Page 19
Henrik swallowed and walked a little closer. I watched as his eyes scanned it. The mass of blackness hardly moved. Henrik's shoulders dropped slightly before he turned back to me. “You swear.”
I nodded. “It’s been down here for a few months already.”
Henrik took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Because I couldn’t tell anyone,” I reached up, cupping his face. “But I’m glad you know now.”
He sighed and looked at the black mass. “So what are you even doing down here with it?”
“We’re testing to see how it reacts to things. So far, there is nothing besides when I’m near it. It sort of freaks out.” I pointed towards my computer and moved over, turning it on.
“Do you need help?”
I looked at him, a little surprised. “Really? You’re not going to ask me to give this up.”
Henrik shook his head. “I would love to, but after listening to the Council go on about how you're the most qualified person to handle this, I couldn’t. It would be selfish.”
I softly smile. “I hope you know that means a lot to me.”
He gave me one in return. “So, do you want to start?”
I shook my head. “I want to sleep. I’m exhausted. We can start tomorrow, and I’ll fill you in on everything.”
Henrik rested his forehead against mine. “Okay, then tomorrow.”
We went home and slept for hours. We both got up and arrived at the lab a little before eight the following morning. I showed Henrik everything that I had done and told him about the different experiments we’d done and how we’d gotten little response.
“Is it weightless?” Henrik asked as I set a flask onto the table filled with the black mass.
“Is it, yet it somehow weighs a ton at moments.” I frowned, glancing at him. “We had a young lady who told us it surrounded her room, and it felt like someone was standing on her chest. It broke four of her ribs, and she had a punctured lung.”
Henriks eyes widened. “Jesus.”
I nodded, glancing at the flask. The mask swirled around like black water, and you could feel the energy emanating from the glass.
“It’s constantly changing its abilities.” I tilted the flask and stared at it. Henrik leaned on the table, raising an eyebrow. “Why does it react to you?”
“No idea,” I said. “But it does.”
We spent days together working hard to figure things out.
Henrik and I mixed the mass with things, getting little results.
We arrived at the lab early in the morning and left late into the night.
Henrik came with me every day and was always willing to do whatever I asked.
He helped clean and wrote all the notes down as I did the experiments.
“Should we break for lunch?” Henrik asked, setting the notepad down. I looked at him from the computer and then looked at the time. It was a little past noon now.
“Yeah, what should we have today?”
“I don’t know if I can eat cafeteria food again,” he added. “How about I run out and grab us something? And maybe another coffee?” He pointed to the mug that was set beside me.
As Henrik pulled on his jacket, his phone started to buzz. He pulled it out and frowned. “Dang it.”
“Who is it?”
“Kyle. I meant to call him when we got home last night, but I fell asleep. Shit, he wanted to have a meeting.”
“Why don’t you go then?”
He frowned. “I don’t want to leave you alone here….” He waved a hand towards the black mass. “With this.”
“I have other people down here who check on me. Besides, it’s been a while since you’ve seen the guys and caught up. You’re needed with them.”
“Are you sure? I can still bring you food?”
I shook my head. “I don’t mind the food upstairs, and you should head out. I’ll see you when I get home.”
He walked over, reaching a hand up, and cupped my face. He leaned forward, placing a kiss on my cheek.
I felt my face heat, aching to step closer to him. We had been working in close quarters for a while, and he was always so helpful. I found my mind wandering at times, thinking of the last time we had been this close.
I shook the thought away. “I’ll see you at home.”
Henrik left, and I went upstairs for lunch. I ate lunch and headed back down to the lab. After a few more hours, my brain ached. I glanced at the time, seeing it was a little after four and I should call it a day.
I headed out and ran into a couple of the agents who were talking in the hallway. “Afternoon, Katie. Are you heading home for the evening?”
I nodded. “I am.”
“Is Henrik not with you?”
I softly smiled. After a couple of days, everyone realized that Henrik had been coming with me, but no one made a fuss about it. If anything, they seemed to be a little relieved about it.
“Do you need someone to take you home?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I’m fine going home by myself. And besides, it's a drive for the rest of you.”
“Are you sure? One of us can make sure you get home.”
I shook my head. “I’ll be okay. But thanks for the offer.”
I gave them a wave and made my way out. I parked a few blocks away from the lab, mostly so I could soak up some sun in the morning and in the afternoon. I took a deep breath and allowed the sun to shine on me.
I was just getting near my car when I heard a voice I knew.
“Jesus, so you honestly think you deserve this job? I mean, look at yourself. You couldn’t even dress for the role.”
I froze and looked towards the voice. I was Henrik’s ex, Ashley, whom we ran into at the restaurant, standing with her arms crossed in front of someone.
I wasn’t entirely sure who it was until I squinted and realized it was Nina.
I hadn’t really gotten to know Nina well, but Sam talked about her all the time.
She had pictures of her hanging in her house and from what I’d been told, Nina was a sweet girl.
She was shy and had a hard time making friends.
She stood uncomfortable and pale. Her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail that fell over her shoulder. Her dark eyes looked confused and terrified. She stood like a statue, pale as a ghost.
“Honestly, look at yourself and look at me. Who do you think they are going to pick? A frail human or a stunning shifter? This job is as good as mine, so you might as well take your applicant back.”
I felt my body heat up with anger. I don’t know what came over because I wasn’t the type to step in. But I knew I couldn’t just walk away when I knew how important she was to Sam. She was Sam’s friend and therefore mine as well. She just didn’t know it yet.
“I am just as qualified for the role as you are,” Nina said in a shaking voice. “And they will pick who’s best.”
Ashley stepped closer to Nina, cornering her against the wall. “You know that’s not true,” Ashley growled, reaching a hand up grabbing her shirt. “You’re a pathetic human and you don’t stand a chance against me.”
My hands curled into fists, and I was storming across the space towards them. I could feel the anger taking hold as I grabbed Ashley by her hair and yanked her back. Ashley was stunned as she stumbled backwards, crashing into the ground.
Nina’s eyes widened as she realized what had happened, and Ashley looked at me, disgusted. “Did you just yank my hair?”
“How about you pick on someone your own size for once?” I was utterly terrified, but was so angry at the same time. I was so tired of shifters thinking they were better than humans. So tired of people thinking they could just walk all over others.
“How dare you?” Ashley said, pulling herself up. “Do you even realize who I am!?”
“Oh, I’m aware of who you are. You’re a two-faced person who thinks she can walk all over people.”
Ashley’s mouth hung open.
“And I’m getting really sick and tired of shifters walking over humans. You are not superior because you can shift. Humans are just as important as you are. We are just as smart, beautiful, and strong as you can be.”
I didn’t know what came over me, but I was fully prepared to win.