Chapter 1

Darkness fell upon the small, depressing room. He turned ever so slightly, so all the only image she caught from him was his scaly skin. She watched as he held up the sharpest knife she had ever seen.

She was shaking as she weakly breathed in and out, her own oxygen appearing in the air from the nearly-frozen room.

"Please. You don't need to do this." She whispered her voice so weak that she could break it.

His dark chuckle made the room seem smaller, as though it had been signaled to shrink by his laughter.

He turned, his green eyes flickering. "I do need to do this. You Grimms have destroyed my family for the last time."

He slowly walked closer to her as she struggled to break free of the chains that held her hands down. He held up a bright, golden key, the symbol of hope to her at this point.

She pulled on the chains hard, feeling as though she would pull her arm out of its socket at any point.

He released one of her hands. She threw it at his face, though he caught it right before it hit his face.

"Now, now dearie." He spat in her face like she was a small student.

He held out her arm so her palm was facing up. She tried to recoil, but he held up the knife, making her shake harder.

Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Please." She cried.

He smirked, pressing the knife on the inside of her wrist. Blood fell slowly as he ran the cut all the way up to the inside of her elbow.

She screamed, her cry piercing the cold, unforgiving air. He tried to calm her, but it was too late for that.

He threw the knife onto the floor as he ran a finger all the way down the cut. She screamed as it burned her veins.

The scream was unsettling, but he felt calmer as he licked his finger, her blood so satisfying.

4 days earlier…

Nick looked down at the case file, running his hands through his hair.

He looked at the picture of the young man, around 18, his auburn hair reaching down to touch his eyes.

Nick knew what the boy was and why he was missing. There were four more of them missing as well. He shook his head, looking down at the door.

As if on a queue, a knock came to that very same door. Nick stood up with a sigh and opened the door cautiously.

A smile of surprise and excitement formed upon his face.

"Elisa?" The young girl's deep green eyes lit up, looking at her familiar friend and family member, who she hadn't seen in quite a while.

"Nick!" He opened the door more, dipping himself into her shoulder for a hug. They smiled at each other and hugged once again.

He invited her in. "Come in, come in. Sit down."

He took her brown, oversized bag and set it down on the couch, then took her leather jacket. Elisa sat down in the chair next to the dining room table.

Elisa, happy to see her cousin, turned to him, her face becoming serious.

"I heard about Aunt Marie." She said quietly. Nick's face darkened a bit as she continued. "I'm so sorry I didn't come earlier."

Nick nodded, looking in another direction, trying not to cry.

"Yeah, me too."

She turned her head a bit, trying to look at his face. "So, by now you know?"

Nick stood up straighter and turned his head in surprise. "Wait, you know too?"

Elisa smirked a bit and laughed. "Nick, I was the very first to find out. When I was five, mom… she was killed, remember? Along with… your parents."

Nick nodded slowly. The family barely connected, and never really saw each other, so talking about death in the family was a whole new thing to the two cousins.

Elisa sighed. "But, I have to tell you something. Marie… she would have wanted me to tell you now."

Nick looked up, as though his cousin was a stranger. "What is it?"

Elisa sighed and stood up. She rolled up her jeans a bit as Nick looked on. He held his breath as he spotted a small tattoo on her ankle. One cat's ear stood lone among her skin.

She pressed her lips together. "Nick, I'm a Gatan."

Nick looked up at his cousin, her eyes turning yellow, her pupils becoming slits, as though she were a cat.

"A Gatan? What.. what's that?" His voice was shaky. After what he'd been through the last few weeks, he felt like he could trust nobody.

Elisa bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "Basically, I'm the Grimm Brother's idea of a monster." She sat down, leaning in a bit and folding her hands in. "Nick, I'm a Match. There are only a few of us who are the way we are."

Nick was still confused by the Gatan secret. "A Match? What's that? Like… a mix of a Grimm and-"

"And of another monster. I'm a Gatan and a Grimm. It's the safest Match, but still very dangerous. I could turn at any moment. I'm supposed to be the one you're fighting against, Nick. I'm one of you, but at the same time…" She closed her eyes. "I'm basically at war with myself here, Nicky."

Nick closed his eyes. "So, what am I supposed to do with you now, Elise? Juliette, she still doesn't know."

Elise stood up. "Wait, you're still with Juliette? You're still with a mortal? Nicky, that so dangerous. What are you doing?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't know…"