The Nightmare (The Mist #2) - Regine Abel Page 0,89

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,” Merax said 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