23. The Plans Others Make

"Ican't believe you dance," I commented, again shocked by this because he had never said.

"That depends, now if you asked me to be the male lead in Swan Lake and toss you around the stage in a pair of tights, then that would be a hard limit for me, Red." I couldn"t help but burst out laughing at this. A sight that pleased him, if the big grin on his face was anything to go by. But then he took my hand in his and started walking me toward the dance floor, a space that was filling up quickly with couples.

"But as far as slow dances go, well, I think I can manage to keep up… even with sneaky little experts that sneak onto my stage," he said, adding this part on a whisper before winking at me. I scoffed in feign outrage at this but, in the end, I couldn"t help but keep the smile from my face. Especially as he slowly spun me around and pulled me toward him once we made it to free space on the floor.

"You know, I could always teach you different dances," I told him, making him grin before reminding me,

"Yes, and we could also go on cruise ship and I could learn the tango before falling on my arse." I laughed at that, knowing he was referring to my parents' story.

"You"re right, I don"t suppose there are many occasions like this one that really warrant a HellBeast learning how to dance."

"Oh, I don"t know about that," he said cryptically, and my expression must have been of the questioning kind, because he looked over to where my aunt and uncle were also slow dancing.

"Your aunt and uncle do throw this party every year… hence the name," he teased, making me giggle.

In all honesty, it was the most natural I had seen him in the last week. Had I not been too afraid to ruin the moment, I would have asked him why that was. I couldn"t help but fear that the reason behind it was that he too wanted to make the most of our time together. That he didn"t want anything to come between this night, nor did he want anything to spoil it. Not like the constant cruel streak of reality that kept chasing us, no matter what time we lived in.

So, we continued to dance, teasing each other, like when I told him that he wasn"t that bad at dancing for such a big guy.

"I have been known to be quite light-footed on occasion," he informed me arrogantly, continuing in his playful way.

"Really? Then perhaps I should swap Beastman for twinkle toes?" At this he pretended to snarl at me, snapping his teeth before burying his head into my neck and warning me with a rumble of words,

"Behave, my little dancing girl."

"Now where"s the fun in that, Twinkl…" I never got to finish because he crushed his lips to mine and kissed his new nickname not only from my lips, but also from my mind.

When I heard my mom shouting my name, I knew that our time of dancing and kissing was at an end, and I turned just in time for her hug.

"Oh my! Look at you, look how beautiful you are! That dress, oh my God, it's gorgeous!" I couldn't keep the grin from my face when I looked to the man responsible for it and told her,

"Jared bought it for me." My mom looked shocked a moment before she told him,

"Well, you are with my daughter, so of course you have good taste." Jared stepped up to my mother, embraced her, and kissed her cheek, telling her,

"I can also easily see where she gets her beauty from, as you look beautiful tonight, Mrs. Connor," he said, making my mom blush before waving her hand and say,

"That's Libby to you and thank you, Jared, you are also looking very handsome."

"But not as handsome as me I hope?" my dad said, winking at me as he nudged my mom's arm before coming to hug me, telling me affectionately,

"My wild child, you are a vision tonight." I beamed up at him, and said,

"And you are a biased father, a handsome one," I added, winking back and making him scoff before telling me in a more serious tone,

"No, Ella, I am not and Jared is a lucky man, something he already knows, I am sure." This last part was directed at the man in question, making Jared shake my father's hand and say,

"Oh trust me, he knows it."

I couldn't stop grinning at this, but then when I saw Orthrus nearby, I pushed through them and grabbed his brother's hand, now pulling him over.

"Mom, Dad, I want to introduce you to Jared's brother, Orthrus, and, well, he's like my brother as well," I said, nudging his shoulder and for a second I thought I went too far making that claim because both Orth and Jared both looked shocked. But then his lips spread out into a huge shit eating grin and Jared followed, smiling down at me before draping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in close.

"You're so fucking sweet, you know that?" he whispered as Orth was shaking my parents hands and introducing himself by making small talk. Of course, as soon as Orth asked,

"Now someone has to tell me, but where the hell did this girl of yours learn how to play poker?"

At this my parents laughed and, honestly, the sight caused a lump to form in my throat as our families finally met. As if this was something so real, that I could see the future all laid out in front of me. It was a wonderful dream I never wanted to end.

Especially when my aunt and uncle also joined in and, soon, we were all laughing and telling stories about the things Amelia and I used to get up to as kids. Someone who was quick to join as soon as she heard her name being mentioned. Of course, Lucius hung on every word being said, as if he couldn't ever tire of hearing of the childhood antics his wife used to get up to. But then, one look at Jared, and I knew Lucius wasn't the only one.

But as I looked at the happy couple, I couldn't help but feel sad that I had missed their wedding, despite everyone missing it. They had eloped and married in secret, making me wonder if an actual wedding wasn't going to soon be on the cards. I certainly hoped so because I knew it would mean so much to everyone, including her parents.

Now as for my own parents, it had become very obvious how much they liked Jared because just after my father asked my mother to dance, he turned back to Jared and shook his hand again. But he also granted him a strange look I couldn"t decipher… my mother seemed to be beaming up at him too. Once again, the warm acceptance of Jared into my life from my parents made me feel emotional. Who knew I was such a sentimental being? Had becoming a Summoner somehow brought with it an overload of emotions?

But then I knew what the real cause of it was, it was like the calm before the storm. Waiting for it and bracing yourself, while asking why it hasn"t arrived yet and what"s the catch. It"s too good to be true, it"s going to happen soon. And the moment it did, I knew that it would rip away at my foundations because I honestly didn"t know how I would survive another stretch of time being apart.

I realized then that if I didn"t say something soon to him, I may be too late to convince him otherwise. I couldn"t let him go. I just needed him to stay, and if that meant begging and saying to hell with my pride, then I would do it.

I think if I"d have been wearing a watch, I would have looked down at it a million times and ended up coming across as the most bored person at the party. I had never wanted midnight to come so much in my entire life, knowing then that the whole point of this party was out of the way and that we may make our excuses and leave. All so we could have this conversation in private.

But until then, we continued to mingle and I tried not to make it look too obvious how nervous I was. At one point, I finally found myself in the bathroom and the sight of Amelia coming out of one of the stalls was like a life raft after being tossed round the choppy seas.

"There you are, didn"t think I"d get a minute alone with you without Jared by your side." I laughed at that.

"Says the one with a needy Vampire husband who can"t take his eyes off you." She smirked, moving to the sink and ran the tip of her finger along her lips, taking away her smudged make up because clearly, someone had been making out and wasn't wearing long-lasting lipstick like I was.

"Yes, well, thanks to my recent trip down Vampire memory lane, let"s just say he"s a little bit reluctant to let me out of his sight."

"We sure do know how to put those kings through the ringer, don"t we?" I said with a sigh, knowing how I had unintentionally done the same.

"Yes, but in all fairness, they certainly know how to do it back to us when… oh, Ella, what"s wrong? What did I say?" This last part came at seeing the tears in my eyes as a sob broke through, then she put an arm around me and tucked me close, giving me a hug.

"I just get the feeling that Jared's going to leave me," I confessed, making her suck in a quick breath.

"Oh, Ellie belly… no, not ever."

I pulled back the second I could tell that she had mistakenly thought that I meant forever.

"No, I don"t mean like that… we were at the cabin and I overheard a conversation he was having with his brother. He"s been off all week, quiet, and at first I thought it was just after everything that happened, the things with his wife… it"s been a lot, you know?" I said, knowing that I wouldn't have had the time right now to tell her all of it, but at the very least giving her an idea.

"It has been a lot, of course it has, for you both… but honey, just because he"s struggling, it doesn"t mean that he"s planning something, some things are just harder to process and take longer to work through in our minds, that's all."

I nodded weakly, only half comforted by this as it didn't alleviate all my fears.

"I guess, I just feel as if he"s keeping something from me." She grinned and squeezed my shoulders, telling me

"Have faith, Ella, have faith in Jared."

"I have faith in you, does that count?" I commented wryly, considering her name, and making her laugh.

"Come on, let"s go dance and really punish our men." She winked at me and I felt better as she pulled me from the bathroom. We couldn"t help but laugh when we saw that Jared and Lucius were both waiting for us. However, with my cousin being the way she was, she simply walked in between both men and before passing them, she slapped both of them on the chest as she said,

"Sorry, fellas, you"re going to have to wait, this chick"s got a date… ha, see what I did there? Totally rhymed… oh, my auntie Pip would be so proud!" Then she reached back for my hand and walked me to the dance floor. This was just us an upbeat song started to play, making us both shake our hips to the rhythm of the music.

It was the perfect distraction that I needed.

With midnight fast approaching, Jared obviously had other ideas, because he got between us and said,

"Sorry, Princess, time for me to cut in."

She was about to complain before she was spun round and into the arms of her Vampire hunk. A king who most definitely knew how to dance, and better than she did from the looks of things because he started to lead her around the dance floor effortlessly.

As for Jared, it was clear he had no inclination of dancing, despite asking to cut in. I knew this when he took my hand in his and led me from the enthusiastic crowd.

"Where are we going?" I asked, because he didn"t just lead me away from dancing, but he was headed for the staircase.

"I have something I want to show you," he told me, making me frown.

"But it"s nearly midnight, shouldn"t we wait?" I asked, looking back and seeing my parents speaking with my aunt and uncle, knowing that they would be disappointed if we weren"t here for when the clock struck twelve.

"It won"t take long," he said, and at first I thought he wanted somewhere quiet to talk, thinking that the VIP was an ideal place. But then he led to me through the large door at the back of the club, one that I knew led into my aunt and uncle's home.

With my hand firmly held in his, I had no choice but to follow as he led me through a maze of corridors filled with antiques, and hallways adorned with huge oil paintings. The place looked like some stately home from England or one of its many castles.

It had always been fascinating to me as a child, like stepping into a fairy tale and quite easily imagining yourself the Princess. Or in my case, a kid not looking for the prince but instead the hungry wolf. Well, years later, I could safely say that I found him, and right now he was taking me to a staircase that could only lead to one other place…

The rooftop.

"Jared, what are we doing up here?" I asked as we reached a door at the top.

In fact, I felt like a teenager sneaking into a place after first ignoring the private property sign and stepping over the intruders will be prosecuted warning that came with it. Although I knew feeling like this was silly considering this was my aunt and uncle"s house. But still, after knowing what they had in their basement, well, let"s just say that if I ever had the urge to go snooping around their home before, that impulse had died pretty quickly that day. Especially when I had no idea what other horrors I could possibly find.

However, what Jared had in mind was obviously far from a Horror Story, because he turned around and grinned at me before asking,

"Close your eyes."

"Why?" I asked with a skeptical look.

"Humor me… Now. Close. Your. Eyes," he said more firmly this time, making me do as I was told and letting him lead me through the door.

I was right, we were most definitely on the rooftop because I felt the chill of the winter air hit me.

"Whoa, it"s pretty cold up… oh…" This complaint ended as I felt his suit jacket being draped over my shoulders. The warmth I found there, as well as the sexy scent of Jared, made me almost want to snuggle in and go to sleep.

"Keep those pretty eyes closed," he warned, and I felt my hands being taken in his as he led me further. My heart was hammering inside my chest at the idea of some romantic gesture. However, the moment he started to speak, that feeling plummeted when he said,

"I wanted this night to be special. I didn"t want anything to come between us before whatever else is thrown our way. I know we"ve got some tough times ahead and some hard decisions to make, but I wanted to…"

"Jared, stop," I said abruptly, and instead of opening my eyes, I clenched them shut tighter, knowing it was easier to say this to him without looking.

"I know what you"ve been planning," I stated, making him inhale quickly before uttering a single word,

"What?"

So, I took a deep breath and told him,

"I know what you"re planning and I"m begging you, please don"t do it."

"You"re begging me not to do it?"His voice sounded so firm and so hurt, I swallowed hard before continuing on.

"Of course I"m begging you not to do it, why would I want you to?!" I shouted, feeling it all release from me and telling him what I would have thought was obvious.

"Is that a joke?" he snapped, and I instantly frowned before shaking my head. Was he being fucking serious right now!?

"How could it be a fucking joke? In what lifetime do you really believe that I would want you to ever leave me?!" I shouted louder this time and, at this, he made a slightly choking sound before asking,

"Ella, baby… what is it you think I"m about to do?"

"Leave me, of course!" I told him, already feeling the tears try and push their way through, despite me still having my eyes closed. Something that was definitely making this argument easier on my part but also admittedly a bit weird.

"Leave you? Why the fuck would you think that?!"

I swear my heart stopped before starting to beat even quicker.

"Wait, you"re not planning on leaving me?"

"Fuck no! I just got you back! Why the hell would you think…? Oh wait, of course," he said as if realizing something himself.

"Jared?"

He chuckled the once, before voicing the conclusion he had come to.

"In true Ella fashion, you were listening to my conversation with my brother again, weren't you?" I released a guilty sigh and told him the truth.

"Okay, so I know it was wrong, but I was worried about you! You"ve been really quiet this last week and I know you have had a lot to process and I cannot begin to imagine how hard it was hearing all of this about your wife and how she…"

"Ella, just stop," he interrupted quickly, making me argue,

"But I need to explain."

"No, baby, you don"t… in fact, all you need to do is open your eyes and look at me," he said with his voice so tender and loving.

I did as he asked and the moment my eyes finally opened, I gasped. But it wasn"t at the beauty of the rooftop garden, one now glittering with thousands of fairy lights. Nor was it the stars of the clear night sky above mirroring the beauty below. It wasn"t the romantic setting, where candles were flickering in the numerous lanterns, or the silver ice bucket with two distinct bottles of beer inside it. It also wasn't the chocolate covered strawberries or the rose petals leading a pathway to the romantic setting.

It was none of these things.

But it was to the sight of Jared now down on one knee.

On one knee and with a ring box in his hand ready to open.

The next words out of his mouth made it hard to breathe. Staggered, shallow breaths forced my hand to find my chest, as if this would help. But then Jared started speaking and my world stopped spinning.

Because there was only him and his heart.

One he started to pour out to me.

"You"re right, I have been planning something, and I have been quiet and thoughtful over this last week. But not for the reasons you imagined. In light of what you told me, yes, I should have struggled. I should have battled against my emotions when feeling hurt or betrayed, but, Ella, that is not why I"ve been quiet. These have not been the thoughts that have played on my mind. Not when all my thoughts were only ever centered on you. All my thoughts focused on how much I love you. But mainly… on how foolish I have been not to do this sooner…"

I finally found my voice, one strained through the tears that wouldn't be stopped this time.

"We have been pretty busy,"I said as the first of those tears fell, sealing this moment in happiness and telling me that it wasn't a dream.

"Yes, we have, but no more. I want nothing to come between us ever again. You are my life, you are my everything, and you are all my hopes and dreams wrapped into one beautiful package. You are the light in my darkness and the reason my heart beats, for it is only for you."

"Oh Jared,"I whispered before covering my trembling lips.

"So, I have an important question to ask you, and I hope with every single fiber of my being, that it is one you will say yes to…" He then paused to take a deep breath, closing his eyes for a few long seconds and then finally he said,

"Will you, Carrie Ella Connor, do me the greatest honor in my life and make me the happiest HellBeast alive by agreeing to become my wife…?"

I gasped the second he then flipped open the box and said…

"Will you marry me?"