99 The Easiest Road Home

[TAMIKO]

Tamiko stared at Kosta silently.

He wanted to complain about how formal his erasthai was with him and at the same time, he wanted to tell the Lycan chief that it wasn't that easy. He knew the king was affectionate towards him, but then showing up was something else.

"This will be your home," Alpha Ashton had told Tamiko years ago, when he was ten. 

That was the first time the alpha had spoken to him, because he was being bullied. The alpha hadn't addressed the bullying, but simply showed him a cabin in the woods. Alpha Ashton had been kinder to Tamiko. 

He had loved the boy, or maybe that was what Tamiko thought; so, when the alpha showed him the cabin and convinced him that every boy would always have a cabin, the young boy had easily agreed to it.

He hadn't once complained because the alpha had been like a father to him. That was just another mistake he had made, one that would haunt him for over fifteen years. It was like his entire life had paused when he left for the cabin.

Zula had been forced to erase any memories of Tamiko from before but then the boy was a Lycan prince, obviously, no magic would work on him, but it was worth a try. Again, Tamiko trusted the man who would later ruin his entire life. 

"Kosta—" Tamiko struggled to spell out. He knew Kosta was only looking out for him, trying to get him out of the shell of distrust, but then Tamiko had had his heart broken at a young age.

He was scared that being accepted by the Lycan king would just be another cabin story. He was scared that he wouldn't ever be enough for the king and that he would be subjected to crueler fates.

He was scared that the king would find him a bland little thing and banish him or even worse make him a Kawai outcast. Tamiko couldn't handle that. Maybe his fears were controlling him, but as a boy broken at a young age, his fears were valid.

However, would he tell that to his Erasthai who was looking out for him? Would he come clean to Kosta about the very reason he had been determined to make sure he did the worst to the Grealors?

Would Kosta stay if he knew the truth? 

Would Kosta stay if he knew the extent of the rot in Tamiko's heart? 

Would Kosta stay if he knew how much pain the young prince was holding onto?

"I'm sorry," Tamiko whispered defeatedly.

He was disappointed in himself for not believing in his Erasthai and the Lycan's kindness towards him. He hated that even to this point, the bits of him that had been turned by the Grealors would always pin him down.

Tamiko wondered if Lord Sadako would burn him like Judd. Judd was innocent of all of this and Tamiko knew that. Granted, he was Gabe's best friend, but that was the only mistake the man had made.

A best friend who would tag along and do whatever the fuck Gabriel Grealor needed, and whenever he needed it. Maybe that was his greatest flaw as a warrior, but if a perfect warrior like Judd could be reduced to ashes, what of Tamiko?

" I understand… I won't push, I swear. Just please, don't overthink it," Kosta said and Tamiko stared at him softly, even though his eyes looked like they were trapped in a distant past, one that he wouldn't ever come out of.

Seeing his Erasthai standing there, lost in his mind, probably trapped in one of the vicious cycles he had been forced to endure by Grealor, triggered Igor Konstantin. He hated that there wasn't much he could do to Tamiko.

Hell, a blow job wouldn't even be appropriate this time, because Kosta could feel Tamiko's pain and anger, and more than anything, he could feel the disappointment that the young prince had in himself.

It wasn't something that would go away anytime soon and Kosta wasn't google to push. He would keep his word. So, before the wolves could see them, Kosta portaled them back to the shelter in the woods.

Maybe then it would be easier to work through whatever the hell is here. Maybe he would break the barriers and make the young prince understand that the king was so excited about finding his son that he wanted to announce it.

However, King Zaffuto, just like any other father in the world, was worried about how his own son would take this. 

For years he had been away from his only child. The world had been peaceful because there wasn't a thing that the king cared about more than Kawai itself. But then twenty-five years later, there was someone.

An heir at that.

"Listen to me, my beautiful… I will always be by your side, no matter what or who shows up, remember?" Kosta reassured Tamiko earnestly. They were currently on Tamiko's bed, and he was holding the young prince who was lying on the bed.

He knew this wasn't easy for the kid, but then he had made a promise to me, and he knew what he was getting into. Kosta wasn't scared of when Tamiko would explode or when the world would explode because of his erasthai. 

The only thing that scared him was the way his erasthai thought of himself. He loved Tamiko, with all his flaws and everything he came with. But the kid was still scared.

"I know—"

"The king, your father, threatened to punish me in ways that will have the world begging for mercy on my behalf. No one who doesn't love their son says that to a chief they have trusted with their entire kingdom, my love.

"King Zaffuto has trust issues and yet somehow he trusts that someday, when things are alright, you will find your way back home. It doesn't matter how long it takes, Tamiko. You will always be the Lycan prince. 

"We are immortal and life is something that we have. But we can't spend it on doubts, don't you think?" Kosta asked as he ran a hand through Tamiko's soft hair. He was sure everything that had happened was crazy, but even then, he wasn't leaving.

"You'll probably get tired of me in the near future," Tamiko whispered, and this time, instead of comforting him, Kosta just laughed at the absurdity of the statement. It was unreal and crazy, to an extent.

"You're laughing?" Tamiko asked, confused. This was certainly not what he had been expecting, but perhaps there was a reason, right?

"Of course. You sound like you don't know me. Why the fuck would I ever get bored with you when you always find ways to make our lives interesting? Think of what you did yesterday… no one in their right mind would have done that, but you did.

"At the Kawai palace, you dared to tell the king that he was insane and needed to get himself checked into a mental asylum. In the few weeks I've known you, you have managed to make the big bad king happy.

"No one has done that in twenty-five years. You were the reason the king laughed for the first time. Like I said, don't underestimate love… especially a bond so sacred as a father's love;

"—And of course, my undying love for you," Kosta said proudly and Tamiko chuckled, making Kosta smile hopefully at him. This wasn't easy with all that Tamiko had endured but with Kosta malign everything so simple. Perhaps all of this was worth trying in the end, right?

"Yeah, that was crazy. I didn't even think of the repercussions then. I was so focused on admitting him into an asylum that I failed to realize that he had been trapped in hell for years and years," Tamiko said with a laugh, his voice fading in the last bit.

This was not going to be easy, but then he had to give it a try. There was still a life to be lived, and vengeance to be gotten, and he couldn't give up now.

"Very… Anyone who ever crossed the king, always ended up with their limbs severed, and yet here you stand, healthy as ever, sweetheart," Kista said as he kissed Tamiko's forehead.

The tension had reduced and frankly, Kosta was glad for that.

"Can we still go to Kawai today… for approval?"

"Of course."

"Then let's."

"As you wish, my beautiful soul," Kosta said before he portaled them to the outskirts of Kawai… the first place they had met.

The Reynard lands.