Page 18
I was nervous as we sat, waiting for the Council to talk with us. Henrik was pacing back and forth in front of me, and I sat in a chair. My leg was bouncing since I wasn’t able to stay calm. Since Henrik said those few little words, my mind has been a mess.
I’d be trying to think of any way to stop whatever Sam saw. I couldn’t think of how to protect everyone; I knew so little about magic. We didn’t even know who was doing this. How the hell were we supposed to stop them?
I looked at Henrik, watching him rub his face. I wanted to help, but I felt like there was nothing I could do. I could see this was weighing on him deeply.
“Henrik, why don’t you sit? You’ve been pacing for hours.”
He called the Council immediately, and we met with them a couple of hours later. It was still really early in the morning, and I hadn’t had my coffee yet.
Henrik shook his head. “No, I just…I can’t think of how to fix this.”
I wanted to give him any answer possible, but I couldn’t even think of an answer. How was he going to?
I ached to help him.
“Sweetie, please sit.” I patted the chair next to me, and Henrik paused. I softened my eyes. “Please.”
Henrik nodded and walked over, sitting down next to me. I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “We will figure something out.”
“I’m the Alpha,” he said back softly. “I’m not supposed to let things like this happen.”
I kept thinking of what he told me. Sam saw a vision of darkness taking over homes and people dying. She didn’t know how many, but Henrik needed to raise the alarm and warn everyone that this darkness was becoming a bigger problem and that whoever was doing it was growing more powerful.
“Henrik, we will figure this out,” I said, squeezing his hand. Henrik finally looked at me, his eyes freezing on me. He squeezed my hand back, nodding at me.
“Henrik, Katie. The Council is ready for you.”
We both got up and headed down the hallway to the regular room where the Council did all their meetings.
Fear grabbed me that the Council would cut my work for my protection.
But I knew that was the wrong idea. If they cut me off now, it was going to take years for someone else to get caught up; they were pretty much impeding our doom.
The Council sat in their usual chairs, and two chairs were waiting for Henrik and me to sit in. Henrik sat down, and I sat down next to him.
Ralph spoke up first. “Derrick was filling us in on your phone call with him.”
Derrick and Steve both looked a little more tired than all the rest, and I would say it’s because Henrik called them both right away.
“Sam’s visions have been very small snippets, but we did find that she was right. We already found a couple of homes that had been attacked and a few dead.. It seems this darkness is taking on different shapes, volumes, and densities.”
Henrik stiffened in his chair, and I chewed on my lower lip.
“What else did your sister see? Did she tell you where it was traveling? If it just disappeared? Is it coming back? How soon?”
I frowned. The Council always had so many questions, and if we had answers, we would give them to them. But we all knew that Sam’s visions weren’t that detailed. They were short and small snippets of the bigger issue.
Henrik shook his head. “Just what I told you. She saw darkness travel out of the woods and to a few homes and that it was going around. I have no idea what happened next. But I had my men already looking, and they aren’t finding any.”
“So, it’s likely gone already?” Olivia asked, narrowing her vulture eyes at us. “So, what you’re saying is we lost it?”
“You all know that isn’t how this works,” I snapped, growing irritated. Henrik already felt bad enough about all of this, and how they were wording this wasn’t helping.
“You were all asleep just like we were. None of us had any warning that this was coming.”
They all fell silent, and Henrik placed a hand on my thigh. He gave me a soft expression before looking back at the Council.
“Katie, regarding you're research.”
I swallowed, fully prepared to give them detailed reasons why, if they cut me out, it was going to be the biggest mistake of their lives. That there was no one more qualified than I was. That it would take years for someone else to get caught up. That this was my baby, my pride and joy.
Weird how, just weeks ago, I was so willing to throw it all away in fear of being married, and now I stood here fighting to stay connected to it. I didn’t want to be pulled away now, not when so much was hanging on the line.
“We need you to start focusing more on it. Your projects for the women need to be set aside so you can focus on our main issue. We need to stop whoever this is.”
I stiffened. “Wait…you’re not going to cut me out?”
Jennisa looked at me, confused. “Why in god’s name would we do that?”
“You’re the most qualified for the job and you have gotten further than anyone else has in your position,” Ralph added. “If we pulled you, we would be signing the deaths of hundreds of people.”
“While your safety is a huge concern to us, we also know that you are the only person for the job,” Steve added. “Everyone is going to be more watchful about this.”
“Katie, your big project is to get your full attention.”
I felt my shoulders drop. It wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy my job, but the thought of breaking the news to all the girls that I wouldn’t be helping them get pregnant stirred my stomach.
“I’m confused. Isn’t that your big project?” Henrik asked, looking at me and the Council. “What else is there?”
“Katie has been handling several projects, including fixing the infertility issue, helping women become mothers, and many others. But she was signed on for a secret project that the packs aren’t aware of.”
“Why else would we hire a microbiologist.”
Henrik looked at me confused, and I felt a little bad that he didn’t know. It wasn’t like I could exactly speak about it and it wasn’t my main job since we started being together.
“And what about the women? You can’t just cut that. You have me pairing up all the Alphas. What will the women think?”
Olivia tapped her nails on the table. “What do you propose then?”
“Can I bring someone in on that? I have hundreds of couples that need help, and I know several colleagues who would be great for the role.”
“You know what you do is delicate work.”
“I’m not handing the project over, but it needs to continue. We have no idea on anything, and the women out there need this.”
“Fine,” Ralph waved a hand. “You may bring someone on, but they have to go through a screening process and sign an NDA before you can even show them anything.”
I nodded, feeling a little better about that.
“In the meantime, everyone is on high alert and we are going to have people taking shifts watching the woods. Until we get this figured out, this is our best option.” They all looked at me. “Katie, you need to start focusing because we depend on it now.”
I nodded.
Henrik and I got up heading out. But as soon as the doors shut and we were alone in the hallway, he yanked me back, pinning me against the wall. “How is it that there is a huge project you have, and I have no idea what it even is?”
I swallowed. “It’s kind of top secret.”
“I’m your husband,” he grumbled back. “I have done nothing but be honest with you.”
He had a point. I reached up, cupping his face. “Would you like me to show you? You have to promise not to freak out.”
“I won’t.”
I dropped my hands. “Alright then. We should go to the lab.”
Henrik drove us, but we stopped for coffee first. I clutched my cup tightly, inhaling the scent. I felt my shoulders relax, and my mind started to focus a little better. Exhaustion was seeping in, but I was trying to push it away.
We arrived at the lab, and I stared at the building for a moment. It had been a while since I went down to the basement. I had been so focused on helping the women that it landed on the back burner.
“You ready?”
I nodded as we got out of the car. We headed inside, and as Henrik headed for the elevator, I grabbed his arm. “That’s the wrong direction.”
He looked at me, confused. “Your lab is upstairs.”
I nodded. “Yeah, my second lab is.”
“Second lab?”
I nodded, turning him to the basement stairs. But you had to swipe a card to gain access. I swiped my card and pushed the door open. “I have two.”
“Why?”
We started down the stairs. “Because this one isn’t public. It’s top secret.”
“Who else comes down here?”
I glanced at him as I pushed another door open, and we stepped into a huge open space. “Top secret agents and soldiers. There are only a few other scientists who are allowed down here.”
Henrik stared at me like I had grown a third arm as I stopped in front of a door. “I’m not sure how the Council will feel about me showing you, but that’s a problem for another day.”
I swiped my card and pushed the door open. The lights flicked on as we stepped inside. This lab was white, just like the one upstairs, but there were no pictures. There was a large glass panel that blocked a small room off from the rest of us. The room was black.
Henrik instantly stared at the blackness and bared his teeth. I watched the hair on his neck rise as he swung his arm back, grabbing me. “What is that!” he hissed.
“We are safe; that is completely locked away.”
Henrik didn’t soften his hold on me. He pulled me tighter and scowled. “How is that even possible?
“That is a sealed room.” I pointed to the glasses' corners. “It can’t get out. We built this lab to handle it.”
Henrik looked at me like I was crazy. “What do you…how?”
I pulled myself free. “It’s hard to explain, but we’re safe. It doesn’t really react to anything besides when I walk in front of it. Do you want to see?”
“No, no, I don’t,” he snapped.
I reached out, placing my hands on his chest. “Henrik, I promise. We are safe. It can’t get free.”