107 Not That Many Choices
[GREALOR]
The days went by fast and soon enough it was the first evening of the mating ceremony in Kawai.
The Grealor wolves were scared of leaving their homeland and going to the Lycans or even being mated and creating lifelong bonds with the very creatures who had declared them enemies.
It would be the worst if things were stuck in the cycle but what else was there?
Alpha Gabriel Grealor listened to his people and he understood them. They were still mourning their dead, and frankly, it wasn't fair that they had received an invitation which was more of a threat than an invitation to Kawai.
Gabe wanted to rebel, but the fact that Judd had died for nothing was the cruel reminder of the monsters that he was tempted to defy. He couldn't lose any more of his people so defeatedly he had called for the address at the assembly grounds.
"Good evening, Grealor. I know we are in quite a pickle at the moment, but we have to send our unmated to go find their soulmates there. All wolves are invited and there are chances that your mates will be werewolves from other packs.
"I understand the worry, but I will be there with you. The Kawai mating ceremony does not allow for violence, not even from the king himself so you will all be safe. I know my word don't exactly sound comforting at the moment, but we have to work with each other and reduce the casualties.
"It is unfortunate timing, but we have no choice. They are the Lycans and we are wolves. They will always be stronger than us. Besides, maybe if a few of us get mated to Lycans, we will be a step closer to fostering peace…
"… since the Lycans would never let their erasthais get hurt by anyone," Gabe began even though the last bit of his statement horrified him to the core.
He was mated to a Lycan, and one that hated and despised him so much that Tamiko was willing to stay mated to Gabe rather than go home and accept who he truly was. Gabe knew that he deserved the pain but his people didn't.
How the fuck was he to explain to his people, that Tamiko was the dark King's son and that he was hell-bent on making their lives difficult? That was a truth he would take to the grave, even if it meant that he would have to suffer in the hands of his mate.
He deserved it either way, because he had been cruel to Tamiko for no reason.
That wasn't even up for debate and any sane person would undoubtedly know what it meant to have someone you loved to be hurt so much that the only thing that was left was rage and a desire for revenge.
"That said, let all the unmated wolves go home and pack up. We leave Grealor in an hour. Make sure you are at your best and it might be a lot for me to ask of you, but please, try and remain sociable.
"We are going to a safe ceremony and we need to pretend to be excited there to avoid chaos. And one more thing… there are very high chances that you will run into Tamiko the pack outcast.
"No matter how intense the urge to demand answers from him is, do not act on that urge as it will endanger the entire werewolf community. If you must interact with Tamiko, keep it leveled, and don't try to fuck around with him, because we have already lost three people.
"We can't lose more, seeing as he doesn't give a shit about anything and could actually trigger a war. We haven't been the kindest of people to him and this is what we get for that.
"That will be all from me, I hope you get Lycan mates who can help us create treaties with Kawai to save our race from the impending madness that is Tamiko," Gabe said and the wolves nodded in defeat, funny how their fate was currently linked to the one man who didn't give a shit about them.
It was a cruel fate, but no crueler than the fact that they had thrown the first punch when Tamiko had done nothing to them. Their karma was loading and maybe it was a good thing that they already understood that, But would it make anything any different?
****
While Grealor was shaking because of Tamiko, Kawai was going nuts because of the two idiots in their land. If you could count the number of times they had been shooed away, or forced to do hard labor for screen gup, then it would be a long endless list.
Those two idiots had been the nightmare of the kingdom for two whole days.
At the same time, they were the perfect reminder that there could actually be peace and harmony in their land without everyone having to worry about the wrath of the man who sat the huge throne and one who never talked as much to them in the past nearly thirty years.
"On the count of three, we run," the Lycan king said to his son.
They had been playing chess in Sadako's room and somehow had managed to pour color dust in the room while they had been running around. They knew the Lycan Lord wouldn't forgive them for this and as they didn't have to portal, they had promised each other that they could run together.
Of course, when they had talked about running the previous day, each of them had many different things.
The king had wanted to run in the field with his son and watch him bloom into a healthy son, one who didn't have to look behind him in worry for anything. Tamiko on the other hand was getting overwhelmed with the idea that he was the king's son.
Being in Kawai for the past two days had given him a chance to experience a lot of things. He had seen the impossible we made possible in the name of the king and frankly, that scared him for a moment.
Sure, there were no cruelties or even casualties, but the idea that the kingdom was big enough to have over twenty thousand people, was something the young prince hadn't imagined.
It was obvious his father was trying to get him to relax, but then with an empire as huge as Kawai, with an incoming reputation as feared as the deadly Lycan king's son, Tamiko wanted to run and catch a break.
It was not what he had expected, especially seeing how his father was truly a good man up close but life sure did have a lot of things in play, didn't it?
"Which direction?" Tamiko asked his father and the old man stared at his son like he hadn't factored that in at all.
Well, they would have to think fast because Lord Sadako's footsteps were headed to his room and the stench of the color dust was more than obvious.
"Hinata!!" the Lycan Lord called out when he angrily pushed open the door, only to see two idiots jump outside the window of the tall palace. They were scary, yeah?
"Fucking hell you two," the Lycan Lord bellowed but they were long gone by the time he reached the window to check.
