Beneath the Dust (Force of Nature #4) - Amber Lynn Natusch

Prologue

The rancid smell of burning and death was everywhere, and I struggled to stand against the ringing in my ears. Fire was burning brightly, the only light cutting through the smoke in the yard. I screamed for the others, the memory of the attack at the lodge so clear in my mind that I almost wondered if I was dreaming.

And then I heard the cries of the wounded and knew that I wasn’t.

“Piper!” a voice called. I struggled to hear it over the din, but I did—and it sounded hurt. I followed it through the wall of thick grey around me, tripping on the wounded and dead along the way.

I couldn’t get my bearings—had no clue which way I was headed—but I knew I had to get there. The sense of urgency and need drove my every step.

“Piper! I’m over here!”

I rushed toward that voice, colliding with others in the melee. I shoved them aside, rushing toward my target like I was tethered to it. Like nothing else mattered. Because it didn’t.

Only him.

“I’m coming!” I yelled, picking up my pace. I could hear shouting in the background—shouting that seemed directed at me—but I ignored it. I was almost there. I could save him.

Suddenly, a figure took shape in the smoke before me, standing straight and strong.

Thank God he’s okay…

I reached my hand for him, my heart in my throat, but before I could touch him, I was ripped away by a brutal, painful force. I flew through the air, crashing to the ground hard. Anger like I’d never known tore through me. I wanted to see who had dared to interfere.

I wanted to rip him limb from limb.

With a muttered order, the smoke cleared, swirling up into the air until it was nothing at all. Hovering over me was someone unexpected, his brown eyes murderous. But they weren’t for me. They were for the man off in the distance. The one I’d been searching for.

And he wasn’t at all who I’d been trying to save.

Chapter One

Grizz stood outside the shower with a towel in his hands, waiting for me to get out. In the twenty-four hours since we’d returned from the fey king’s land, he hadn’t let me out of his sight. Apparently, even bathing was too risky without an escort.

“Thanks,” I said as I took the towel from him and wrapped it around me. I moved to walk past, but he stepped into my path and stared. The concern in his eyes was evident. “I know, buddy, but there’s no other way. I don’t think Knox will rest until he knows whether Liam survived.” The man-bear huffed at my words. “Do you think I want to go back to Faerie?” He frowned at my rhetorical question and folded his arms across his chest. “Exactly, but I don’t think we have a choice. Liam could be our best chance to gain inside information on the fey king and what he wants. We have to do this—even if we don’t want to.”

He glared at me for a minute longer before stepping aside to let me pass. It was almost seven, which meant the others were likely gathering in the meeting room to discuss the plan. The enforcers would not be aiding us, which left only the werewolves, Merc, Jase, and Dean. I’d asked Merc if he’d ordered his vampires to stay behind, and he had avoided the question diplomatically. I wondered how he was fitting into his new role as vampire king. I also wondered how the others were acclimating to having a notoriously unstable leader. Though the reputation wasn’t totally warranted, it remained nonetheless. I prayed it wouldn’t undermine his authority when it counted most.

I slipped on my clothes and made my way downstairs through the kitchen, hoping to grab a snack on the way. I knew the meeting would surely get heated; we were about to drop some major bombs on everyone. Royal-sized ones, in fact.

Kat, who apparently shared my need for sustenance, was in the fridge when I arrived. She popped her head up over the door and smiled.

“So, rumor has it we’re going back to Faerie. Are we testing out the ‘third time’s a charm’ theory, or are you just that hot for the fey king?” She closed the fridge and leaned against it, taking a bite of the peach she’d found.

“Definitely not the latter,” I said as I walked past her to the pantry. There was a protein bar in there with my name on it.

“Wanna tell