Moving through the lounge, I head toward the kitchen, the smell of fresh coffee hitting me. The pot is still steaming, so I know one of my mates must have made it recently.
I pour myself a cup and head over to the window. The clouds are dark and gloomy as they cast shadows on the city below, with each one threatening to rain.
There’s no one out. Not a single soul.
The entire city went into lockdown as soon as we could push back the demons, with a barrier placed around the border hoping to stop them from getting in.
So far, it’s been holding up. But for how long?
We have groups of supes going out on patrols to ensure nothing is getting past our defenses. And so far, nothing has. But the last couple of days, it’s been quiet.
Too quiet.
Like the calm before a storm. That peacefulness that settles over you just as everything goes still. But you know the worst is still to come. You can feel it as it rises up from somewhere deep inside you, telling you it’s only starting.
And when it does, nothing but complete chaos will be unleashed.
I just hope we all make it safely to the other side of this.
Shaking off my turbulent thoughts, I reach out to each of my mates. Their lights so much brighter in my mind than the supes around them.
Ever since I let go and opened up more to my abilities, I can sense their whereabouts whenever they’re not beside me. It soothes something inside me, knowing I can find them when I need to.
Like a tether that binds us, instincts take over and I zone in on each of them.
Kai, Axel and Jax are still in the building, with Rion and Luka still out in the city, but close by.
Another connection pulls at the corner of my mind, right before the shadow beast appears.
I sip my coffee, narrowing my eyes on the beast.
The shadow beast disappeared soon after the demons left, and I haven’t seen it since. “I was wondering where you went.”
The strange beast sits on its hind legs and gives me a look no animal should be capable of… a look of annoyance.
“You’re annoyed that I was looking for you?”
It gives me another look, as if to say, silly girl, and stays still as if waiting on something.
“What?”
The shadow beast tilts its head, waiting. But on what? “We helped get each other free. Shouldn’t you be off doing whatever you want to do now?”
The fucker raises a hairy brow. At least, that’s what it looks like as it stays still, waiting.
“What? You want something to do? Fine. Guard the border and update me if the demons move closer.”
Shadow disappears immediately.
I shake my head to myself. What a strange beast.
Why does it still take my orders? It makes no sense when it could be out there causing its own havoc. Maybe I should be grateful it’s helping and not adding to my long list of troubles.
Finishing off my coffee, I make my way to the meeting room.
There’s been non-stop meetings since King hightailed it to the Underworld, leaving the demons behind to continue their destruction.
How he’s able to command the demons is still something we have yet to figure out. The carnage they’ve continued to inflict is beyond what we thought they could achieve in such a short space of time. And more and more are still showing up, trying to gain ground on us.
After the ambush, any of those able to wield magic helped to erect a barrier around Manhattan. But it grows weaker by the day, with the demons draining it slowly. It won’t be long before it’s completely gone, and the demons move their destruction to here and everything else around it.
We all know going to the Underworld is a trap. But this needs to end and the only way that’s going to happen is with King gone.
Once I reach the hall, I sigh hearing shouting. Loud, boisterous voices that have been nothing but aggressive and argumentative since Draven’s men and all the leaders of Manhattan arrived. They may have originally worked together to erect the barrier, but after that, they went back to hating each other.
And the so-called battle meetings have been nothing but a room full of arrogant alphas trying to see who has the largest dick.
The real answer being none of them, including Draven and his men. Their constant bickering would rival Axel and Jax by tenfold, with none of the comrade and family mentality behind it.
It’s beyond draining, listening to them night after night. There’s not one thing they can agree on, with the demons, warlocks, and witches all disagreeing just for the sake of it. They still don’t trust their kin here that left their precious segregated Island. And are even more distrustful of the leaders that took them in.
But now is not the time to be divided amongst ourselves. If we’re going to win this, we need to stick together and focus all that pain and anger toward the true evil that has caused this.
King.
The shouting grows louder as I walk toward the open doors of the meeting room. There’s about a dozen people inside with Draven and a few of his leaders stationed to the left. I spot Kai immediately leaning against the window with a few of the shifters from here around him. His scowl is evident, the lack of sleep making him look much older than he is.
The rest of my guys are missing, but it shouldn’t be too long before they show up too.
No one pays me any mind as I head straight in and over to Kai. He looks up from his position the minute I start toward him. His eyes lighting up the nearer I get.
Once I’m close enough to him, he takes my hand and spins me, so my back is to his front. Wrapping his arms around me from behind, he nuzzles into the side of my neck, and he takes a deep breath.
“Sleep well?” he murmurs, a glint of humor in his tired voice.
“I did.” I tilt my head to look up at him. His smile turns soft as he brushes his hand down my cheek.
Closer up he looks more than just tired. He looks exhausted. Like he’s wearing the entire world with all its problems on his shoulders. My hellhound is always juggling way too much for his family. Not caring about what he has to go through once his family is safe.
I turn in his arms. “When was the last time you took a break?”
Kai sighs, glancing over at the others as they lay into one another. He looks down at me, his hands rubbing up and down my back.
“You haven’t, have you?” I ask him, already knowing the answer.
“I can manage on a lot less sleep. I need to make sure they don’t end up killing each other before we leave.” He smiles down at me before narrowing his eyes around him.
“You need to rest too, Kai. You’ll run yourself to the ground at this rate.”
“Worried about me, Kiarra?”
“Always.”
Kai shakes his head, the smile still on his face as he leans in and places a kiss on my head.
“I’m fine.” Worry seeps into his face as he looks out the window, darkening the circles under his eyes.
“What is it?”
Kai looks down at me, his grip tightening on me. “King. He’s been… busy while we were looking for you.”
Something in my stomach drops at the worry and anger in his voice. “With the demons?”
“More than just them. He’s somehow contacted those outside the supe territory and got the humans on his side. They no longer believe what we say to them. They now think that we’re the threat they should watch out for. That Manhattan and its alphas are dangerous and should not be trusted.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Kai nods his head, agreeing. “They’re ready to attack us should it come to it. If the demons take a step onto any other land, we’ll get the blame for it and dealt with accordingly.”
Great. So now we have the humans and their weapons to worry about.
“What are we going to do?”
Kai sighs. “What we always do. Focus on one thing at a time and take it from there.”
“We need to get teams together. Bring the fight to them!” A young demon draws my attention, his voice cutting over the loud shouting in the room.
“We can barely hold them where they are. Going into Staten Island now would be suicide.” One of Kai’s men speaks up, looking at the demon like he’s an idiot.
The young demon fists his hands, his body vibrating from anger. “That’s our home!”
Draven sighs, shaking his head. “I understand your concerns. But we have to be smarter than King. And this is exactly what he wants. He wants us to fight with one another. To divide us.”
The leaders grow quiet, finally listening to someone else for a change.
Draven looks to one of his men. “Has there been any update?”
The demon steps forward. “Sir, we’ve sent out multiple groups to check for survivors. They’ve confirmed that King is nowhere to be found on this plane. The witches have also done multiple location spells and say the same. The barrier is holding for now, but there are some spots that are weakening.”
Draven looks up. “We’re running out of time.”
He’s right. The longer we put this off, the worse it’s going to get.
“This meeting is over. Keep us updated with the patrols.” The room slowly clears as Draven makes his way over to us.
Just before the door shuts, Jazmyn walks in. Draven’s demeanor changes immediately as he watches Jazmyn’s every move. “Jazmyn? Is everything okay?”
She completely ignores him and heads straight over to me. “I heard you’re going soon?”
“Yes. I think we’ve talked about it enough.” I give Kai a look agreeing with him.
Jazmyn swallows hard, a frown marring her face. “How do we know he’s definitely in the Underworld? You could be heading straight into a trap.”
“We more than likely are. But there’s no other choice. This ends with King and if we’ve to go to the Underworld to do it, then so be it.”
Jazmyn clenches her jaw, a look of determination settling over her. “Fine. Then I’m coming with you.”
Draven steps up beside her. “You most definitely are not.”
She whips her head around to him, the look she gives him making me wince. Grown men have run from that look whereas Draven simply raises a brow. “You do not get a say in what I do.”
“You’re needed here.”
“He’s right,” I tell her as Draven gives me a look of surprise, probably thinking I’m agreeing with him when really this is about Jazmyn. “This once,” I add before focusing on her.
I take her hands in mine. “We need you here to help protect Manhattan while we’re gone.”
“Kiarr—”
“They’ll listen to you, and if they don’t, I’m sure you’ll find a way to make them.” I give her a smile.
“Besides, Malik is still adjusting. He needs you here.” Jazmyn narrows her eyes on me, giving me a look telling me that was a low blow. But she knows it’s true. The witches and demons were working with him to help remove the control King took from him. Most times, the only one who can help him snap out of it is Jazmyn.
“Fine. But you better not get hurt.” Jazmyn glares at Kai. “If anything happens to her, I’ll personally hunt you down.”
I bite my lip to stop the chuckle from escaping as Kai smiles at her. “I’ll take good care of her.”
“There’s been another update.” Jazmyn clears her throat, avoiding looking at Draven. “More demons from the Underworld are still escaping somehow, even with the portals all now shut down.”
“They shut the portals down?” I look at Kai and catch him frowning. Draven looks weary as he leans against the table.
“Why?”
“To try stop more of them escaping.”
“All portals?” I ask him.
Axel walks into the room and heads toward us as Draven continues. “No, just those to the Underworld.”
“How fucking convenient,” Axel mumbles as he stands beside us.
“Then how are we going to get there?” I ask.
Draven looks at us. “It looks like you’ll have to go the old-fashioned way. Enter the first realm through one of the old entrances. The nearest one is here in the US.”
Kai takes my hand. “We’ll figure it out.”
Draven nods, a faraway look on his face. “I have someone that may be able to help guide you through the realms. We’ll keep this city protected for as long as we can.”
“Thank you.” Kai nods to Draven.
Jazmyn turns to me. “Have you got a minute?”
“Now?” She nods, giving me a soft smile, before narrowing her eyes on Draven and making her way outside.
Draven stares after Jazmyn before he starts up a conversation with Kai and the others about a couple of shifters and demons that have been playing up, causing trouble.
I follow her out, leaving Kai to finish up with Draven. “Everything okay?”
Jazmyn turns to me with a worried look on her face. “Do you know anything about the Underworld? It’s pretty bad, Kiarra.”
I glance back at Kai just as the door shuts, giving us some privacy. “Draven said there’s five realms, and each one is worse than the next.”
“That barely sums it up. The idiot.” Jazmyn rolls her eyes. “I’ve heard stories of the first three realms, and none of them are good. The first level is filled with shadows of lost souls. They wander there. The land is barren, starved of anything, just like them. We were threatened as kids to be placed there and have the life sucked out of us should we misbehave. The second level is said to be the home of the damned, and the third level is where the Infernal City resides. All higher-level demons live there and the home of some of the most powerful and terrifying demons.”
Jazmyn shivers, a look of fear slashed across her face.
“What about the demons that appeared on our plane? Where do they come from?” I ask her.
Jazmyn’s frown deepens. “I’ve never seen anything like them, but if I had to take a guess, I would say the fourth or fifth realm. Creatures that big couldn’t be held anywhere else.”
Here’s hoping King is somewhere in the first three then.
Jazmyn shakes her head. “Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay before you left.”
Warmth spreads across my chest at her words, making me smile.
She shoves her hands into her pockets, clearing her throat. “Come back as soon as you can. I don’t want to be stuck with all these possessive assholes by myself.”
I bump her shoulder. “Someone has to stay and make sure they don’t burn the place down.”
She swallows hard. “Just come back.”
“I will.” I promise her and myself. This wasn’t going to be the end, just a new beginning for us all.
She turns and leaves without a backward glance. I leave Kai to finish up with Draven and head back upstairs.
I’m halfway down the empty hall when the Shadow beast appears. “I’m guessing you got bored?”
It tilts its head, staring at me with those dark eyes. “Why do you only speak when you want to?”
Again, it tilts its head. “I’m heading to the Underworld soon, but I need you to stay here and protect them.” I glance back to the direction Jazmyn went.
“I need you to protect her.” I glance down at the shadow beast just as he dips his head, making me smile.
“Thank you.”
He disappears into the shadows, taking some of my worries and fears with him.
