Lord Of Beasts

”You guys somehow seem to know even more than we do.”

Greg narrowed his eyes.

He had noticed it during the broadcast.

None of them had reacted with genuine surprise, calmly listening and watching, aside from Ethan’s suppressed outburst. If anything, they looked as though Aisha’s words had simply confirmed things they already suspected.

”This trip has been quite an enlightening one,” Ethan said.

The others smiled as well, almost as though they were all following Ethan’s lead.

Greg stared at them for a moment.

’I’m not going to get anything out of them.’

He knew that better than anyone, but he would get everything he needed out of them with time.

’I always do.’

”Well,” Greg eventually said after composing himself, ”as Enforcers, and co, your number one priority is taking down the Titled terrorist faction calling themselves the Blessed.”

His tone became more serious.

”Any activity involving them within the country will fall under your jurisdiction. If we locate any of their operations, you’ll be sent to deal with them.”

”Got it, sir.”

Ethan raised a hand to his forehead in an exaggerated salute.

Greg ignored him.

”We’ll also be delivering reports regarding the trade of Blessing within the country. We need as much of it confiscated as possible.”

”But you must have some already,” Ethan said. ”You’ve got practically infinite funds and thousands of operatives. You’re telling me you can’t get your hands on some drugs?”

Greg smiled slightly.

”From our preliminary tests, each drug appears to use the essence of either a monster or a beast as its base.”

That caught Ethan’s attention.

”The varying ranks and types of monsters or beasts can affect the resulting mutation, but there are other variables as well.”

He took a sip of the drink Mark made for him.

”The consumer’s body, their emotional state, and even the environment seemed to play a part.”

Greg’s expression became more serious.

”The effects have been too varied for us to establish a reliable pattern, so the more we can get our hands on, the better. Even with our technology, we’re honestly having difficulty obtaining accurate results without human testing.”

”That hasn’t stopped governments before.”

Greg didn’t bother denying it.

”True.”

He looked back toward the television.

”But this would be a little harder to cover up.”

”Fair enough.”

The conversation continued for a while after that.

Greg kept trying to pry information out of them, asking questions from different angles and occasionally slipping in details to see whether anyone would react.

He wasn’t here simply for a beer.

He was here because the three people sitting in front of him had somehow become increasingly important pieces on the board.

Arguably, he was even busier than his father.

That alone demonstrated just how much weight the three figures around him now carried.

’Or should I say four?’

Greg’s eyes flicked toward Mark again.

Mark had settled behind the counter almost out of habit and had begun serving drinks, but something about the man bothered him. Still, Greg left him be and continued his back-and-forth with the only person engaging him.

Elara barely spoke, Kaela kept drinking, and Mark stayed out of the conversation entirely.

That left Ethan.

And Greg quickly realised that speaking with Ethan was less like questioning someone and more like playing a game of chess. Every answer Ethan gave revealed something while concealing something else.

His intelligence, combined with a healthy dose of craziness, made it difficult to get a proper read on him.

’I learned from the best how not to answer questions.’

On that note, Ethan wondered what Detective Holt was up to, but he was sure their paths would cross again at some point.

Eventually, Greg stood from his seat.

He had managed to gather some more information, which Ethan fed him to get him off their case, and he had a thousand other things to attend to.

”That’ll be all.”

He adjusted his suit.

”Everything you requested for the Enforcers should be ready soon. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with how it turned out.”

”Glad to hear it.”

Greg nodded and began walking toward the exit of the Black Howl.

”Until next time, Greg.”

Kaela called out, deliberately emphasising his name before laughing.

Greg raised one hand in response and continued walking. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about the people he’d just left behind, but as he stepped outside, his expression became thoughtful.

’There are too many pieces on the board moving far too quickly.’

His eyes narrowed.

’And somehow, Ethan Crowe always seems to be at the centre of it.’

He smiled.

’Things are going to be interesting.’

Inside the bar, Ethan could almost feel that he was being spoken about. Not just by Greg, but by countless others who were beginning to take notice of him. He shrugged and reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with a lighter for once.

The small flame briefly illuminated his face before disappearing.

Ethan took a long drag, allowing the smoke to fill his lungs as he tried to burn away the thoughts crowding his mind. He sat there with no idea how many more surprises were waiting for him.

But the first one was definitely a pleasant one.

Kaela continued drinking, one glass after another, while Mark stood behind the counter and absentmindedly prepared them for her. He was even quieter than usual, understandably lost in thought after everything that had happened.

Elara, however, had something else on her mind.

She reached over, grabbed Ethan by the arm, and pulled him toward the stairs leading down into the basement.

Ethan glanced at her.

She didn’t say anything, nor did she need to.

Today had been just as insane for Elara as it had been for everyone else. She had learnt more about Ethan’s past, fought a mutated Mark, and seemingly discovered the truth about the world from the demon within her. Beings far beyond their comprehension were supposedly preparing to descend upon their world.

Yet somehow, through all of it, one thing had only become clearer.

She wanted to be with Ethan.

And judging by the way the blue-eyed man immediately followed her without putting up a fight, the feeling was very much mutual. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Elara leaned toward his ear.

”No hunting in the Tower for you today,” she whispered seductively.

The corner of Ethan’s mouth lifted.

”Say less.”

His clothes practically disappeared in an instant.

Elara couldn’t help but laugh, and very quickly she followed suit.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Ethan wasn’t thinking about grinding, beasts, Gates, the Blessed, mysterious Lords, or whatever terrifying future awaited them. He was simply enjoying himself as Elara finally gave him the green light he was waiting for.

But as things progressed between the two consenting adults, two women unexpectedly came to Ethan’s mind.

The first was Aisha.

His neck still itched where her strange marking remained and seemed to almost expand.

’Why the hell am I thinking about that bitch right now?’

He frowned internally.

Though the second woman who came to mind made a little more sense.

His first lover.

Ethan’s mind dragged him back to a part of his life he hadn’t thought about in years, one just before he was incarcerated. But he didn’t have much room to think about anyone or anything, not while engaged with Elara.

He hadn’t had any action since then, while it seemed as though the red-eyed woman had never before. Guiding her through things, both of them went on to have one of the best nights of their lives, one that Kaela and Mark above wished they had never heard parts of.

But what Ethan didn’t know, or even care about in the moment, was that the two women who came to mind would come back to haunt him. And his past, which he thought he had overcome, still had some more bombshells to drop on him...