KING OF THE UNDERWORLD (Earthbound Book 1)

The memory of the woman who appeared in our front room comes to mind, along with her warning. I reach out to Lucien, touching his mind with my own.

Lucien, we need to get things under control. All we want is your help finding Megan and to help figure out what is going on with all the people going missing. That means we’re going to have to figure out a way to work together.

“Damien. Step down,” Lucien commands his lieutenant in a stern tone. “We don’t have time for this shit. There are important matters to discuss.”

“Fuck,” Damien growls, tearing his eyes from Abigail’s and pointing at her twin. “Just keep that bitch the fuck away from me,” he warns before coming and standing at Lucien’s side, his eyes going back to rest on Abigail.

“Now that we have that out of the way, maybe we can get back on track?” Lucien drawls, looking around at everyone in the room and daring us to argue. Nobody says a word. “Good. We need to figure out an arrangement all of us can live with because we are going to need one another. Humans and Naturals are both being taken, and we don’t have a fucking clue who’s responsible.”

“What kind of arrangement, exactly?” Pamela asks with curiosity and a touch of suspicion.

“We will share intel and help each other whenever possible,” Lucien replies to Pamela’s question with confidence. “We’ll put everyone in groups; each patrol will have a combination of our people.”

I hear muttered protests from the other side of the room; the look of distrust on their faces says it all. Lucien’s men clearly aren’t thrilled with their boss’ decision. Judging by the way Lucien’s eyes flash red, he’s displeased with their reaction.

He slowly turns his head, fire burning in his eyes as he stares at each of them in turn, daring them to continue. “If any of you have any objections, you know where the fucking door is.” The silence in the room is palpable until he turns around and addresses my family once more. “We will meet tomorrow and figure out the patrol groups. In the meantime, there is one other issue we need to discuss.”

“And what would that be?” Melissa asks, her head tilted curiously to the side.

Clearing my throat, I nervously run my hand through my hair. I wish I’d told them before they got here so I wouldn’t have to deal with their reactions now.

“I should have told you sooner, but there is a meeting taking place in this room later this evening,” I inform them, watching as they turn towards me. “We need to be there.”

Staring at me with a puzzled expression, Emma demands, “What kind of meeting? Why do we need to be there?”

“Why didn’t you tell us before now?” Ava asks, folding her arms over her chest angrily.

Lucien cuts in, answering their questions for me. “I apologize that you weren’t told before today. I wanted to wait until I received confirmation from the rest of the attendees. Damien, myself, and a handful of my men will be in attendance, as well as members from both councils, and delegates or leaders from the Fae, Vampires, Shifters, Gargoyles, and Angels. The goal is to create a task force to deal with what’s been going on. We need to figure out who all has gone missing and try to find the common thread so we can stop anyone else from disappearing.” I’m relieved he doesn’t mention how long I’ve known about the meeting or that I was supposed to tell them about it.

“Scarlett’s right,” Melissa shrugs, her voice unapologetic. “We need to attend the meeting.”

Eyes narrowed, frown creasing her forehead, Pamela says to Lucien, “If we agree to attend, it will put us in a vulnerable position. You do realize that if they attack us, we will have no choice but to retaliate?” she warns.

“Melissa could put a confinement spell on us for protection,” Abigail offers.

Looking around at everyone in the room, Melissa shakes her head and rubs her temples. “I could do that. But there’s no guarantee it would work. There will be some of the post powerful Naturals alive at that table with us.”

Pushing away a lock of hair that has fallen in my face, I look at Lucien. “Will any of the leaders or council members know we’re witches?” I ask.

Lucien shrugs. “Though I’ve instructed all my men not to breathe a word of it to anyone, sadly, I can’t trust each and every one of them. You’ll have to try not to attract any attention.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Is he serious? What does he think we’re going to do? Stand up and declare ourselves witches?

Damien pipes in. “Upon arrival, all weapons are to be turned over and everyone has agreed to go through an imaging scan to prove they aren’t hiding anything under their clothes.”

I study the faces of the women I hold most dear and can see how worried they are. We all join our mental link so we can talk privately amongst ourselves.

Melissa’s right. This is a chance we must take; there’s no other option. Megan is out there somewhere, alone and frightened. Lucien is our best bet in helping us find her, and I feel like we need to do something about the other humans and Naturals going missing also. I know we’re all afraid, but I honestly think this is something we must do, I tell them.

Melissa, could you do a concealment spell that will hide our witches and omegas from all the attendees? Ava asks.

The problem is, it might not even work. Evelyn cuts in. We know there will be countless extra-powerful Naturals in the meeting, and we would have no way of knowing whether it works or not until the meeting begins.

I can’t say for sure. I can easily put a spell in place, but Evelyn’s right. We wouldn’t know whether it’s worked or not until we’re in the meeting. But I guess that’s just the chance we’re going to have to take, Melissa answers.

We have to do this. For Megan. We are going to need Lucien’s and the rest of the leaders’ help. Without it, the outcome is unlikely to be in our favor.” Pamela’s agreement fills me with relief.

I see the acceptance in everyone’s eyes, though perhaps resignation is a better word. We all know we have no other choice.

“We’ve agreed to attend the meeting,” Mia and Abigail announce in unison. Standing side-by-side, holding hands, they turn their attention to all the men in the room. “But make no mistake. If anyone attacks us in any way, shape, or form, we will retaliate. And it will not end well for anyone.”

SCARLETT

^{THE FOLLOWING EVENING}

I can feel the nerves radiating from my sisters and cousins. I can’t say I blame them; I’m feeling anxious too. Did we make a mistake agreeing to attend the meeting? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Melissa placed a concealment spell around each of us, meaning we should appear as normal humans. We’re all hoping it holds up against the powerful Naturals we’re going to be in contact with. If not, we could be fucked.

Since last night, I’ve sensed something off with Melissa. I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong, but I know she’s upset about something. I walk over to her and sit down in the chair beside hers, reaching out for her mind so we can speak without anyone overhearing us.

Are you going to tell me what’s wrong? I ask. I know you’re nervous about the meeting. We all are. But there’s something else going on with you. You’re rattled. Why?

I feel her trepidation through the link. Whatever’s wrong, she’s fighting against it. I know if I wait her out, she’ll tell me what’s going on.

She says nothing for several minutes. Finally, she relents. It’s just… My past could walk through that door. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to face it, she confesses.

I’m shocked at her admission. She is one of the strongest people I know, if not the strongest. I don’t know a lot about what happened in her past, but I know it was enough to change her. She was gone for a long time, and when she arrived home, she was completely broken. She didn’t speak for months. It wasn’t until she realized what was happening in her body that she came out of the dark hole she’d been hiding in. Finding the cubs not long after that had been another turning point for her. Whatever it was that she’d gone through had made her into the formidable woman she is today.

I don’t see that woman right now, though. I see the woman who arrived home broken, an empty shell of the person she once was. Whatever is going on inside her head, she needs to snap out of it. The only thing I can think of is that this must have something to do with the shifters who will be attending the meeting. I know she lived with a group of them for several years.

Your past? As in… I let my thought trail off.

Yes.

Melissa. You are one of the strongest women I’ve ever known. If your past walks through that door, I know, with every fiber of my being, you can handle it. I reassure her.

I hope you’re right. I feel her sigh next to me and grab her hand in mine, squeezing it gently. As our skin touches, a scene begins unfolding in my mind. It’s so mixed up; I can’t tell if I’m looking at the past, present, or future. I can see Melissa and there’s danger all around her. An unknown man and woman appear, their faces in shadow. There are tears, arguments, fighting.

Before I can figure it out, the scene changes. This one is clearly in the future. I see Melissa again, with the same unknown man as before. They’re laughing and kissing, and I hear giggling children and a faint voice calling out. What it’s saying, I have no idea. The scene fades away and I’m left reeling.

I break our mental link and let go of her hand, grabbing my head. I give myself a moment to recover before turning towards her and whispering, “I promise you; I am right about this.”

With questions in her eyes, she studies me, and I grab her hand once more. Giving her a smile, I tell her, “I promise you. Eventually, everything will be just fine.”

She stares at me, eyes narrowed, trying to discern what it is I saw. “What did you see?” she whispers. I don’t answer. I kiss her on the cheek before standing and rejoining the rest of our family.

I can feel her penetrating stare against my back, and I try to shake it off. I cannot tell her what I saw. I don’t want anything to jeopardize the happy future I saw for her.

It is now seven-thirty. The rest of the attendees should be arriving soon as the meeting is set to begin at eight. As instructed, we didn’t bring any weapons with us, and we went through the scanner before entering the room. I hope nobody objects to the security measures Lucien put in place.

SCARLETT

^{A LITTLE WHILE LATER}

We all jump slightly when the wooden doors bang open and hit the walls. Lucien and Damien enter first, followed by Jaden and a handful of Lucien’s men close behind. These are different men than the ones Lucien had with him earlier. The wooden doors swing shut behind them.

I realize that I recognize the men. They’re the ones who were attacked. As they come further into the room, they all acknowledge me with either a smile or a nod. Although I’m a little surprised by their friendliness, I return their greetings. By the questions on my family’s faces, I know they’re curious as to how I know the men, but now isn’t the time to explain.

As soon as Lucien entered the room, I felt his anticipation racing through our link. I reach out to him and see a flicker of reaction in his eyes just before he severs the connection completely. It’s like a punch to the face. I feel like I might be sick. I’ve never felt anything like this before; it’s as though I’ve lost a piece of myself. I want to scream at him, to demand a reason why he would do this to me, to us… but I won’t.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. From the corner of my eye, I can see Mia frowning at me and I give her a small smile. I can’t show any reaction to what just happened. I can’t let him know how much he’s hurt me. Two can play this game.

“Ladies. Please sit. There’s enough room for everybody,” Damien invites. “The others will be here shortly.”

Puzzled, we look at one another; there aren’t even enough chairs in the room for all my sisters to sit. Suddenly, the air in the room shifts, as though someone has placed their hands on the walls outside the room and is violently rocking it back and forth. As quickly as it started, it stops, and the room finishes expanding. It has tripled in size and the table and chairs have vanished. In their place, a massive wooden table and countless chairs appear in the center of the room. The table is big enough to fit at least forty or fifty people around it. On the other side of the room is a large, stacked stone fireplace, and next to it is a long wooden banquet table, laden with refreshments.

It looks like a feast for a banquet or even a wedding, not a bloody meeting. We try to keep our surprise from showing on our faces. The only way this was possible is with magic. Changing a room that way requires quite a bit of strength and knowledge, which leads me to several unanswered questions. I don’t know whether to be impressed or frightened. I share a look with my sisters and cousins, and based on their expressions, I know they’re thinking along the same lines as me. Lucien must be connected to someone of great power, someone who can wield very strong magic.

Lucien, Damien, and Jaden take their seats at the head of the table, the rest of the men remaining on their feet and spreading out behind them. My family and I slowly make our way over. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Abigail staring blatantly at Damien.

I tried to talk to her about him earlier, but she shook her head and walked away. Something is obviously going on with her, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what it is. I hope what I read as sexual tension between the two of them was actually something else. Damien and Mia started off on the wrong foot and I know Abigail getting involved with him is bound to cause issues.

Lucien locks eyes with me and motions for me to take the chair next to his. I raise my eyebrows as I take a seat as far from him as I can get, daring him to say something. I know it’s petty, but he was the one who cut our link. I can see he’s pissed that I ignored his request, but I don’t care. I raise my chin in defiance and his eyes change color. As a man who is accustomed to people following his orders, I must be quite the challenge for him. My stomach tightens with lust. Like it or not, I cannot seem to get rid of my attraction for him. I wonder how one can be so beautiful yet so deadly at the same time.

The creaking of the large wooden doors steals my focus from Lucien, and though I should feel anxious about the meeting about to take place, I just feel relieved.