The Nightmare (The Mist #2) - Regine Abel Page 0,34

a comment? Thankfully, Thomson chuckled, not offended in the least.

“No, I’m not. But that’s a story for another time,” Thomson replied in a friendly tone. “I always spend the three days of the Mist with them, either in our world or in theirs.” He turned to look at Zain’s body still forming with a wistful expression on his face. “The minute he branded you, I knew he would come for you in your sleep, and that he would read your mind. I had hoped you would convince him enough for him to come seek validation.”

Thomson turned back to gaze upon my face with an expression I couldn’t define. Yet, hope and gratitude seemed to be part of the mix.

“Remember what I told you about being able to read minds in the Mist?” Thomson asked. I nodded and hugged my midsection. “The same way Zain was able to read you, Risul was able to read Zain. The absence of ill-intention from him was the only reason my son-in-law allowed me out of the safety of his domain to speak with Zain. According to Risul, your Nightmare is naturally obsessed with you, but he’s also crazy in love with you.”

I shook my head in denial. “He believes he’s in love with me because I programmed him that way.”

But even as I said those words, the warmth that spread in my chest troubled me. His obsession with me should worry me, not please me.

Thomson smiled in the paternal way of the wise who knew better. “Walkers do not ‘convince’ themselves of things that aren’t there,” he explained in a gentle tone. “They are very binary when it comes to their emotions. They love or they don’t. Zain loves you. He will never love another but you, even though he doesn’t necessarily understand the concept of love. You didn’t create him that way. But he will never hurt you, because his existence is defined by the need to please you.”

“He stalked me because that’s what he thought I wanted,” I said with a nod, although my mind still reeled from his statement.

“That’s correct. Understand, Naima, that Zain is absolutely a psychopath,” Thomson warned. “He would have no qualms killing every single person here and on Earth if he thought that would please you.”

I felt myself pale at the realization of what he was saying. That, too, I hadn’t taken into consideration.

“He doesn’t have morals the way we do. He has no compassion or empathy. He craves power and dominance and doesn’t care who he must trample along the way to achieve it… except for you. And he wants to kill. He gets off on the terror of his victims. That will never change,” Thomson said, his gaze boring into mine as he tried to drive his point home. “Even if he wanted to, and no matter what you might try to do, he will always remain a cold, bloodthirsty killer. But handled correctly, Zain can still become one of humanity’s greatest protectors.”

“You’re afraid I have unreal expectations,” I said, tilting my head to the side.

“I want to help you manage your expectations,” Thomson corrected. “But I also want you to understand exactly what you are signing up for. Zain will want to claim you as his mate. He will relentlessly pursue you to become his wife.”

I snorted at what I considered an absurd concept. Who the fuck married a dream? The hard glimmer in Thomson’s blue eyes sobered me. I fought the urge to squirm, remembering his own daughter had married one. I hadn’t meant to insult him.

“I’m sorry. I—”

“No need to apologize,” Thomson interrupted in a calm, but slightly cooler tone. “It is a difficult concept for most people to grasp unless they’ve been around a Transient. You will understand once you meet Zain in the flesh. But my point is that in an ideal world, you and Zain would become a couple.”

“WHAT?!”

“Calm down,” Thomson said, raising his palms in an appeasing gesture. “I said ‘in an ideal world.’ I’m not ordering or even pressuring you to do so. But understand that if you enter a romantic relationship with anyone else, Zain will want to kill him.”

“Killing the person I love would hurt me,” I argued. “You said yourself Zain places my happiness above all else.”

“And he does,” Thomson concurred. “But as long as he shares this world with you, he won’t be able to tolerate another man touching you. Zain won’t hurt you, but he might choose to eliminate the source of