[GABE]
'Is Tamiko a strong mate?' Gabe wondered as he remembered his father's words. It all just didn't make any sense to him and the more he thought about it, the more he thought he would go cay, but maybe just for the night, he would try to bond, right?
But how was he supposed to bond with Tamiko when the man hated all of him? But could Tamiko be blamed though?
Well, that didn't matter to him, because as he had promised himself, he would take care of his mate, even if his mate was Tamiko. Granted, he knew that he would face so many challenges, given their relationship, but Gabe knew things always happened for a reason.
His eyes had softened and his heart was broken when he found his mate. Gabe had tried to drink himself silly at the party, something that had gotten him worried. But then again, Gabe never got drunk, no matter how many bottles of alcohol and wine he chugged down.
It was almost like he was immune to the intoxication, and since he never wanted his friends to know about it, he had always pretended to be drunk. Though tonight, he wished he could get really intoxicated. Maybe then he would get the liquid courage to face his new mate.
"It's late, Tamiko, you need to get some rest," Gabe said and this time, Tamiko let out an actual scoff. This man couldn't be serious, could he? Had he really forgotten that Tamiko's little cabin was destroyed by him and his friends?
Was he really that quick to forget that the orphaned outcast was without a home and that this hall, however cold it would get, was the only place that Tamiko could lay his head in the cold night?
"Go away… Leave me alone, will you?" Tamiko said as he hugged the coat that Danny had given him. Now that he was using it, Tamiko was thankful that his best friend had forced him into the clothes because he could have frozen his ass to death out there.
"I can't leave you alone, Tamiko. You… You're my… You're my mate, Tamiko," Gabe said, the words rolling off his tongue with a tenderness that shocked even him. He really was in for a lot of surprises tonight, wasn't he?
"That sounds sweet and all, but please bother me tomorrow, will you? Let me have at least one night without hearing your voice," Tamiko said, his tone clearly telling Gabe to let him be, but Gabriel Grealor wasn't born to give up.
So he sat there beside Tamiko, offering Tamiko his coat in the process. The corner where Tamiko was at, was far from the center and dark, so not many people knew what was going on or even who they were. They assumed that they were just two mates enjoying the night, but were they?
"Tamiko—"
"I said, I don't want a fucking mate! Are you deaf or dumb?" Tamiko said angrily, having had enough of Gabe's bothering.
"You want a mate? Fine, I'll give you one. If I have to be mated to anyone from Grealor, and especially you, then I'd rather have no mate for the rest of my life. I'll even leave Grealor if that is the only way to be rid of you, Garbiel Grealor—
"—You understand?" Tamiko said as he sat up, careful not to look into Gabe's eyes, because he knew what would happen, and he wasn't ready to face that part of him yet. He had felt his lycan surfacing again, earlier and he didn't want to show it to the bastard before him.
Tamiko had his reasons for staying hidden, and accepting all the bullying that he was exposed to in Grealor. He had his reasons for accepting all the harsh treatment, but then even with all of that, he would die first before accepting Gabe of all the people to be his mate.
"You don't mean that," Gabe said with a smile and Tamiko just scoffed at him again. This alpha's son was really dense or was he in denial that the mate he had been waiting for, the mate he had been fantasizing about for several years had turned out to be the man he had ruined?
"Are you fucking serious right now? You think this is me playing hard to get for you? You think I would be thrilled to be your mate of all the creatures in this goddamn realm? You? Of all the people alive, you think I would go for YOU?
"You must be a good dreamer then, Gabriel," Tamiko smirked at Gabe who was still hoping that Tamiko would jump at the chance to be his mate. With him, Tamiko wouldn't be exposed to everything terrible, if anything, Tamiko would live the life of a prince.
Funny how with all of that dangling between them, Tamiko had made his choice and it was definitely not Gabe.
"Your life will be better, I won't hurt you again—"
"Aww, I'm so scared… Help me... Gabe… Man, fuck you and everyone for what you did to me. Get out of my sight and find yourself a new mate, because this one will not accept you, and if you want me to spell it out for you, then I—" Tamiko began but stopped midway.
He was painfully aware of what the rejection would do and he couldn't handle that right now.
He wasn't ready to deal with all that was happening, after all, he had no clue how a lycan had managed to grow up in Grealor, especially when the Lycan rules demanded that all lycans be in their kingdom, Kawai.
Even the rogue lycans knew that they had to show up in Kawai every four months for King Zaffuto to know how many lycans were out there. It just didn't make sense that a kingdom that never let its people interact with other races, had lost a child.
It was insane, unless someone had stolen him, but then that wasn't even making any sense. if he had been stolen, wouldn't the lycans be looking for him by now then? Oh but Tamiko had been confused for a while, and the bastard beside him was making his life even harder.
As Tamiko had learned, in the lycan culture, the only way to formally reject someone, was to use the official names, and their house names and homes. This meant that Tamiko would expose himself, when he wasn't even sure who his parents were.
It was one thing to find out he was a lycan because he had stumbled upon books, and to even see for himself in the rage-filled woods, but here and now, he couldn't even reject Gabe if he wanted to, but Gabe didn't know that yet.
However, that didn't mean he wasn't mad at the pairing; and that in itself angered him more. How could the moon goddess be this cruel to him and pair him with the devil himself? This was unfair and just didn't make any sense, not to Tamiko anyway.
"Fuck!" Tamiko grumbled as he punched the wall next to him, making the whole room shake, something that also shocked Gabe. He was getting a lot of shock therapy tonight, it seemed... and all that from Tamiko himself.
"You can fight back? ... Then why?" Gabe asked and this time, Tamiko was so done with him, and turned to look into Gabe's eyes, making it Tamiko's first mistake of the night, because their eyes glowed.
Fuck.
"I already said my peace, now leave me be, or I will let the whole pack know that you're mated to the pack slave, and that really won't sit well with you and your reputation, given how powerful you are, and how weak I am," Tamiko threatened with a laugh and Gabe smirked at him.
"Should I do that for you?"