QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD: Earthbound series Lucien and Scarlett (Book 2)

Before we had stepped out of the vehicle, one man handed us a personal transmitter-receiver radio. Once on, we could communicate with each other over short distances. Each team got one. I watched and copied the men as they attached the transmitter to their heads and brought the mic to the front of their mouths. Straight away, I heard the voices of Lucien and the other leaders.

Scrambling out of the large green vehicle, the musky smell of damp Earth rose to assault my nose. Leaves and twigs littered the ground. We gathered in a circle. I felt a prickle at the back of my head; I turned and met Lucien’s gaze. Desire burned in his eyes; one look from his dark eyes and I was lost. Black eyes skimmed over my body. My omega purred in pleasure. What the hell? Omegas didn’t purr, did they? I dragged my gaze away and searched for Melissa. I needed to know what the heck was going on with my omega.

‘Everybody, can I have your attention?’ ordered Lucien’s down the transmitter-receiver, ‘my team will lead. Teams two and three will watch our back. It won’t take us long to get there. From now on, radio silence unless absolutely necessary.’ Lucien told us, ‘Right, let’s head out.’

The building was vast. It was a dirty gray and looked abandoned. It was much bigger than I had visualized. How the hell are we meant to get into it? A large, gated fence surrounded the grounds it stood in. From here, I couldn’t see any entrance leading into the building. A few windows were dotted around, but that seemed to be it. There was no way we could get through those windows, for one; they were too high up, the other; they were tiny. How on Earth would I get my fat ass through there? Knowing my luck, I’d get stuck halfway through. Megan might be behind those walls.

‘It’s invisible to the eye, but there’s an entrance at the front of the building.’ Lucien told us over the transmitter. ‘Once my team is in, and everything on that level is secure, teams two and then three can follow us in.’

Thank fuck for that. I had visions of us fumbling our way around the building.

I met Lucien’s gaze. He opened his mouth as if to say something but changed his mind. We watched as he and the others from team one slowly made their way towards the building. The rest of us stayed amongst the trees. I hated waiting here, but I understood the reason.

I silently prayed, hoping that we find Megan somewhere in that building. Around me stood my family; and the others. I watched the expressions on their faces come and go. They were busy watching Lucien and the others approach the fencing that surrounded the building. Lucien cut through the fence. Once through, they ran around to the other side of the building where the entrance was. Was it me, or was that a bit too easy? Why wasn’t the fence electrified? Where were the guards? Surely there should be guards inside the building and walking the perimeter. Something was off. Was it possible they were waiting for us? They knew we were coming if that was the case; they had set us up. I just hoped my gut feeling was wrong.

We heard Lucien’s voice over the radio transmitter, ‘Team two, it’s safe to follow.’

“You heard him; let’s go,” Jacob ordered. Gil-Galad, Melissa, Emma, Ava, and the rest of team two cautiously made our way over.

Lucien, Damien, and Jax waited for us in a vast corridor as we walked through the open doors. There were four doors on each side that stood wide open. Nobody was in any of the rooms. No stairs were visible that could take us to another floor. The only way was by a lift on the other side of the room.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that we got in so easily?” Jacob questioned with a raised eyebrow. As Lucien ordered team three to head in.

“Yeah, someone’s been here recently.” Damien looked down at the ground; faint footprints covered the floor.

“Has anyone tried the elevator?” It was a stupid question, but I knew it had to be asked.

As he watched the others walk in through the open doors, “Not yet,” Lucien replied, “we are going to go in teams again. A mixture of teams two and three should wait outside in case something goes wrong.”

I heard the mutterings of disagreement. I understand where Lucien was coming from. We needed people outside just in case. After the muttering dies down, it was agreed who would stay behind. Emma, Pamela, Ava, and Evelyn stay behind with Jax, Archer, and half of their men.

My family stared at me as the elevator doors shut. I would have rather stayed on this floor with the others. I have always hated elevators. It didn’t matter if it was one of those smooth updated ones. I hated them all. Is it the sudden movement as it goes up or downwards? I don’t know what it is about them. I could never put my finger on it. Whether it’s the lightheaded, fuzzy sensation or the fact that it causes my stomach to turn over as it takes you downwards. This one was one of the old types. It jerked and bumped under our feet the entire way down. If no one knew we were here, they did now. The sound of it. It was like a handful of tins that someone was kicking down the street. As if sensing my unease, Lucien grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard before letting it go again. I fought the desire to turn my head and look up at him. We had agreed that we would try to keep it professional while on missions. I felt the jerk as it came to a stop, and the doors slid open with a ping. In front of us was an empty corridor. They painted its walls a light gray. No windows in sight. I felt the shiver down my spine. There was a bad feeling in my gut. I just hoped it wasn’t a trap.

Cautiously, Lucien put his head out and looked both ways. “It’s clear,” he told us as he stepped out. I heard the ping of the elevator doors as they shut. I resisted the urge to turn my head. That feeling just wouldn’t go. We cautiously made our way towards the double doors at the end of the corridor. If someone came through, we were fucked. We would have to fight. We couldn’t hide. There weren’t any other corridors to jump into or any other doors you could pull open. It was just the ones ahead. I stood there with bated breath as Lucien pushed open the doors. This was just too easy. Where were the guards? It makes little sense. If someone was holding naturals and humans against their will, surely there’d be people walking around. There wasn’t.

On the other side of those doors was another corridor. It was long; the walls were a dark gray. I counted five steel doors on either side. No sound protruded from any of them. The doors had no windows; no one could tell if anyone was in the rooms. Lucien stopped and turned to face us. He indicated his head to Damien, who turned to walk over to the first door. He grabbed the handle and twisted. The door squeaked as he pushed it open, and he stepped back as the door swung inwards, revealing an empty room. From my position, I could see some sort of bed and a medical trolley that looked like it had some medical equipment on top. It was void of any smell. Damien closed the door with a click. Damien opened each door as we carried on walking down the corridor. None of the rooms looked like they had been used recently.

What the hell was going on? I could see the confused expressions on everybody’s faces. It was apparent that everybody was thinking along my lines. We came to the last door. This one was different in appearance. It was double doored and was solid wood similar to the ones Lucien had in his properties. Damien turned his head, looked at us all, then met Lucien’s gaze before he grabbed both handles, twisted, and pushed open the doors.

I heard ‘what the hell’ behind me. It looked like we were on a wild goose chase. Another corridor stood before us, an elevator down at the end. I knew what would be suggested before the words even left his mouth. He would want us to go into the fucking thing to see where it led us. I had the feeling that this won’t take us upwards towards the surface; it would be taking us further down. Further and further into the darkness.

Pushing the button, we waited on either side of the elevator. We waited and listened as it traveled upwards. I heard the clanking as it came to a jerking stop. The doors opened with a swish. Not a soul came out. Slowly, we took turns walking in and watched as the doors shut, trapping us inside the lift. On the right nearest the door was a panel. Surely that can’t be right. 50 floors were below us. It must be wrong. How many people did they have in here? It boggled my mind. There could be thousands and thousands of natural and humans being held here. Held against their will. If there were, we had to get them out of this hellhole. Lucien pushed the last button. The elevator started moving with a jolt, causing our bodies to move back and forth as it swept us down to the bottom. It stopped. The doors opened in front of us, revealing another corridor. There wasn’t a sound; all I could hear was our breathing. Is there anybody in this building? Had they already left, or was there some sort of barrier that was shielding them?

We all left the lift when we heard the order. There was an eerie feeling surrounding us. There was something about this floor that gave me the creeps. I just can’t put my finger on it. These corridors were like the others but had no doors. The corridor was long and gray. The lights flickered above our heads. The smell drifting up to my nose was one of death.

As he looked down one end, then the other of the corridor, “We need to split up,” Lucien told us, “keep in constant contact; if you find anything, inform us straight away, and we will get to you; as soon as possible.”

Looking at Lucien, Mia said. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I think we should stay together.”

“We will cover more ground if we separate,” Lucien replied.

Pursing her lips she replied. “If any of us get into trouble, there is no chance that any of us will get to them in time.”

“That is a chance we will have to take. We will keep in constant contact, and the first sign of trouble, we are out of here. We need to find out what’s going on and where the hell everybody is. Look around you; it’s as if no one is here, and that can’t be right.”

Thinking of the young man that’s been found, I say “He might have been wrong or has been telling you lies. Lying to all of us.”

“This building, its description, and location are correct. If he’s been lying. He had better have a good reason,” Lucien replied angrily.

In frustration Damien said, “We are wasting time; we need to find out what’s going on and if any natural or humans are here or not.”

“Would hate to agree, but Damian’s right. We’ve got to find out what the hell’s happening here. If we find a natural or human, do we leave them or get them out?” said Melissa.

We all stood there in silence, not knowing what to do.

“We came for a purpose: to find Megan and the vampire King,” Lucien replied. “if we find either of them, then they come with us.”

“And if we find others?” Melissa questioned.

“Then we let them loose, and anyone that’s hurt, we take them with us. We are here to save as many naturals and humans as possible,” Lucien replied.

“Then let’s get our asses moving. Staying here discussing what we are going to do will not get us anywhere.” Damien reminded us. He was right; we could have stood here all day and talked about the weather. That’s not why we came.

We split into two groups. I’m now with Lucien, Damien, Jacob, Ezra, and Melissa. Abigail and Mia are with Gil-Galad and Reid. We go our separate ways. I wondered how the others were faring above the surface. I hoped they were alright. As they walked further and further away, I turned my head. I just prayed that nothing happened to them. I turned my head back in front of me. Walking in front are Lucien, Damien, and Ezra. Jacob and Melissa are walking side by side. The other men surround us.

Lucien and Damien abruptly stopped. Stood in front of us are double doors with large windows in each. We peered through the window. This corridor was different. They had pushed up-lined medical beds against the walls, one after the other. As if standing there waiting for a body to be placed on top of them. That smell appears again. It’s so much more potent that I felt myself gag in response. What is that smell!

I didn’t know I had spoken my thoughts aloud.

“The smell of death,” Jacob whispered. As his dark green eyes met mine. “Death has been here many times.”

“Death?” I asked. I laughed in disbelief. “He isn’t real.”

“What makes you think that Death is real?” Damien replied.

What were they hiding? Did they know something I didn’t?

“Make no mistake. Death is real,” Lucien agreed as he turned and looked at me, “He is just as real as you and I.”

“Then why haven’t I ever seen him?” I asked in disbelief.

“Because it’s not your time, or you’ve been damned lucky,” Lucien replied. As he turned his attention back to the window. “Just pray that if you ever see him, it isn’t your time.”

A shiver went down my spine. All this talk of death has made me jittery. If death was real, he could be any of these men standing next to my family and me. I looked at my family. I could read their expressions. They were as shocked as I was. The question was, who the heck was death?

“Let’s move,” Lucien demanded as he swung around on the tips of his boots and placed his back against the wall. What the hell? I peered through the glass; shit, there was a small group of people walking down the corridor towards us dressed in white jackets or top and trousers. They seemed too busy talking to notice us looking through the glass.

We all did as Lucien instructed, flattening ourselves tight as possible against the stone-gray walls.

Shit, had they seen us? We waited with bated breath. Were they going to come down here? I heard the sigh of relief as we listened to the voices fade as a door was opened and closed with a click. That was close.

“We were lucky. We have to be more careful,” Melissa warned. She was right. If we had been caught, we could have ended up on one of the beds. We couldn’t take any more stupid chances.

As he glanced over at Lucien. Damien said, “We need to follow them. And find out where they were heading to.”

Nodding her head in agreement Melissa replied. “I agree. We’re not getting anywhere. Just wandering around. They’re the first people we’ve seen since we casually walked in.”

She’s right. We haven’t seen a soul. We needed to follow them. This could be the only chance to find either Megan or Nathan.

“It could be a trap,” I reminded them.

“It most probably is,” Lucien agreed, raising an inquiring eyebrow, “we can turn back, work out a new plan and return.”

“No. If we’re going to do this, we do it now,” I replied. “If Megan’s here, then we have to get her out. The same with Nathan and any others we find. Whether they’re human or natural.”

He nodded and looked over at Damien, giving him a silent signal. He pushed against the door and made his way into the corridor beyond. One by one, we followed. Together, we walked towards the double doors the other group had walked through, but moments ago. We all knew what we could walk into, but we knew we had to do this. No matter the outcome. I watched with bated breath as Lucien grabbed hold of the handle, twisted, and pushed the door open. Surprise, surprise, it led to another corridor. The difference? You could hear the awful screams. They penetrated my head, turning my stomach. I fought the urge to cover my ears with my hands.

Who was doing this? We had to destroy them. We had to stop this evil.

“Fucking hell,” Jacob whispered.

The piercing scream grew. It was amazing they were even still alive. We had to get whoever it was out of here. Whoever was on the other side of the door matched Lucien in power and strength. It would be too dangerous to just rush in. We would have to plan something else.

I knew without asking, my family would be in with rescuing this helpless soul. It didn’t matter if it was Megan or not. Something made us head toward that sound. We came to a stop and looked at each other, trying to decide what needed to be done. Our attention fell back on Lucien and the other leaders. They were the heads of their regions for a reason and are the strongest, most powerful naturals alive. Ezra was the oldest and most powerful wizard that had ever lived.

Melissa turned her attention to the others. “How are we going to get this person out of the room? We don’t know if anybody’s in there with them. And what they’re doing to the poor soul. Can you do anything?” she asked Ezra, “I cannot bear to hear the screams any longer.”

“I can only do so much. My power isn’t at full strength. I’m still weak; I’d need your help,” Erza confessed as he met Melissa’s gaze before he turned to the others, “With Melissa’s help, it could be possible to find out what’s happening inside that room before anyone of us enters.”

“Then do it,” Jacob ordered, a warning in his gaze as he met Ezra’s eyes. From where I stood, I saw the expression on Ezra’s face. Was it my imagination, or did some sort of message pass between them?

“Jacobs correct. We have to be prepared,” Lucien agreed. Turning his head, “Damien, contact the others. Let them know what’s happening, and we need their help.” With a nod of acknowledgment, Damien walked away and stood to one side. Behind me, I could hear him speaking to Gil-Galad, informing him what was happening.

Ezra turned to face Melissa. “We will join using a simple spell to see what the fuck’s going on.”

Melissa nodded and grabbed one of Ezra’s large hands in her own. “Let’s do this, big guy.”

With a grunt, he closed his eyes as he started muttering under his breath. Melissa joined in as they stood, nearly touching. Saying the exact words. Melissa turned her head and looked towards the door. As she did so, I glimpsed her eyes. They were now silver.

It couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, but whatever she had seen, the expression upon her face told us it wasn’t pleasant.

“There’s a…” Melissa said, shock on her face, “I’m not imagining it, am I?” she asked Ezra as she turned her head to him.

“No, you are not imagining it. I saw it too,” Ezra reassured her.

“What the hell did you see?” Lucien demanded.

“A dragon,” Melissa replied in shock, turned her head, and looked at everyone standing there. “I saw an enormous dragon. It was so beautiful and in so much pain.”

Shock, that’s what swept over every single one of us. How was it possible? A dragon, a live fucking dragon, was behind that door before us.

“Ezra, did you recognize who it was?” Lucien asked.

What? Did he know the dragon behind that door!

“Yes,” Ezra replied, “I haven’t seen him for so long. For a magnificent being to be tortured like that,” he shook his head in sadness.

“Who is it?” Jacob demanded.

“It’s the king of the dragons,” Ezra announced. This wasn’t the world I remembered. Most of the naturals I had known were gone. Had the men standing by my side had anything to do with their death?

I looked at the surrounding group. Everyone seemed to be still in shock. The king of the dragons. The rumors were wrong; they had survived. How many other naturals that were believed gone were hiding?

“Are you trying to tell us that Brenton is behind those closed doors?” Jacob asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Ezra replied, “I’ve known Brenton for many years. You all seem to be shocked that a dragon could be behind those doors.”

“Ezra, we have not seen or heard from the dragons for many years. Everyone thought they were extinct along with many other naturals,” Lucien told him.

Enraged, Ezra replied, “Why? Why would someone want to kill those magnificent beasts? They were never a threat. They were always friendly in both their forms. How many other naturals are gone?”

“Too many to count,” Jacob said. “I also knew the dragon king. We weren’t friends, but he had my respect. We need to get him out if he is behind those doors.”

“Damien, tell Archer what’s happening. Then get hold of Reid. Tell him we need them down here now, then call the reinforcements,” Lucien ordered.

Reinforcements? What was he talking about? I must have said it aloud, for he answered my question. He never mentioned this last night. I hated that he was hiding things from me. I can’t understand why!

“You didn’t think we wouldn’t have a backup plan? Half an hour after we left, another three teams followed behind. They will be on the surface waiting.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you tell me? Why keep it secret?” I demanded. I hated to have to admit that it pissed me off.

“It wasn’t a secret. It was something you didn’t need to know. Now you do.”

Is he for real? I can’t believe that he doesn’t see that as lying. What a crock of shit. I will let this matter go for now. There are more critical things to worry about. One, there seems to be a dragon behind those closed doors. Who and what else is being kept here in this forsaken place? I felt a shiver run down my spine; It doesn’t bear thinking about. How the hell are we going to get him or anybody else we find out of this place? Maybe luck will be on our side.

We don’t have long to wait before the others have joined us. I can tell by the shocked expressions on the rest of my family’s faces that they have been told who is behind that closed door. None of us would question Melissa. There is no reason she would lie about what she had seen. We needed a plan before we go charging in there like idiots. It could get us all killed. We all stood and listened as Lucien, Damien, Jacob, Gil-Galad, Archer, Reid, Jax, and Ezra discussed how they would get the person behind that door out.

It’s decided that Ezra will go in on his own. We didn’t know how he would react to seeing us all at once. If things came to the worst, he would have to be sedated. None of us knew what he had suffered. Just as we didn’t know what they had done to Megan or the vampire Nathan. I think that’s what was frightening us more than anything. It was bad enough to hear somebody we didn’t know scream in agony. Would we have to listen to Megan going through something similar?

I watched with bated breath as Ezra pushed open the door and strolled in. The door closed behind him with a click. Everything went silent. We looked at each other. Wondering what the hell was happening behind those closed doors.

I felt the floor under my feet shake as an almighty roar suddenly came from the room. What the hell had happened? I had never heard such pain before.

As she and the others arrived at our backs “What the hell’s going on?” Pamela asked in shock surprise.

“Didn’t they tell you?” I asked, turning my head to look at her. “The Dragon King is in there. Ezra was once a close friend. We all thought it was best if he went in before the rest of us followed.”

“Dragon King? All we were told was they had found somebody. But not who it was. I thought all the dragon shifters were extinct.”

“So did the rest of us,” Lucien replied as he looked at her, then turned his attention back to the door. We all could hear the almighty roaring and the hushed voice. It seemed to carry on forever, while it only lasted a few minutes.

We all took a hasty step back as we heard the turning of the door handle. The door opened slowly. Stood before us were Ezra and the Dragon King Brenton. He was huge. I had always thought that the men standing around us were big. He was something else entirely. He must stand around 6 foot 8. At one time, he must have been very muscular. That wasn’t the case now. Whatever they had been doing to him, he was now half the person he had been. I looked into those eyes, and all I could see was madness and pain.

What was that? Whimpering came from the side of me. It was like an animal who was in an enormous amount of pain. I looked on either side of me as I tried to find out where the sound was coming from.

Pamela, what the hell? She had this devastating look on her face. I wanted to ask what was wrong? Something told me to keep my mouth shut. She had this baffled look as if she was trying to work out what she was seeing as she stared at the Dragon King. Could he be the reason? Surely not. Ezra shook his head in warning as Lucien, Jacob, Archer, Jax, Reid, Damien, and Gil-Galad went to step forward.

I heard the rumbling growl come from his mouth as he took in the group of humans and naturals standing in front of him. It wasn’t good. Hearing the rumbling noise coming from that chest, we pulled up short. His eyes seemed to latch onto Pamela. I watched with bated breath as she took a slight step forward as if to go to him.

What the hell was she thinking? “Pamela,” I called out sharply, stopping her in her tracks. A shocked expression seemed to settle on her face. It was as if she had been in a trance, that she was under some sort of spell. This was ridiculous. I had to get her out of this building, away from this Dragon King, before she did something stupid. He could rip her apart in the blink of an eye.

Taking in the situation, Lucien said, “Ezra, I think it would be best if you took Brenton up to the surface. Take two of the men with you in case you run into any trouble.”

With a nod of his head, Ezra turned and said something to the man who stood beside him. I didn’t miss the look that passed between him and Pamela as he walked past. Pamela never took her eyes off of him. What the hell was running through her mind? As if sensing my gaze, she turned and looked at me, shrugged her shoulders, and turned her attention back to the others. I tried grabbing her attention through our mental link, but she blatantly ignored me.

I could see the puzzled expressions on the rest of my family’s faces. They had noticed her odd behavior and their exchange. She knew there would be questions by the end of the night.

“We found Brenton. Who else are we going to find in this hellhole?” Gil-Galad said with a frown on his face.

“Let’s find out,” Jacob replied.

We slowly followed them down the corridor. We stopped at each door we came upon. Before entering, Melissa checked each room before a few of us entered. We couldn’t take any chances. The next four rooms were empty. Some machines were still warm to the touch. Indicating that someone had been there recently.

Coming to the fifth room, we could hear a noise inside. Like shuffling. Was somebody dragging their feet? We watched as Melissa did her thing.

As she gave a shake of her head. “Well?” I asked Melissa.

“Someone,” Melissa replied, “is definitely in there. I have never seen anything like her before.”

“Her?” Lucien asked, “So a female is definitely in there?”

“If it isn’t female, then we have got one strange male in there!” Melissa replied, raising her eyebrows. “It’s got breasts and everything.”

“Who’s going in?” Jacob said as he stared at Melissa, who completely ignored him as if he wasn’t even there.

“One of us,” I told him, “She may feel safer with a female.”

“I’ve no objection,” Reid said with a raised eyebrow and a shrug, looking at the other leaders.

Stepping forward “I’ll go,” Ava volunteered.

Meeting her gaze to make sure she knew what she was doing. “Are you sure?” I asked. She didn’t look frightened, just determined about what she was volunteering for.

Shrugging one shoulder, Ava replied, “I’m as sure as anyone else.”

I stared at the rest of my family to see if they had any objections; none were forthcoming. That told me everything I needed to know. They trusted Ava to get in and out safely and with no complications.

We watched as she walked over to the door, grabbed the handle, turned it, and pushed it open. Ava turned her head to look behind at us, gave a small smile, turned back again to face the woman, and walked into the room, closing the door behind her with a click.

Now we had to wait. I wanted to run over to put my head flat against the door to hear what was going on inside. I didn’t like the thought of her being in there on her own. I’m sure the others felt the same way. Anything could happen. We didn’t even know if the woman was a human or natural. We should not have let her go in there alone.

I was just about to open my mouth and state how I felt when the door slowly opened.

“This is Anna,” Ava told us, as they walked forward, “She’s human and only been here about a month.”

Taking in her ragged appearance Lucien replied, “She’ll need to be questioned.”

Scared out of her wits, her head shot up, her jaded green eyes wide open as if she was a rabbit and had been caught in a car’s headlights. I hated that she had to be questioned, but we had to find out everything we could to battle against Enzo’s evil. The more we knew, the more we could stop him and anyone who supported him. Even Megan and the Vampire King Nathan would have to be questioned. As would anybody else we found.

Taking a step sidewards so she was standing closer to her in a soft voice, Ava said, “You’re scaring her.”

As I stood there staring at her, I realized she couldn’t be much over 16. She was still a child. Her parents must be frantic with worry.

With a slight smile I asked, “How old are you? Are your parents with you?” Those green eyes swung in my direction.

A scared look in her green eyes “Fourteen,” she whispered. She shook her head “No, I was walking home after being at a friend’s. Are you here to take me home?” she asked. Her eyes traveled from one face to the other, with hope.

She was younger than I thought. They have been taking children. No one told us this. Had anyone known that children had been taken? We knew whole families had gone missing but not children.

I felt my omega sit up and take notice. Her eyes appeared through my own. What the hell?

‘What are you doing?’ I demanded.

‘She’s an omega,’ her voice whispered in my head.

No, it can’t be. A full-blood omega.

Shit, no omegas had reported that their loved ones had gone missing. This was bad.

“Yes,” I said, in reassurance, as I turned back to look at her. I couldn’t tell the others, not yet. How on Earth are we going to find her family? “We just want to ask you a few questions before your parents come for you.” I didn’t need to look in his direction. I knew Lucien and the other leaders wouldn’t be pleased with my promise. If any of them thought we would not let her go home, then they had another thing coming. “Someone will come down and take you up to the surface and get you somewhere safe.”

She looked up at Ava. We need to know if they’d done anything to her. I was just glad I wouldn’t be asking her those questions.

Ava and the girl walked back to the elevator. We turned to watch as it opened with a ping, and the girl goes up with one other from the surface. Ava walks back towards us.

“You shouldn’t have promised her anything,” Lucien said, “I know you meant well—”

“So, you would rather scare the poor girl to death?” I said, shaking my head. Is he for real? “She’s a child, for heaven’s sake.” I felt the need to thump him.

“I know it’s hard for you and your family to understand, but that young girl might not be as innocent as she looks. That is what you have to think about before going in feet first. If you are all going to stay and help, you need to understand something,” Lucien said, as he stopped and turned around to face my family and me. The other leaders stood on either side of him while the other men watched. “We do not know what has happened with the humans and naturals we find. Any of them could be a plant. So, we have to be cautious and put our feelings to one side no matter who we find or what age they are. Whether it’s an adult or child. Our feelings can’t get the better of us.”

I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that an adult or child would be here willingly. Especially an omega.

“She’s an omega, and I don’t think she realizes it.”

Silence.

“What? Are you telling us that girl is a full omega?” Lucien demanded.

“Yes. I didn’t sense it at first, but she is 100% omega.”

“Yes, I can sense her now,” Melissa replied. One by one, the rest of my family reveals that they can sense that she is a full walking, talking, full-blood omega.

I heard the mutterings from the others. It’s a mixture of disbelief and hope.

“We need to keep this to ourselves if this gets out” Lucien said. “Do you all agree?”

One by one, they nod their heads. We all know what this could mean. Some council members would want to get their greedy hands on them.