112 Till Forever Falls Apart

[KAWAI]

"Oops," King Zaffuto said as he looked at a pale Gabriel on the ground. He wasn't sure what the fuck was wrong with the man, but he didn't care enough to ask, so he kept his focus on his son, the only reason he had come out of his shell to this damned place.

"Aren't you supposed to be sitting at the podium with the powers that be?" Tamiko asked when he noticed how nonchalant King Zaffuto was, as if he hadn't just threatened everyone in this gathering. 

The Lycan king was cheery compared to the stinky face he had been giving everyone earlier and Tamiko couldn't help but wonder if this was the same man. Sure, he had seen the king so many times in the past few days, but each time it felt different.

Tonight, he was here with his father and he had just saved him from the nodding conversation with Gabriel. He had so many questions about why the king had decided to come to him, but he couldn't ask without sounding hopeful.

He would raise suspicions and there we just no way he would be admitting to this barbarian that he was his son, especially on a night when tensions were running high because he had come to the ceremony.

The mood had changed no doubt, but then it wasn't like they could have been any happier. After all, most of them had wanted the Lycans to tell them that the dark king was alive, and now that he was, they were depressed about it.

They were hopeless creatures it seemed.

"They are boring up there. They want to talk business and I don't want to talk business. My brother and the chief can deal with them for the night. After all, when the night ends, the chief will have you beside him anyway," the king said and Tamiko facepalmed.

He couldn't believe that was the explanation the dark king was giving him, and clearly, it seemed to make more sense to the king because he was smiling sheepishly at the young Lycan again, making people stare at the both of them.

The Lycan king with the outcast of Grealor wasn't exactly a great combo, and Tamiko realized that a little too late, because people were stealing glances at them. He didn't want to be a target, because that would trigger a lot of wars.

Tamiko knew how protective Kosta was of him and he knew if Kosta felt him being comfortable, he would leave everything and come here which would not be fair, since the Lycan chief was on official business, along with the Lycan Lord.

"Your reputation is at stake you know. You're hanging out with the Grealor outcast, and the Grealor alpha is lying on the ground… that's not exactly what anyone would wish for," Tamiko said in a sad and panicky voice. 

He was worried for the king and he didn't want the man being dragged into conspiracies. The young Lycan knew how power worked and he had a feeling that some of these people would be stupid enough to come after him, which would be a terrible day for everyone in the realm.

"Oh shit," the king said, letting out a gasp that got Tamiko even more confused. This king was unpredictable as hell and as Tamiko watched him, Tamiko was sure the mad king had finally lost his mind.

King Zaffuto was dragging Gabriel by the hair towards the podium, bringing all the attention to him as the mad king, seeing as the king was holding him in one hand while dragging Gabe with the other.

It didn't take long for Lord Sadako and Igor Konstantin to see what was happening; their first instinct was to check if Tamiko was okay, which was expected, but damn, this was going to be a crazy night.

"What the fuck happened out there?" Lord Sadako asked when the king threw Gabe's body on the podium before he smacked him back to consciousness and sat the man on one of the empty seats on the podium.

"Did he fucking lay hands on you again?" Chief Konstantin asked with a growl as he looked between Tamiko and Gabriel who was slowly coming back to consciousness. It was like he didn't know what was happening but that wasn't important at the moment.

"What? No," Tamiko said with a low chuckle as he looked nervously at the king, lycan chief, and the Lycan lord who was a few seconds from snapping the Grealor alpha's neck. They were ready to send Gabe to his creator for Tamiko's sake and that was horrifying.

"You can either tell me or I will ask him very nicely, my beautiful. Did Gabriel fucking Grealor hit you? Is that why the king dragged him? Did he leave a mark on you? Did he say something? Did he try to hurt you?" Kosta asked as he checked his Erasthai out.

He was frantic and angry, as was expected since tonight was supposed to be the mating night. Given Kosta had accepted Tamiko's bond with him, he was more overprotective than anyone else around Tamiko.

He wasn't going to let anyone hurt him, and the fact that Kosta had let Tamiko decide whether to reject Gabe or not, only went to show just how free he wanted Taniko to be. Sure, they were erasthais, but until Tamiko rejected Gabe, there wasn't much they could do.

They had to be patient and wait it out, with the thick anger and vengeance that was lingering in the air always. However, that was an issue at the moment because the focus that was on Tamiko was increasingly terrifying.

"What is he talking about, Sadako? Why… Why would the Grealor alpha hurt me… why would he lay a hand on my friend?" the Lycan king asked as he looked at his brother, waiting for an answer and Sadako knew the night was about to get a little rough.

"Uhh well…" Sadako began and the king turned to Kosta who had finally confirmed that his Tamiko was alright and unhurt. 

"Chief… What the fuck do you mean by that?" King Zaffuto asked Chief Konstantin and Igor knew they were fucked. Gabe could as well have started praying to the goddess to grant his soul a safe passage into the afterlife.

"It's just that there are wolves and I like causing mischief, so he was worried that I wanted the alpha and got my ass handed to me, again," Tamiko said, speaking before Kosta, and that in itself got the king even more curious.

He could remember faintly what Sadako had mentioned about Grealor the last time. Sure, he hadn't paid a lot of attention because he had been focused on his son, but Zaffuto knew he could easily read Sadako's mind and get the answers he needed.

However, he couldn't do that to Sadako, seeing as they had no secrets between them. Perhaps if he asked the alpha, he could get better answers than the three who were taking him in circles, right?

"What's his name?" Zaffuto asked, his voice chilly as he looked at one of the cyan warriors who were standing close to them. 

"Grealor. Alpha Gabriel Grealor," the warrior spoke only for the king to grab Gabe by the chin and keep their eyes on the same level.

"I'm only going to ask this once, Gabriel Grealor. Why the fuck would the Chief be apprehensive of you interacting with my boy??"