Chapter 1
The meeting spot was some rundown warehouse in the marine district. The sky was inky black, no sign of stars or the moon, and a heavy snowfall had begun on their way here.
It was cold enough that ice and frost had formed around the hulls of the boats at the dock, the ocean eerily and unusually quiet, allowing for the soft footfalls of their boots to be heard as they made their way across the parking lot.
The storm wouldn’t stop anytime soon, which meant they’d need to hurry this along.
The Leviathan had no interest in getting stuck on the road.
He’d kept his entourage intimate, his second in command and underboss, Baal, on his left, and his third, Koah, on his right. There were a handful of soldiers left to linger by the three hovercars they’d driven in, given strict instructions not to interfere unless summoned.
Expecting a trap, Levi had accepted Koah’s “necessary precautions” by bringing them along, but he doubted very much they would be called upon.
If he, as the Dominus of the White Frost mafia, couldn’t handle a few delinquent fools, he was unworthy of the title he bore.
Levi was many things.
Unworthy wasn’t one of them.
The wooden double doors creaked at their approach, opening from the inside. He didn’t slow, keeping his posture straight and his expression blank as the inside of the warehouse was slowly revealed to them.
The space, an old fishery that was still in commission, smelled like brine and guts, metal tables set up in rows at either side of the room.
The various tools typically used for preparing the catch had been left where the workers had placed them, a risky move that only bolstered the fact that idiots were running this circus.
The center had been cleared, a large, square red carpet set out, maybe to add a pop of color, possibly to give the illusion of some class where there was none to be had.
Two leather armchairs were positioned, one facing the door, the other with its back to it.
There was at least fifteen feet between them, a decent distance.
The first smart move their mysterious host had made.
Levi unbuttoned his black fur lined greatcoat and slipped out of his leather gloves, subtly taking stock of the people in the room who’d been awaiting their arrival.
Six in the rafters, three at either side, tucked into the shadows, two in the back corners, looking shifty—probably paid a hefty sum to risk their hides by being here—one guarding a side exit leading to somewhere that might be interesting, considering this one had been given a firearm, and then their apparent host, standing in front of the chair facing the entrance.
Levi kept his gaze on the man, a scruffy looking guy at least five years younger than him by the looks of it.
Green, since the hands he was trying to keep down at his sides were slightly shaking, and his eyes were bouncing between Levi and his men as though he had too much pent-up energy to manage.
This kid had no clue what he was doing.
With a heavy sigh, Levi settled into the other chair, not even slightly concerned about having his back facing the doorway. He didn’t so much as blink when the sound of them creaking closed echoed throughout the massive space, merely tilted his head and silently waited.
“Mr. Morningstar,” the kid cleared his throat and flashed an awkward smile, “Thank you for coming.”
“You said you had something important to discuss,” Levi said in a bored tone, picking a piece of fluff off his thigh. “In regards to the Eumia.”
That was the only reason he’d opted to humor this pathetic farce of a business meeting.
Initially, when he’d gotten the message requesting an audience, he’d been set to deny it, but the promise of gaining a leg up on their greatest rival was worth a little schlep through this putrid part of the city.
The White Frost and the Eumia had been mortal enemies for generations. He’d been raised to loath them, to want to best them, but ever since their new leader took control of the operation, things had gotten…stale.
Kian Erskine had been Dominus of the Eumia for a couple of years now, and in that time, had managed to turn the business away from most of their original underhanded dealings.
He’d joined hands with the Imperial Heir of the planet to rid Synastry of the intricate flesh trading industry, and then had relocated the brunt of his mafia to his homeworld, Glyph.
It was the latter part that had quelled most of the unrest between the White Frost and them.
Though they’d survived this long by ruling different cities, there’d always been bloody overlap.
Since moving the base of his operations, Kian had also ensured most of those accidental encounters no longer occurred.
On the one hand, it was a good thing.
Having their greatest competition out of their way was a positive for the White Frost.
On the other, Levi was too smart to trust in something as tentative and fragile as peace.
If meeting with these fools could lead to something, it’d be worth it, and if it didn’t…Well. At least he’d get some exercise.
Not much, considering this bunch of pathetic waste of oxygen.
But some movement was better for the body than no movement at all.
He crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his knee, and propped an elbow onto the right armrest, making it clear he was waiting for the other man to speak.
Again.
“Yes,” the man bobbed his head like a bird, in an unbecoming and rather twitchy display of nerves that almost had Levi rethinking the plan to kill him after all was said and done. “My name is Sadie Jian, Mr. Morningstar. I’m from Glyph. And I—”
He held up a hand, silencing him. “I don’t recall asking for your backstory.”
“Right. Apologies.” His cheeks turned scarlet.
Pathetic.
“You’re an alpha?” Levi asked it to get the guy to drop his guard a bit, not because he couldn’t tell.
“I’m no prime, but yes, sir.”
“We call it dominant on Synastry.”
Synastry and Glyph were sister planets that housed relatively the same species. The main differences were in the way the Imperial families of each governed their planets, and the fact that Glyph had three secondary genders to Synastry’s two.
Here, everyone presented as either alpha or omega when they came of age.
First gender, male or female, wasn’t anywhere as important as a person’s secondary one.
Presentation, which took place between the ages of fifteen and twenty, defined a person’s entire life trajectory.
Alphas, the stronger, more aggressive of the two, held more rights than their counterparts, though times had improved for omegas over the past century, allowing them for more securities.
Being alpha didn’t naturally make someone better than the rest, however. There was a hierarchy even amongst apex predators, and this was no different.
The alpha seated across from him was weaker than most of the omegas Levi knew.
He didn’t stand a chance against even the lowest level soldier in Levi’s army.
Which meant he must really believe he had something spectacular up his sleeve, to take such a massive gamble on his life like this.
The Leviathan’s reputation was renowned throughout several galaxies. Sadie Jian hadn’t come here on a whim. No, he was either desperate, foolish, or both.
“Should I start breaking fingers?” Koah flippantly asked behind Levi’s shoulder.
“Let’s give him one last chance to explain,” Levi replied smoothly. “As you can guess,” he directed his next comment to Sadie, “we’re rather busy people. I suggest you get to the point, before the General here loses his patience.”
Sadie glanced at Koah and visibly gulped.
This was no fun at all.
Levi sighed again and planted his palms to the armrests, about to rise and call it, but the kid finally got his act together and stopped him.
“I have something you’ll want,” Sadie said. “I’m sure of it.”
“Yes, well, you better be.” He settled back down into the cracked leather cushion. “Keep going.”
“I got involved in something I shouldn’t have,” he continued. “Something bigger than me.”
“Ah, and so you’ve come all the way to my planet seeking refuge, is that it?”
“You’re the only one I could think of. I took a gig, basic snatch and hold job, but the guy who hired me ended up getting himself killed before he could utilize the catch.”
“Who is the moron who pays someone to kidnap a person with no set plan?” Levi didn’t give away how loathsome he suddenly found Sadie. The way he spoke, it was obvious he’d been doing petty kidnappings for a while now. Was he involved in the flesh trade? Was that how he got on Kian’s radar?
If that was the case, he’d come to the wrong person.
Levi might be the emperor of the criminal underground on this planet, but he didn’t waste his time on petty matters such as this. Let Kian run around playing hero if that was his prerogative. Levi wouldn’t partake, but he also had no interest in standing in his way.
“Ricky,” Sadie said the name as though Levi should have any clue who that was. Which he did not. “The gang leader of Lady Luck.”
“Who?”
“Doesn’t really matter since he’s dead. Anyway, he hired me and my crew to kidnap someone and bring them here. Said he had a whole plan to trade the person to you for something better. I don’t know what. He never told me.”
“So you thought you’d come asking if I had any inkling?”
“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t care. It’s just, it wasn’t like there was anything else I could do with the target.”
“Kill him and dispose of the body,” Levi suggested with a single shoulder shrug. “That honestly never occurred to you?”
The first flash of confidence lighted behind the man’s eyes. “He’s worth more than that.”
“When you’re in this business as long as I’ve been, you come to learn that very few are actually worth more than a single bullet to the head.” Still. His interest was admittedly still piqued. “Who do you have, and what do you want in return?”
“Protection,” Sadie replied quickly. “Enough coin we won’t have to work another day in our lives, and new identities.”