Friends with the King of the Underworld | Book 1

Chapter Eight

I looked at my glasses in my hands and sighed. The scratches were deep.

I put them up on my nose again as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The scratches distorted everything I looked at.

I sighed again. "Great."

Having no choice, I opened a fresh pair of contact lenses and put them on.

It seemed like my phone wasn't the only casualty from last night's show of power. My glasses were going to need to be replaced.

I put on a T-shirt and jeans and went downstairs taking the steps two by two.

I was determined to find my phone one way or another.

I called around for my parents but they seemed to be gone early for a Saturday morning. It had been several hours before the electricity was restored to the neighborhood. It was funny to see how much we relied on it.

Woof came running up to me as soon as he heard my steps down the stairs.

I scratched his ears after I picked up a granola bar from the kitchen. "You want to go for a walk?"

He wagged his little tail and ran to the back slider. After I grabbed a jacket and opened the slider, he sprinted out the slider and down the deck steps to the woods.

We'd always let him walk outside on his own as long as we could watch him. While our backyard wasn't fenced in, he was never more than ten steps away from us when we walked him. Even as I walked into trees at the edge of the yard, he stayed close. He sniffed around and happily danced around in the grass.

"Woof," I called him when he started to stray.

The little fluff bounded towards me then ahead of me as I walked. I tried finding my way back to where I thought I'd met Leah and Damien the night before, trying to shake off the disorientation that wearing contacts always brought me.

It was always weird to put them back on after months of not wearing them. While it was slightly disorienting, at least this time, it wasn't awful. I was able to see every detail in the woods. From the happy squirrels that ran up the trees to the morning sun filtering through the new leaves in the trees.

I took a deep breath and let the icy air fill my lungs. Morning walks were always my favorite. If only my parents were home, I could then use one of their phones to try and find mine.

I walked deeper still into the trees, never letting Woof get out of my sight.

Questions raced through my mind as I walked through the woods. It started with the mysterious stranger with the hazel eyes that saved me. As soon as I saw his eyes I recognized them.

He was Cat.

I didn't know Damien's powers consisted of shapeshifting too. At least that was my guess since the brown haired man was able to turn into Cat. Damien was long gone before I could ask him. As I tried to sleep the night before I tossed and turned trying to think about the first time I'd seen Cat but nothing came to me.

When had he shown up?

And why then?

Why was he following me?

He was one of Damien's bodyguards which made me think that he could probably be protecting me and not Damien. I tried to think of a time when the three of us had been together but couldn't find one.

Which led me to another question. Why did I need to be protected?

That was when I saw it.

I put a hand to my mouth in amazement.