Lord Of Beasts

Ethan didn’t have anything better planned for the day.

Whatever craziness Kaela had dragged him into before had always ended up being entertaining, so he was already halfway out the door before even knowing what the meeting was about.

Elara, however, quietly raised a hand.

”What about me?”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Kaela scratched the side of her head before answering with her usual blunt honesty.

”Nope. You weren’t invited.”

She glanced between the two of them before adding,

”And before you ask, I was told that I had to bring you to a meeting. They pushed the meeting back a day, but they said that even if I had to kidnap you this time, it had to be today.”

Ethan frowned slightly.

”Why?”

It definitely sounded suspicious, and he couldn’t help but be curious as to who he would be speaking with.

Kaela shrugged.

”I don’t know the details; I was just told to bring you for an assignment.”

That immediately told Ethan enough.

He’d been banned from entering Gates because of what happened whenever he stepped inside them. The Association had clearly decided it wanted to use him elsewhere instead. Whatever this meeting was, it was likely connected to that.

Kaela noticed the look that passed between Ethan and Elara.

For all her recklessness, she wasn’t completely oblivious and could feel the tension.

”I’ll wait outside. Don’t take too long; we’re already late.”

With that, she wandered out of the Black Howl, leaving the pair alone.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke.

Instead, they naturally slipped into the strange blend of spoken words and sign language that had become uniquely theirs.

Ethan broke the silence first.

”You’ve got something on your mind.”

Elara nodded.

She hesitated for a moment before slowly signing.

*I want to keep entering Gates.*

”You do?”

Another nod.

This time there wasn’t even the slightest hesitation.

”I don’t want to stop just because you can’t.”

Her hands continued moving.

*I want to master my abilities. I want to become stronger. I don’t want to always rely on you or the demon.*

Ethan was surprised.

He didn’t feel like she relied on him, and if anything, she was the A Rank powerhouse he leaned on for support. But without realising it, he had become her role model with how he carried himself and was always able to overcome hurdles.

”I want to be someone you can rely on too.”

Ethan stared at her.

Then, a smile slowly spread across his face.

He felt weirdly proud.

The woman he’d first met had only wanted to survive and was as broken as he was. At first, she was glued to him out of necessity, taking the demon’s words very literally. But then their relationship became more real as they both broke out of their shells and naturally grew closer.

Now she wanted to grow and carve out her own strength instead of borrowing someone else’s.

It was exactly what he’d hoped for.

Yet, despite that pride, something else settled uneasily in his chest.

’What’s this?’

He frowned slightly.

’Is this FOMO?’

Ethan hadn’t felt like this about someone before, and it was less about being afraid of missing out and more about being afraid of losing her. He couldn’t enter Gates anymore, at least not legally, while she could.

In fact, the Association would practically beg her to.

She’d continue becoming stronger and more famous while he walked down a different, unknown road, one he was about to find out what it was. The thought bothered him far more than he’d expected.

Ethan had never been particularly good at understanding his own emotions, but this time he quickly found the root cause.

’What if she doesn’t need me anymore?’

It felt like an insecure and stupid thought, but it was a real question he had to ask himself.

’What if the demon hadn’t told her to get close to me to begin with?’

He hated being vulnerable, especially emotionally, with very few people ever seeing this real side of him. But one could only put on a strong front and make a joke out of everything for so long.

Elara looked genuinely surprised.

She could almost read the thoughts bouncing around his head, and she couldn’t help but be amused. For once, she wasn’t the one who needed reassurance as she slowly stepped closer before resting a hand against his chest.

”You idiot.”

Her fingers began moving again.

*I’ve been scared of the same thing.*

She looked directly into his eyes.

*You keep growing stronger and doing impossible things that one day...*

She hesitated.

*...I was afraid I’d be the one left behind.*

Ethan’s heart tightened.

Without another thought, he wrapped his arms around her, and she melted into his embrace.

For several long moments, neither of them spoke again.

The silence said everything.

Eventually, Ethan rested his forehead against hers.

”I think...”

He let out a quiet laugh.

”We’ve been looking at this the wrong way.”

She tilted her head cutely.

He smiled. ”If we’re always holding hands, we’ll just be restricting each other. So you can clear gates and do you, and I’ll deal with whatever insane mess they’ve got planned for me.”

She reciprocated his smile before adding, ”And we’ll both get stronger and come home to one another.”

He pulled her into another hug before whispering in her ear.

”I’m not going anywhere.”

She squeezed him tightly and responded, ”Me neither.”

Warmth spread through Ethan’s chest.

Never did he think he’d feel so strongly about someone outside his family. It was oddly nostalgic and reminded him of being young again, back when love had seemed simple and tomorrow had always felt guaranteed.

Life wasn’t like that anymore.

They both carried enough scars for several lifetimes and had walked lonely roads, yet somehow their roads crossed. And now neither intended to let them drift apart again.

”Ahem!”

Mark’s voice shattered the moment.

He poked his head around the corner of the bar.

”You two finished yet? If you are, could you please get that monster as far away from my pub as possible?”

Elara jumped slightly.

She’d completely forgotten Mark was there.

Ethan hadn’t.

His senses had picked up Mark’s scent the entire time, but he simply hadn’t cared and had nothing to hide.

He laughed.

”Yeah, I was just heading out.”

He looked back at Elara one last time.

”I’ll be back soon.”

Though, in all honesty, he had no idea what he was about to get himself into...