Page 43 of The HellBeast's Soul

JARED

Needless to say, these past five days had been different between Ella and I. This was mostly my fault as I had spent time worrying over our future now that I had made my mind up on what I needed to do next. I had tried to not let it affect my time with her but I could tell that she knew something was wrong. I also felt on edge, as if something was brewing and without knowing what it was, I felt as if I couldn't fully prepare.

But something else was also on my mind. Something far more profound that had the power to change our future forever. A secret I was keeping from Ella, and one that was becoming more difficult to do by the day. But in the end, I had no choice, not if I wanted it to play out exactly the way I planned for it to. I knew that I had to alleviate any concerns and fears she may have very soon. Tonight in fact, if all went according to plan. But not until I got this meeting out of the way first.

So, by the time we reached the room where all Table of Kings meetings had been held these last thirty years, everyone was already there bar Lucius and I. Sigurd, King of the Ouroboros, was there with his usual hooded attire covering most of his face, while the darkness of Seth, the feared King of Death was sitting next to him.

In fact, the difference in size would have been almost comical, had Seth’s abilities not been near beyond that of all others. For what he lacked in raw bulk, having that of a slimmer, stealthier build, he made up for in deadly power. And the arrogant features in his angular bone structure and knowing gaze was warranted by the weight of his supremacy in a fight.

Of course, at the last Table of Kings meeting there had also been Amelia and Keira who had joined us. But I think they understood today's assignment was being there to keep Ella busy and above all else… to keep her safe. Just like I had my men protecting her from afar today when she was at her parents’ house this afternoon. Of course, I never would have left her unprotected, but I didn't want the knowledge of doing so to ruin her time reconnecting with her family.

I also had the feeling that what Dom was going to reveal in this meeting was something his wife had no knowledge of. I knew how fiercely protective Keira was of her niece, so I could only imagine what she would have to say if she found out that Dom had kept something important from her. Whatever it was that Dom was about to disclose, I had no clue, other than it was no doubt something that I was about to have a lot to fucking say about as well.

The Table of Kings was complete as soon as we took our seats. As for the room itself, it held nothing but the large table we sat at, one that started off life very differently. Especially considering it served as a reminder to all as to why the Table of Kings was so important. For it had once been the doorway we had all fought to keep closed, and its damage had been preserved by thick, clear resin. The four panels represented each of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, their sole purpose to bring upon the end of days.

A battle, we had thankfully won.

But this thought only made me wonder what was coming next, as we had not spent the last thirty years sat idly, waiting for the next threat. For a King always had to be ready for the enemy, and not all of them met you head-on in battle… just as I was being reminded daily, thanks to that cowardly fuck, Geryon!

“It seems as though it wasn't long ago before we were all sitting around this table facing a very different threat but that does not make this meeting today any less urgent, so I thank you all for coming,” Dom said, starting the meeting in thanks, as he was sitting at the head of the table.

“Jared, I took the liberty in explaining your situation, so as Sigurd and Seth were caught up. As for the rest, well, the meeting is yours,” he added, making me give him a nod in thanks before addressing everyone.

“It seems as if this fuck, Garmr, has been after Ella for a long time, and until recently I had no fucking clue why. As Dom probably told you how this all started, fighting with him at the last battle we faced, he saw something in me, a glimpse of Ella, and he recognized her as being the one he has been looking for. Hence how this shitstorm all started,” I said, making the others nod and realizing that Dom had, in fact, taken them back to the very beginning.

“And now, what is the situation at Devil’s?” Sigurd asked, and seeing as he had been a regular fighter there back in the day, then it wasn’t surprising he would ask this first.

“Christmas Day, the club was attacked by a Summoner named Niniane. It turns out she was working for Garmr, and their plan was to get me out of the way so as he was free to get to Ella. Of course it didn't exactly turn out this way, as after making her way here, she decided to join the time travelling crew,” I said bitterly, noticing how Lucius and Dom both clenched their jaws at this.

“Meanwhile, I was stuck in a fucking jail cell being forced to fight in the Summoner’s Games. In fact, both my brother, Orthrus and Marcus, had also been captured shortly after getting Ella out of the club safely.”

“All three of you were made to fight?” Seth asked in his cool, collected way, and one that always had most fuckers on edge for a reason.

“Four of us, as another prisoner by the name of Asher was also punished and made to fight because of the friendship we developed when imprisoned together,” I told them, making Seth point out,

“But you made it out alive, I see.” To which Sigurd nudged him and replied in a vivacious way,

“Of course he fucking did, you ever see this fucker fight?” I had to grin at that, nodding my head the once to the fucking big Viking, silently giving him my thanks.

“We were just making our last stand after the bitch had decided to punish me by forcing me to watch all her summoned souls attack us as one, with their orders being not to kill me to ensure I was the last man standing.”

“Fuck, tell me you took the bitch’s head!” Sigurd replied like the bloodthirsty bastard I knew him to be. But then as Ragnar’s son, and a powerful beast in his own right, Snake Eye rarely took shit from anyone. Besides, we were fucking kings, meaning we were all big on extracting revenge.

“I did indeed, but only after Ella intervened and saved the fucking day,” I replied with an equal amount of pride as well as annoyance.

For us kings, we were big on protecting what was ours and our chosen ones were, of course, at the very top of that list. Which also meant Dom hadn’t been the only one surprised at this when hearing it the first time. Shock became a shared expression between the men sitting around the table.

“But your woman, I thought she was mortal?” Seth asked, as if expecting to point out the obvious.

“She was, that was until she became a Summoner.”

The other two sat up straighter at this knowledge, and as for Lucius, he simply raised a brow in question, as usual keeping his steely emotions close to his chest.

“And how the fuck did something like that happen?!” Sigurd shouted, having no such restraints.

“It is impossible for a mortal to be chosen in such a way,” Seth added, making me grit my teeth. Then I looked to Dom and chose this as my moment.

“Well, I was hoping that her uncle could shed some light on the details.”

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