The Hellbeast King by Stephanie Hudson

8

A Chilling Promise

The second I heard this, was when I finally snapped out of these mental chains he had me wrapped up in. However, when I struggled, it was the very real chains that became my biggest problem. Well, the shackles and the beast who held them in his grasp.

“Let me go!” I shouted, now twisting my body and trying to use my weight as a way to pull free of his hold. But then I should have known this was pointless as his strength was far too great to fight against. Although, I had to say I was surprised, as instead of the threat I expected growled back, he simply stepped closer, pinning me with more than just his hand. This making me swallow hard as he now kept me restrained me with his body before he looked down at me.

“Easy, girl, I didn’t say I was going to harm you,” he said as softly as what I knew a man like him was capable of, the knowledge of which made me still instantly.

“Yyyour not going to… to hurt me?” I stammered out, making him grin down at me, and for once it seemed genuine and not one with the sole purpose of evil mocking. I knew that when, with his free hand, he skimmed the backs of his thick, strong fingers down my cheek, then as he watched their journey he told me,

“No, Red, I am not going to hurt you.” I released a deep and relieved sigh but then he leaned in closer, so his molten silver eyes were all I saw. Then, this time bred from more lust than anger, he told me on a throaty growl,

“But not all punishments are physically painful, Pet of mine.”

Just as he was about to dip his head enough to cut out the inches that kept us apart, he turned his head and snarled. I froze in his hold at the threatening sound, one he had made as if he had heard something coming from behind that he didn’t like. However, it was such a frightening sound that I started struggling in his hold once more, making him snap his gaze back at me. I flinched at its terrifying harshness, something that changed instantly when he took notice of my fear.

“Word to the wise, Red… in my Hell, your fear is intoxicating to feed from.”Then he lifted my chin up as if silently telling me not to be afraid, which was a contradiction to telling me it was intoxicating.

“Jared, no!” This time I heard the desperate cry coming from my cousin, something he must have heard before I had, the first time she shouted it. As now Amelia had reached us and was frantically trying to get him to stop what he was doing to me. Which, unbeknown to her, was sort of comforting me, as I didn’t get the sense that he was going to go back on his word and suddenly lash out at me in anger. But then I had to be honest, I was utterly shocked at how brave my cousin was when she finally reached us and grabbed the beast’s arm trying to get him to release me.

Was she crazy!

And what had she called him… Jared.

Was that his first name?

Jared.

Jared Cerberus.

It suited him.

“She’s my cousin! Please, Jared, it was my fault! She didn’t know… Gods… Jared, she… she didn’t know,” Amelia said, looking towards me with nothing but sorrow in her eyes and the guilt of it all was easy to see. Jared looked down at her, taking in all she had to say before the mention of who I was made his eyes snap back to me. It was as if he was seeing me for the first time all over again.

“She is… she is Dominic Draven’s niece?” The way he said this was like some kind of spell being broken for him as the words were growled down at Amelia. She nodded telling him yes, before adding,

“She is my mum’s sister’s daughter and very much… human.” At this my eyes widened, knowing that this was the confirmation I needed… my aunt’s life was a lie. The Dravens weren’t who they said they were. My eyes must have said as much as Amelia looked to me and whispered,

“Ella… Gods, I am so sorry.”I tore my face away and Jared growled again, but this time it was for a new reason as someone else had joined our little group. A person that I couldn’t help now frown in question at, asking silently who he was.

I mean, there was no doubting it, he was utterly gorgeous and at a guess around my age, possibly younger. It was hard to tell as he was so tall for his age and already packing muscle, even if it was on a slim build. Nothing like the raw and powerful man that still held me as his prisoner. But even I knew that when he became an adult, that would be a different story. In fact, he reminded me a bit like my aunt, making me wonder if there was some connection. His hair was a similar blonde colour, if not a little darker. He also had that typical boy next door thing going on, making him cute one minute and then handsome the next. However, right now, there wasn’t a soft line on him as he was tense and looked ready for a fight…

Ready to play the hero.

Well, it had to be said, he definitely had balls to go up against Jared, that was for damn sure! I mean, the guy didn’t even flinch a muscle when Jared growled at the intrusion, making me jerk back. Jesus, but it was still one of the most frightening sounds I had ever heard, and one I doubted I would ever get used to without reacting in fear. But then Jared didn’t seem to like this and shocked both my cousin and the mystery boy she stood next to when he turned back to me. Then, in that raspy gentle tone of his, he hummed down at me,

“Ssshh, calm for me, my Little Red.” I quickly sucked in a shocked breath, surprised at how deeply it affected me.

“Please, Jared, she didn’t know, she was just following me as she was worried about me… this is my fault, please don’t hurt her,” Amelia said, pleading for me now, as she was clearly worried that this beast who held me captive was planning on hurting me, no doubt just like he would do to other human trespassers found in his club. But then, just before he had chance to respond, the handsome teenager tensed his muscles and added a threat, telling me he was either crazy, had no fear or that he was more powerful than he looked.

“Do as she says and let her go!” This time Jared snarled down at him over his shoulder, and to give the teen his due yet again, he didn’t even flinch, neither did he back down. But when the lad didn’t make a threatening move towards him, Jared’s snarl turned into a sinister grin, one that was turned on me the moment he heard me suck in another ragged breath.

However, the second he did, the handsome teen took a step forward, obviously fearing for my safety, when it was Amelia who stopped him. Doing so with a shake of her head and by slapping a hand over his chest, telling him quietly,

“Don’t be a hero.”The boy scowled down at her, being that he was taller than us both, and despite his boyish features, his size definitely said he was older.

Of course, I wasn’t given long to ponder on his age as I was still in the beast’s clutches and before either of them could act, his gaze snapped back to Jared’s, because Jared, the HellBeast King, was obviously about to do something out of character. Now making both Amelia and her friend looked utterly astonished when my captor once again showed me what must have been an unusual sign of kindness. He raised his hand to my cheek and then, as he slowly pushed back what I knew was a riot of red curls back from my face, it looked how it felt… like a gentle caress.

“I will let her go…” he said to Amelia. But then, just as I released a premature sigh of relief, he suddenly gripped my chin. My fearful eyes snapped to both Amelia and her friend, silently asking them to help me… when it was clear Jared didn’t like this. Which was why he forced my chin up so my eyes could only focus on him and no other. Then, once he had a hundred percent of my attention, he finished off his statement, and this time there was no way you could miss the threat that coated every word.

“…But be warned, Little Red, the next time I find you in my club… this wolf may not be so quick to give you back.” I sucked in a sharp breath, one that turned into a yelp of fright when he suddenly pulled down my arms. Then after taking my wrists in his large hands, he yanked hard enough that the chain between my shackles snapped. But the strangest thing of all was that even during this brutal action, it was almost like he did it in a way so he wouldn’t hurt me.

But then, before I could even linger on this thought, he spun me away from him and pushed me into Amelia’s arms, as if he was done with me. I had to say, I should have felt nothing but relieved, but then that would have been a lie. Because I foolishly felt something deeper. Something profoundly more painful. As it was like he said,

Punishments weren’t always physically painful… and well, he was right. Because his dismissal of me was the most painful of all. So, when I hugged on to my cousin, I did so now less with the relief I knew I should feel, but more so out of needing the comfort from pain he inflicted on my heart.

I was after all… a foolish girl.

“Orthrus, take the girl back to where she came from!” Jared barked out the order, making me wince in Amelia’s arms, hating how indifferent his tone now sounded. How just moments ago I could have believed I had meant something to him. Something more than just a little prisoner to have a bit of fun with. But like this, then what I was to him couldn’t have been more clear.

Nothing.

I was nothing more than an intruder in his world. One that didn’t belong. One that was inferior. I was the outsider and a human he loathed. So yeah, the pain he inflicted just kept coming, along with his harsh scowling gaze he directed at me before refusing me another glance.

Now, as for who he had been speaking to, this was a huge hulk of a black guy, one who looked as if he bench pressed other security guards in the gym! I mean, Jared was big, but this guy was definitely a contender for beating him in size. But like his king, he was also drop dead gorgeous and looked as if he should have been playing handsome villains in Bond movies!

But then this was when something curious happened. The man named Orthrus was just about to reach for me, when Jared got there first and stopped him. He did so by grabbing hold of his arm in his meaty grasp. Then with a stern look he spoke to him in another language, giving him another order, and one I didn’t understand. However, when Amelia sucked in a surprised breath and looked at him as if asking who he was, I knew she had understood and was shocked by it.

As for the big black guy, he nodded once and now, instead of trying to reach for me, he just nodded his head in the direction he wanted me to go. Which had me wondering if his order had been not to touch me?

I looked back at Amelia who let me go, squeezing my hand before she nodded to the one named Orthrus and told me,

“It will be fine, Ella, you can trust them, I promise, they won’t hurt you.” But this was when I finally snapped, having enough of the untruths that she had allowed to stretch between us all her life. Because she wasn’t just my cousin, she was also someone I considered a best friend. A friendship that went beyond being thrown together as family but a deeper connection.

But as for all of this… well, it simply felt as if I didn’t know her at all. I didn’t know anyone. Not my uncle or my aunt. And as for my mom and dad, did they even know? Had they too kept this part of the world from me? In fact, right now, the only one who had seemingly been truthful with me was Jared and his minions, and I very much doubted that had been done out of kindness!

Which was why I first cautiously looked back at Jared before allowing my anger to bite back.

“And you?! What about you, Fae?” Amelia released a heavy sigh before telling me,

“I know this all seems crazy, but I promise I will explain everything to you.” I scoffed at her promise and narrowed my eyes at her pleading tone as if she was willing me to trust her. Which was why I warned,

“You’d better, Fae, or the next person I will be speaking to is your parents about this place because something tells me it’s not just you that’s been keeping secrets but in fact, your whole family!” I shouted, making her flinch as if I had physically struck her, and I guess it would have felt that way. Especially as she had often confessed to me that I was the only one she felt like she could really connect with sometimes. And well, if this world was true, then I now knew why.

I was the only bit of normality in her life.

Something that Jared had made sound like an insult…

‘Mmm… now I must admit, I do like the sound of that word coming from those tempting lips of yours… shame then, that they come from a human.’That’s what he had said. As if saying he would have found me tempting had I not been some lowly human. Hell, right here I wasn’t just a little fish in a bigger pond, but I was the wrong damn species altogether!

Which was why, after one more glance at Jared, I let him see for just a spilt second the anger I let consume me as I narrowed my eyes at him, totally ignoring the frown it created on that handsome face of his, before tearing my eyes from both of them.

Then I left, following the guy called Orthrus and turning my back on this world. Turning my back on this madness.

But most of all,

Turning my back on a HellBeast King who…

Watched me leave.