Page 58 of Underworld

My teeth grind as I nod my head. “Yes, My Queen.”

She looks to Jax behind her with an arched brow. We exchange glances before he looks back at her with a sigh and nods. “Yes, My Queen.”

She smirks as she grabs Jax’s hand with her free one. Then, giving it a squeeze, she stands on her tiptoes to brush a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

She turns to me, and I stiffen. I have no idea how to deal with this woman, but I find that I can’t help but feel attached to her. She’s the first person to poke and poke at me till I had no choice but to accept her. She’s the little sister I didn’t know I wanted. Huffing out a sigh, I open my arms. I know she wants a hug, and I find it hard to deny her.

A smile touches her lips as she wraps her free arm around me and squeezes. She releases me, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek as well. I feel the crack in my chest. The barrier I’ve held around myself for so long seems to crumble the more time I spend around her. She looks up at me with a soft smile and says, “Be careful, big guy.”

I snort a laugh and press a soft kiss on her forehead. “Be careful yourself, Seph.”

She steps away from both of us, taking a deep breath before leaving the safety of our watch. Jax slaps his hand down on my shoulder as we watch her leave. “Didn’t think we would ever bring someone into our little family again after Greyson died,” he whispers.

My chest burns with the familiar pain of losing my older brother. I had to step up and become the big brother after that. I have to admit, the job wasn’t as easy as he made it look. But I don’t regret a single moment with my brothers. I love them. I don’t say it much, but I do. Rubbing the pain in my chest, I say, “She snuck her way in.”

He snorts a laugh. “She sure the fuck did, Brother.”

Jane

I take off down the hallway, running toward the meeting room. Jax and Silas were right, though. I haven’t seen a single Hound on my way here. Usually, I see at least five or six on my way through these halls. I also haven’t encountered a single reason why the Hounds wouldn’t be in their spots. The sickening feeling in my stomach from earlier grows heavier. Something terrible is going to happen tonight. Again.

I skid to a stop in front of the door to the meeting when it swings open. Jace stands there, eyes wide, as he sees me standing there, out of breath.

I probably shouldn’t have run all the way here, and holy shit, I’m out of shape. I hold up a finger when I see him about to ask a question. “Give me a sec,” I pant. As I try to get my breathing under control, I watch the others come up behind Jace. Good, that saves me the trouble of finding them.

“Are you good, Princess?”

Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Okay, so there’s a problem. Silas, Jax, and I haven’t seen a single Hound on any of the cameras. So they went to figure out what’s going on. I told them I would notify you guys of what’s happening.”

Jace arches a brow and asks, “They left you alone?”

Bristling at his words, I put a hand on my hip. “Excuse me. I am the Queen of the Underworld, am I not?”

Jace’s eyes narrow. “That is not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean, my King?”

Fire sparks in his eyes at my words. He steps into the hallway so we are only a breadth away from each other and says, “I only meant to assure that my Queen was properly protected, considering we may have intruders.”

I stand a bit taller and ask, “Do you not believe me capable of defending myself?”

He stares at me for a moment and sighs. Then, he caresses my cheek with his thumb before tilting his head and pressing his lips softly to mine. He pulls away enough to look into my eyes, and I notice his dark brown eyes seem even darker now. They are filled with too many emotions for me to narrow down what he’s feeling right now. “I do not have the heart or will to live without you, My Queen. I have almost lost you too many times for my liking already. The more people guarding you, the better,” he whispers the words across my lips like a soft caress.

All my anger seems to sizzle out of me. He’s right; I can’t lose them again, either. I sigh as I reach up to cup the side of his face. He nuzzles into my hand and closes his eyes, his body shuddering at my touch. “I would not have left their safety if I didn’t think I could handle myself. I promise I will not leave your side from this moment on.”

He turns to kiss the palm of my hand before looking at me, nodding before pulling away. He stands close but doesn’t take my hand, allowing me to reach for my weapons if needed. “Seems we have an intruder.”

Zane stands in the doorway and says, “We should investigate outside and find out where our Hounds have disappeared to. Seph should have been able to see them on the cameras.”

Jace nods before looking at me. “Ready for battle, My Love?”

I remove my daggers from their sheaths with a dark smile. “I do love some evening bloodshed.”

Jace smirks as he nods for us to move down the hallway toward the front doors. Howe snorts a laugh behind me, and I look over my shoulder to see him grinning. “Seems our Queen is bloodthirsty this evening.”

Walking down the hallway, I take in my newest outfit. I’m wearing leathers meant for battle. I was drawn to them this morning . . . now I know why. “I do not like when people believe us weak and press upon our territory.”

Alec’s voice echoes as he says, “I love when you go all Persephone on us. Fucking sexy.”

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