Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
ARABELLA
“This is nice,” I said to Zain. “Not having to hide anything, just being able to sit and enjoy breakfast in a real restaurant… I wish there were more places like this.”
The institute was like that, but there was something different about this experience, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Amun and Ashur were both looking around, the four of us comfortably seated in the small diner as the morning sunlight began to light up the main street.
The scent of cinnamon rolls and coffee filled the air as what I had to assume were ‘regulars’ filed in and began to make their orders at the counter.
I knew the woman at the hotel had said they had nightmares here, but if any of these individuals were nightmares, they were so incredibly unpowerful that I couldn’t sense it at all. It was honestly impressive.
“You like this?” Ashur motioned around. “This type of life?”
Zain’s hand tightened on my leg as I considered his question. “I mean, I would love to live this peacefully, to be able to experience daily life without it always being associated with violence and the human threat.”
We were just going to avoid the fact that I was including Ashur in all of my statements, and more importantly how he didn’t seem to view it as odd.
Then again, the man had literally left the place he’d been living for centuries to stay with me after marking me with a necklace…
Okay, maybe I didn’t need to worry about this one too much.
As if seeing where my head went, his eyes swirled magnetically, making it hard to look away.
“Is that a possibility with how humans are right now? If you don’t rule over them and they still fear or hate all of us, how do we peacefully coexist?”
Amun’s question had me pausing, the reality of what he was saying hitting hard. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about this question, but it brought into clarity the fact that I didn’t have an answer.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “Besides, even if it was possible, I don’t know if that’s something that would be doable in our lives with the institute and everything.”
I had always loved living at the institute, but with my men being on the team they were, I don’t think we could ever live this simple of a life. Would we even want to?
Ashur considered my words as Amun’s gaze filled with a flash of concern.
My tone must’ve expressed more than I realized.
Luckily, the waitress arrived right then with our food, leaving me to my thoughts as we all ate.
I had made sure to put in an order to go for the rest of my men, who were waiting for the arrival of the contact and material my father was sending.
It was a battle not going back to the institute.
Part of me wanted that, not only because it was comfortable, but because I could protect my home there, my family.
Every nightmare that we had brought there.
The other part of me wanted to continue pushing forward, instinctively knowing how important it was to find the nightmares that were causing all of this.
Plus, I had made a promise to Nia. One I wouldn’t break.
I was so trapped in my thoughts that I didn’t realize we had not only paid the check but had all our to-go orders packed and ready.
I eased out of the booth and took Zain’s hand as Ashur put on a pair of sunglasses we had found for him.
He purposefully avoided eye contact with others, especially lesser nightmares and humans—apparently it could hurt them—so I’d figured a pair of sunglasses would help.
He seemed fascinated by them, his entire disposition far more relaxed as he looked around the world, unconcerned about the possibility of hurting anyone.
Plus, he looked hot in them.
As we walked down main street, I was once again struck by how normal everything was.
Well, maybe not normal—that was a bad word—but there was something special about this town.
It was just more relaxed. After spending my life in the institute, I guess I had assumed that this sort of lifestyle wasn’t possible for nightmares.
Everything was so intense at home. Then again, it was essentially a military base, so I suppose that made sense.
“Where’s your head at, Bella?”
I looked up at Zain, his brow furrowed in concern.
“It’s just so peaceful here.” I looked towards a family walking down the road.
You would have thought they were human, parents and two little girls, but when you started to look closer, you saw the nightmare influence.
The unique blue hair color, the slight glow to their skin.
It was in the small things. The small, beautiful things. “Do you think that’s possible for us?”
Not just living peacefully, but the idea of having a family like that… I mean, our children would obviously be partly nightmares. Far more than partly.
Zain paused for a moment before admitting, “I’m not sure.
Not because we’re nightmares, but because we’re so different from Class D terrors.
We’re in ISS for a reason. We thrive there because by nature we are more violent and aggressive…
but I think we could give it up. Actually, I know we could if that’s what you wanted, Bella.
If you thought that was right for our family. ”
“What do you think? What do you guys want?” I asked, not even touching on the family aspect because it was all too clear how they felt about that.
The soft spring wind ran over me as I looked ahead to the motel.
I loved that it was within walking distance.
This town was small, everything reachable by foot, but it didn’t feel cramped.
Rather the opposite, as there was a ton of open air and space.
Maybe I could convince my dad to build more outdoor venues.
The weather wasn’t particularly warm in northern Michigan, but there were moments.
“I think that pulling back would be the right move. Maybe not completely…maybe we could train teams… But I don’t like leaving you for missions, and if we had kids, I know it would only multiply the feeling.”
I nodded, agreeing, thinking about how terrifying it would be to not only consider that my mates wouldn’t come back, but that the fathers of my child may not come back.
“Isla’s family does that,” I said, remembering one of the more prominent examples of a situation like our own. Well, they were a bit different than us…
Zain tilted his head in thought, no doubt trying to recall who Isla was, so instead I offered, “Her mates are called The Devourers by everyone at ISS.”
“Ah! The blue-haired girl who works at the nursery.” Zain nodded in understanding.
Around five years ago, I had met a girl far different than the woman I knew now.
She had been wounded, and she’d been surrounded by three nightmares that were called ‘The Devourers’ because of the magic they possessed.
Dranos, Wyre, and Ralos were said to consume blood, flesh, and memories respectively—although I had never seen any of that in action.
In fact, the times I had seen them following my first meeting with Isla, they had been surrounded by their little brood of nightmares they’d created with her.
Not that it surprised me at all—Isla had always adored children. My understanding was that she came from a horrible home life, and her mother, who had mysteriously been killed, had been hiding from her the truth about…well, everything.
It had given me hope when I first met them, seeing someone who was lower level be with such imposing nightmares.
But then I’d learned the truth of what she was, and it started to make far more sense how she could handle it and how different my situation was.
The woman wasn’t only powerful because of her magic.
For being so small and sweet, the woman had the three of them wrapped around her finger, so it didn’t surprise me in the least that they no longer went on missions.
“I should go visit her,” I said, frowning. “I hope they’re okay in all of this. I think I last heard that she was pregnant again.”
“Dranos is fucking crazy,” Zain mused lightheartedly, “and so are the other two. If they feel like she’s in danger, they’ll leave the institute immediately, but I don’t think that would be the case. After all, we are, in a way, on the winning side.”
“What do you mean?” I tilted my head.
“The humans undoubtedly think we’re hesitant because we’re worried about the threat they pose.” He chuckled softly. “When in reality, we’re concerned about killing them and removing our food source as well as disrupting social constructs.”
I hummed in agreement. Despite being on the strong and no doubt victorious side if it came to a battle, I didn’t want it to reach that point.
“What the fuck?”
Amun’s words had me freezing as Ashur, out of nowhere, pulled me up in his arms. I squeaked as he pressed my head against his chest and squeezed.
I tried to get out a muffled ‘what,’ but he wasn’t having it at all.
Finally, after a small struggle, I broke free of his hold on my head, having felt us move across the space.
When I looked up, I realized that there were three military trucks along with four rather terrifying nightmares standing in front of the motel.
Oh.
My eyes widened at the white outline of a crow on the black matte military trucks—the Illusions of Crow.
So father had sent them—fascinating. I could hear Zain explaining who they were to my wolf as I wiggled out of his arms and approached my other nightmares, who were speaking to the four of them.