didn”t give a shit about his guilt or any remorse he may feel.

“You are right. I had begun to suspect information was somehow being leaked to him,” Thomson said in a grim tone. “I trust every one of my agents and cannot believe for one minute they would do such a thing. Why? What could they possibly gain from it? Every single person in this project has been thoroughly vetted. And yet, despite my doubts, I actually launched an internal investigation to root out the traitor,” he added, running his fingers through his hair with a dejected expression. “We have found absolutely nothing.”

“And you won’t,” I said in a calm voice. Thomson recoiled, his blue eyes widening in confusion. “Tell me Director Thomson, what is your greatest fear?”

His frown deepened, and he looked at me in a way that said he didn”t see what that had to do with anything.

“I bet that the thing that keeps you up at night is the fear that something will come out of the Mist, so powerful, so evil, so relentless, that it will decimate the population of the city you have sworn to protect, and that you’ll be helpless to eliminate it,” I said in a conversational tone. “I bet you have nightmares about the men and women you’ve grown to consider as family getting obliterated by a vile and unstoppable monster. And as the months and years go by, one by one, your greatest fears are coming to pass. Why do you think that is, Director Thomson?”

The blood drained from Thomson’s face, a horrified expression descending on his features.

“No,” he whispered, shaking his head in denial.

“Yes, Thomson. Yes. Darryl is your Nightmare,” I replied in a tone that brooked no argument. “Every night, you feed him vital information about this operation and the people within it.”

“THAT’S A LIE!!” Thomson shouted. He jumped to his feet, fury etched on his face. “I would never—”

“SIT DOWN!” I shouted back, interrupting him.

“You don’t—”

“Sit your ass down now, or I will make you,” I hissed in a threatening voice.

Thomson swallowed hard, his anger giving way to fear as my tendrils came out. More waves of fear and confusion wafted to me from behind. I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to know that the handful of agents who hadn’t gone home for the Mist, were panicking at the sight of what they could only interpret as me having turned on their boss… on them.

“You tell them to stay outside,” I warned in a dangerously low voice. “Anyone comes in, I will hurt them.”

A slew of emotions crossed the Director’s features before he gestured at the people outside to stand down. He then resumed his seat, no longer knowing what I would or wouldn’t do. Over the past month, he had become complacent, overly confident that I was ‘tamed’ by my mate.

Foolish man.

I crossed my legs and leaned against the backrest of my chair before brushing off a non-existent piece of lint off my pants.

“Every time a human goes to sleep, his Wish, Nightmare, or Dark Desire gets an open window into that person’s thoughts, hopes, dreams and, naturally, fears,” I explained in a conversational tone. “Humans also use that time of rest to sort out the things that plague them, the problems they couldn’t solve, or to confirm if the steps they have taken to address an issue were right. Just like you have your daily physical hygiene routine, humans do their nightly mental hygiene.”

Thomson let out a shuddering breath, and his shoulders drooped with understanding.

“If I thought you had deliberately betrayed the men and women of this organization, you would be drawing your last breath as we speak,” I said in a harsh tone. “I do not fault you for creating that monster or for involuntarily giving him the ammunition to fire back. It is the natural way the human mind works in conjunction with the Mist. But I do blame you for not seeing it sooner. My mate has already mentioned that her preliminary evaluation of your agents has led her to believe they are spawning half of the Nightmares haunting your streets. And that if they haven’t yet, they will soon, without steady stress and PTSD therapy.”

Thomson nodded, a pained expression on his face. Although I couldn’t read his mind in my human form, with the Mist increasingly approaching, I could feel his emotions with a greater acuity with a hint of the thoughts that had fueled them. In this instance, I could clearly sense the guilt gnawing him at the thought of the agents and the civilians that had died because he hadn’t been able to manage his fears.

This whole remorse business was such a waste of time. Humans devoted too much energy crying over spilled milk. It was absurd. People had died… oh well. Rather than wallowing in a pointless sense of guilt, he should channel that energy into focusing on preventing this from happening again.

“I need to remove myself from this situation,” Thomson said.

“Yes,” I said, surprised he didn’t seem intent on arguing.

“But if he’s been reading me, he knows the plans about the Squad,” he reflected out loud with a frown. “He knows that Letho and Merax are coming back tonight.”

“To be interviewed by me,” I countered. “He doesn’t know the outcome. He also doesn’t know their power level. If they were diligent and committed to their promise to build their energy level until the next Mist, those two will have gorged for the entire month and should be of a respectable level. The three of us combined will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Thomson cast a glance at the clock on his desk. “If I leave now, I can make it home before the sirens go off. To think I told Tate to take some time off this Mist, and Belinda is home with her family,” the Director said with annoyance.

“Tell Tate to return,” I ordered in an imperative tone.

“He’s out of town. He wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning,” Thomson argued.

“Bring. Him. Back,” I snapped. “Do you really want me running the show?”

Thomson blinked, taken aback by my comment. I could literally read the thoughts fleeting through his mind as he assessed the current situation. He knew damn well Tate was the only one of his agents whose authority I would defer to. All others would be my bitches.

“I will call him,” Thomson said with a heavy sigh.

“Good man,” I replied in a taunting tone.

He leveled me with a hard stare, and I couldn’t help but admire how ballsy it was for him to act in a threatening fashion towards me.

“Do not patronize me, Mistwalker,” the Director said in a clipped tone. “This is still my organization, and you still report to me. You do not order me around, shadow tentacles or not.”

“They’re tendrils,” I corrected.

“I don’t give a flying fuck what they are,” he snapped back. I raised an eyebrow, impressed to see the tougher side of our division’s leader. “I’m temporarily stepping aside to avoid further jeopardizing the safety of the people of this organization, and the residents of this city. Don’t get too cocky. You will assess the two Nightmares as soon as they come in, and report back to Tate right after you’re done, understood?”

I should have snapped his neck for his insolence, but the old man was growing on me. I smirked and rose to my feet.

“Safe journey home, Director Thomson,” I said in a taunting tone while walking out of his office.

“Arrogant son of a bitch,” Thomson muttered while picking up a few items from his desk.

I chuckled and left his door wide open. I strolled past the dozen agents gathered outside his office, putting as much swagger as possible in my steps. The poor humans didn’t know what to think or how to react. I entered the elevator and turned to face them. As the door closed, I winked at them, which earned me a barrage of swear words quickly cut off by the doors shutting.

I made a beeline for my quarters to find my woman on a video call with one of her psychologist colleagues. She quickly ended it, which pleased me immensely. I liked being her main priority.

“Sweetie, is everything okay?” Naima asked as she came to stand in front of me.

I drew her into my embrace and kissed her deeply. She melted against me, yielding the control I craved, and responding to my passion in equal measure. My female was a drug I could never get enough of.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when he stalked you,” I whispered against her lips.

Naima frowned and pulled back to look at me. “What did I tell you about it being impossible for you to be everywhere at once?”

“I know, but that doesn’t change how I feel,” I said before nipping at that plump bottom lip of hers that always drove me crazy.

She yelped in surprise when I picked her up and carried her to the couch before sitting her on my lap. I gave her a summary of the discussion I just had with Thomson. Although she was floored that Darryl had been his Nightmare, she wasn’t surprised he had been spawned by someone within the agency. She had suspected two other agents instead.

“I would like you to list all the agents you believe to be at risk, and for us to compare their energy signatures to those of both victims and Nightmares that have been eliminated over the past year,” I said. “We need to know who else might be leaking, and to nip in the bud any new Nightmare in the making. I need to hunt tonight anyway. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.”

“Okay, I can definitely do that,” Naima said, her eyes flicking from side to side as she mentally reviewed the agents she had already started having sessions with. “I’ll get on it right away. Who knows if one of their Walkers will show up tonight during the recruitment.”

I bit back a growl of annoyance. I understood the urgency of finding more potential Nightmares to join our ranks, but the timing couldn’t be more rotten. I didn’t want to spend the next few hours evaluating the Wishes, Nightmares and Dark Desires that might come stalk the candidates. I wanted to hunt and then to lose myself in my woman.

“When the Mist is over, I want you to promise me not to go out again without some sort of escort,” I said, abruptly changing the subject.

I had expected her to balk at this invasion of her privacy—a thing humans seemed pretty big on—but to my pleasant surprise, she merely nodded.

“Yeah, I was just thinking that,” she said pensively. “That bastard has it in for us. I do not want to give him the opportunity to corner me alone anywhere.”

I kissed her one last time then let her get to work.

* * *

Iwatched the new groups of candidates enter the Observatory. Eyes wide with excitement and curiosity, their emotions buzzed with confusion, hope, and a sliver of fear of the unknown. Without context, appearances were so incredibly misleading. A month ago, when Naima’s light had beckoned me to this place, I had presumed this to be some sort of a rich folks gathering to enjoy the view of the freaky creatures of the Mist. Never in a million years would have I guessed they were here as bait to lure monsters like me.

At a glance, I could already tell who wouldn’t have spawned the type of Walker we needed. A dozen of them had taken seats at one of the tables grouped in the center of the room to free the area around the windows so that others could walk around it in the hopes of getting spotted by their Mistwalker. Two more groups would be brought here within the next hour once they completed their screening back at the HQ.

I felt the portals opening a split second before the city’s sirens resounded in the distance. A wave of energy surged deep within, and a sense of peace, of being home washed over me. The humans around me gasped in awe and fear at the sight of the white fog that appeared to rise from the ground to quickly swallow the world. But in my case, a terrible longing was urging me to run outside and give myself over to the loving embrace of the Mist. And then the first Beasts and Sparks appeared in the distance before slowly making their way towards us, drawn by the bright lights illuminating the large Observatory.

While the first group of candidates began walking around the perimeter of the room with a great deal of trepidation, a second group arrived. Among them, Riley and Julia who were immediately taken down to the secured area of the base by Agent Peters. Naima would be happy to see them, especially Riley with whom she had formed an almost instant friendship.

Although my woman’s affection for anyone other than me displeased me, I didn’t feel any particular urge to bash Riley’s head in since he clearly didn’t feel any sexual attraction towards my mate—or any other woman for that matter. However, I had to admit that the appreciative glances he’d cast my way had both flattered and offended me. I was well aware of my tremendous ego. For one such as myself, instilling awe and admiration in others felt like my due. At the same time, I was insulted on behalf of my mate that he would covet what belonged to no one else but her. I’d only spared him because he hadn’t acted on it.

Minutes later, two Mistwalkers arrived together and circled around straight to the side door that had first taken me inside one of the holding cells of the base. It was an incredibly odd sight. Nightmares usually didn’t play well together. Maybe, there was hope after all.

I headed down to their holding cells. Initially, each cell had been in an individual room with the ‘safe’ front half for the human, and the glassed-in area filled with Mist. For the sake of expediency, the wall separating two such rooms had been taken down, making it one large room with two holding cells occupying the back wall. I walked in before the Walkers arrived and found my woman in an animated conversation with Riley and Julia. Agent Peters was holding the remote which controlled the access doors from the tunnel into the cells.

With his fractured ribs, Peters should have gone home and taken some time off to recover. But the foolish man had insisted on staying. Like many of his colleagues, he was too eager to meet the two potential new recruits.

As soon as he noticed my presence, the agent beamed at me while approaching to hand over the controller to me. Young, with short black hair, and a face that would probably eternally look like he’d never quite ended puberty, Peters was my hardcore fan. He’d already been in awe of me previously, but saving his life when that foreign Nightmare had infiltrated our city had sealed the deal. If he had a tail, he’d no doubt be wagging it something fierce right now. He was my cute little pet.

“I’m staying in the Observatory to handle the candidates,” Peters said. “Agent Tate has returned, and said he would supervise the men luring Beasts into the holding areas instead.”

My brows shot up. “Already? I thought he wouldn’t be back until morning.”

Peters nodded. “That’s what we all expected, but he had changed his mind about that vacation. You know how much he loves training new recruits. He didn’t want someone else working with the new guys.”

Just as he spoke those words, the first Nightmare entered one of the cells, followed shortly thereafter by the second one in the other cell.

I grunted in acknowledgement to the agent’s statement then turned my attention towards the Walker to the left: Merax. The predatory way with which he stared at Riley had given him away. His creator slowly approached the double reinforced glass locking in the Nightmare. Riley buzzed with a mix of excitement and apprehension that reminded me of Naima’s reaction during our first encounter in a similar setting.

A sideways glance at my mate revealed that she, too, was reminiscing about that day. She’d been terrified when I’d busted through the glass to nab her. How far we’d come since that day.

Despite the double glass wall separating us, I could easily read Merax’s thoughts as if we were both back in our realm. The great amount of power I had acquired over the past month from syphoning those condemned and the Transient Nightmares—enhanced by the nearby Mist—made it child’s play.

Just like with Naima and me, Merax was Riley’s Darkest Desire. But unlike me who had loved to hunt and terrorize my creator, he wanted to hurt his. I was a stalker and a killer; he was a bully and a sadist. The one thing we had in common: we were both madly in love with our creators. However, Merax had some rude awakenings in his future.

From what I could read from Riley, he would enjoy a certain level of pain. He was a masochist who had been mishandled by the partners to whom he had given power over him. My gut said Riley only dabbled on the lighter side of the kink and wasn’t a true submissive. Like my Naima, he wanted a partner with whom to explore the darker sides of his fantasies that he could also trust to keep him safe.

Merax placed his palm on the glass, like I had previously done. Riley responded in kind. By the ethereal energy swirling around the human male, I could deduce Merax was mind-speaking to him. The redness creeping on his creator’s face made obvious the nature of his words.

“You will acknowledge me as your alpha,” I mind-spoke to Merax.

His head jerked towards me, and he glided through the Mist filling his room to come face me.

“On the field and during missions, I will defer to your command,”Merax said in his disembodied, ethereal voice. “But when it comes to my mate, you will not interfere.”

“As long as your actions do not jeopardize his physical and mental health, you are free to handle him as you see fit,”I replied with a dismissive gesture of my hand.

His mostly featureless face tensed with blossoming anger, and he advanced menacingly towards me, as close as the glass wall allowed.

“What is it to you? Why do you care for MY mate’s welfare?”Merax hissed.

I snorted with disdain at the petty jealousy. “I don’t give two shits about his welfare, except to the extent that he is my mate’s friend. Any harm to him will upset her. Upset my mate in any way, and I will personally deal with you.”

That seemed to pacify him.

“Then we are in agreement,” Meraxsaid after a beat, his stance relaxing.

“You will initiate your cross over immediately,”I ordered.

Not waiting for his answer, I used the remote to close the tunnel door that had led to his holding cell. I turned to look at the other Nightmare, only to be met by three humans staring at me with bated breath. I gave them a stiff nod. Riley fisted his hands in a victory gesture and silently mouthed ‘yes’ while looking at his spawn. Merax mentally said something to his creator who nodded. He then glided to the large bed at the back of the room to initiate his human birth.

Julia nervously shifted on her feet as I approached her Nightmare’s cell. Letho was no Dark Desire. Even in his ethereal form, he twitched and restlessly paced like a junky in bad need of another hit. In his mind, complete and utter chaos lurked beneath an infinite thirst for blood and murder. He wasn’t just a Nightmare, he was insane. There were no bonds of love between him and his creator. Yet, a powerful connection linked them: pity and guilt from her, complete and utter dependence from him.

“Not you,” I said out loud while gesturing for Letho to exit through the tunnel. “He’s insane,” I added as sole explanation to the others.

Turning on my heels, I made to leave, but the Nightmare frantically tapped on the glass wall, calling me back.

“HUNTER! Wait! Take me! Take me, too!”Letho telepathically shouted to me. “I fight and kill with you… FOR you!”

I paused and turned back to face him.

“Your mind is too chaotic,”I mind-spoke to him. “You would jeopardize the missions and put the humans at risk.”

“I don’t. I won’t. Letho listens. Letho obeys,”he begged, his palms and face pressed against the glass. “Purpose quiets the noise. Give Letho purpose, Alpha. I listen. I follow. I hunt for you.”

I glanced at Julia, who uncomfortably shifted on her feet. A thick cloud of guilt swirled around her.

“I… I think he could help,” the army veteran said in an apologetic tone.

It was my first time seeing her display so little confidence. She didn’t know for sure what her Nightmare was but had a strong suspicion as to why his mind was fractured. Through the chaos of Letho’s memories, I could see glimpses of what had made him this way. The poor bastard was the embodiment of Julia’s ordeal as a POW. In him, she had poured all the agony, terror, helplessness, and hatred that had festered inside of her. He was the reason she hadn’t gone mad. Through him in her nightmares, she had vicariously become the hunter, slaughtering all who crossed their path.

“The Director human gave Letho focus: hunt, grow power. Letho obeyed,”the Nightmare pleaded again. “Apex Alpha Zain, give Letho focus. I obey.”

It then dawned on me with crystal clarity. Letho’s purpose had been to take away Julia’s pain and channel it towards destroying her enemies. Since her retirement, and following therapy that had helped her cope with most of the trauma, her Nightmare no longer had a purpose. That left him day in and day out drowning in the chaos of his mind. Thomson’s directive for him and Merax to spend the past month hunting to build their reserves before they crossed over had given him focus. Focus had silenced the madness. I could give him focus with training and missions. But was he worth the hassle?

“He’s a strong and gifted hunter,” Julia said, as if she’d read the thoughts crossing my mind. “Yeah, he’s a little broken, but he can fight for our cause. And, in between that, I’ll look after him… like he looked after me.”

Her voice slightly broke on those last words, erasing any doubt I held about her knowing why he was like this.

“He was indeed swift and quite capable during the last Mist,” Riley added warily.

Naima walked up to me and placed her hand on my upper arm. She lifted her beautiful face to look at me. Even before our gazes connected, she’d already won.

“Is he a threat to the agents or to the general population?” my mate asked in a soft voice.

“Under my control, no,” I admitted, reluctantly.

“So, he could help then. Yes?” Naima insisted.

“He could, or he could become a nuisance,” I grumbled. The wretched female gave me a shy smile and shamelessly batted her eyelashes at me. I growled in annoyance before glaring at Letho. “If you become a pain in my ass or jeopardize a mission, I’ll permanently kill you myself.”

“I won’t! Letho listens to Alpha,” the Nightmare said enthusiastically. “I cross over now.”

I made a disgusted gesture with my hand and closed the tunnel access to Letho’s holding cell while he rushed to his bed to initiate his transition. In the cell next door, a white cloud crisscrossed by lightning already surrounded Merax’s ethereal body.

Come what may, those two misfits were now my pack.