I felt her hands tighten on my shirt. “I don't know who this person is or what they are planning, but Frank…. he's dangerous. This is only the beginning.”
Her words sent a chill down my spine, and I stared at the ceiling. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I'll protect you. I won't be making that mistake twice.”
I waited until I knew Nina was relaxed, and after a while, I felt her sink into the sheets as she fell back asleep. I stared at her, thinking her words over and over. This is only the beginning.
I slipped out of bed and stepped into the hallway. I pulled my phone up and called Zed. The phone rang a few times before he answered. “This better be good for you to be calling me at two in the morning.”
I nodded. “Yeah, Nina had a nightmare, and it was about the darkness.”
Zed went quiet momentarily before I could hear him clear his throat. “What kind of dream?”
“She dreamed about the darkness, and she said she felt anger. That sounds a lot like what Katie was talking about.”
“Yeah, that kind of does. What else did she tell you?”
“Just darkness. Just like everyone else has. She said this is only the beginning.” I pinched my face.
“We need to have a meeting tomorrow with the rest of the Council. I'll have Katie come and see if Nina saw or felt anything she hadn't.”
I nodded, agreeing. I hung up, slipped into the bedroom, and crawled back next to Nina. She clung to me in her sleep, and I held her close.
The next morning, we had a meeting with the Council. The drive into Jay's pack was quiet, and I could tell Nina was thinking about her dream. Her hand was tight as she held onto mine, her eyes glued to the window.
“What do you know about this person?” Nina asked, glancing at me.
“Not much,” I admit, wishing we had known more. We'd dealt with the darkness for so long and knew so little. “Just that it's a man who's angry. Katie and Henrik said they saw a child last time they had a vision.”
“A child?” Nina's eyes narrowed slightly on me. “That…. actually, makes a lot of sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“The anger…. I mean, I couldn't understand why someone would feel so angry, but if you've lost someone… someone you loved like that, I could understand. Just think about how scared we were about this baby…”
I didn't want to think about that because I knew just how much damage he had done. “Even if that is true, this person has killed people, Nina. That doesn't lessen the damage, knowing that he has a past.”
“I'm not saying that. I'm just saying...” Nina fell silent for a second. “I just…I understand the pain. I know it doesn't erase everything this man has done.” She tightened her fingers. “If youfind out what his past is, maybe it will lead to why he's doing this.”
As soon as we arrived in the parking lot, we headed inside. Nina looked nervous as we walked inside, and I realized she'd never been there to receive her news like the others. We headed inside, and I watched as Nina took it all in. She walked closer to me as we went up the stairs.
“This feels like a jail. No windows and bright lights. The walls are just brick.”
I snorted. “You're not wrong.”
We rounded the corner and found Katie waiting outside the doors. She had her usual odd outfit of bright colors that didn’t exactly go together, that we'd all come to accept as her normal. She had her arms crossed as she tapped her foot, her head snapping to us as we came around the corner.
“Nina,” she instantly hurried towards us, worry crossing her face. “Are you okay? Did anything happen to you? They told me you came in contact with the darkness last night.”
Nina shook her head. “Not the same way you did. I just had a dream.”
Katie's shoulders seemed to relax slightly, but I could see the worry still remained. I had grown to like Katie and Sam. They made Henrik and Jay happy, which in turn made me fawn over them.
“Katie, you know I am protecting her.”
Katie's eyes softened slightly. “You all have said that, but we all have somehow gotten hurt, Frank. Protecting us isn't the solution anymore. We need to find out what its plan is.”
I felt that heaviness settle over my shoulders again, like someone was pressing down. Nina's other hand landed overmine, and I felt her shoulders bump against my arm. I glanced at her, and she offered me a soft smile.
The doors opened before any of us could say anything more, and we headed inside. I found Zed and Willow looked a little more tired than the others, and I guess they were getting as many reports as they could. Both of them took their job seriously, and I'd always trusted them, though I was starting to question it.
