[GABE]
"What about me?" Gabe asked defeatedly and in a low whisper, as he looked at his mate. This was worse than any punishment Gabe had ever experienced, yet even as Tamiko heard him, the orphan ignored him.
Maybe Tamiko was cruel, but surely Gabe didn't think that pulling the weakness card would work on the man he had tortured barely hours ago, right?
Maybe it would have, if Tamiko was the normal kind of mate, but then the lycan had more pressing issues than a mate who needed his attention and who didn't mean shit to him.
"You're staying with me here. Besides, Danny said to wait for him," Galya said excitedly, even though she had a feeling that the question that Gabriel had posed wasn't for her.
Then again, she didn't want to start their relationship with so many questions. Whatever Gabe did was not her business, her only business was the job that they had both been roped into by the alpha.
"Alright then. In that case, I bet the outcast can entertain us, no?" Gabe asked, even though he was doing this because he wanted to see more of Tamiko. This was his only chance to openly stare at his mate without appearing as a creep.
He wanted to know what Tamiko liked, what he didn't like other than Gabriel, what made him happy and how his days were. Gabe had a sudden interest to learn more and more about his mate and he knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park anyway.
"But sire… I'm sorry, I have to clean the mating hall and sweep the assembly square before dusk," Tamiko said, his voice going back to the normal voice he was used to talking with, even before he had known that the bastard here was his mate.
He wanted to teach Gabe a lesson but he also knew that there was a chance that Galya would come forward and defend Tamiko, which would put the woman in danger, and Tamiko loved her too much to see one of his best friend shirts because of him.
"Go, Tamiko. Go clean up. If you need help with it, I can assign a few warriors to help you out. The mating hall is pretty big for one person," Galya said, instantly putting her powers into use.
She had agreed to this, because she wanted to protect Tamiko and right now, this was her first chance to defend the man who was like a brother to her.
"But—"
"The hall is pretty big. I already assigned warriors there, so you don't have to worry. As for Tamiko, I heard your house was brought down. Why don't you take this chance to rebuild your shelter?" Gabe added, interrupting Tamiko who raised a brow at him.
'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Tamiko asked Gabe in the mind link.
He sounded frustrated and he knew that if he got favors from the alpha who had beaten him barely hours ago, it would raise suspicions and frankly Tamiko wasn't in the mood to start explaining to people how his dumb mate had sold them both off.
Maybe it was Gabe's act of kindness, but it was one that Tamiko didn't need. He had been used to his suffering, so this right there wasn't shit to him.
"Didn't you hate the man yesterday? Why are you being so kind to him now? Or is it a way of getting on my good side since you know I will always defend him with my life?" Galya asked and Tamiko let out a fit of coughs.
He had almost forgotten how straightforward Galya always was, and right now he wondered how Gabe was going to get out of this. The man was constantly shooting himself in the foot, and for what?
"It's the first day after the mating ceremony. Even if I wanted to bully him, I won't be able to today, because this is the day everyone gets to live freely. Relax, Galya," Gabe said, the anger in his tone so evident, and Tamiko knew Galya had touched a nerve.
Between his mate's best friend and him not accepting Gabe and at the same not rejecting him, Tamiko knew Gabe was going to be going through the seven phases of hell with the woman. But hey, he had brought it upon himself, no?
"You're dismissed Tamiko. And you're free of all the slavery responsibilities for today. Go, brother. Make your shelter, because I know you won't agree to live with us. You have the day off," Galya said, her tone so clipped that Tamiko knew he wouldn't be able to challenge the woman.
So he bowed before the both of them and walked away, leaving behind two mates who were forced by Alpha Ashton.
For their first day, they had proven to be on the opposite sides and that wasn't good for anyone, and certainly not for the man who felt like following his mate and apologizing for the hundredth time.
If apologies did work, then there wouldn't be a need for rules, and that was something that Gabe was learning the hard way. But maybe, just maybe he would be able to get through to Tamiko, right?
"For a luna, you have quite the weird way of showing affection," Gabe said as he looked at the woman beside him.
He knew that he was walking on shaky waters and would probably be swallowed by the waves, but maybe he needed the pain to remind him of what he had lost already.
Maybe it was his chance to embrace the fact that getting through to Tamiko was going to be harder than winning pack wars.
"I believe it's the Luna's responsibility to take care of the pack members, just like the alpha is tasked with protecting all the pack members indiscriminately.
"Just because you failed at yours, doesn't mean I will fail at mine, Gabriel," Galya expressed as she watched Tamiko walk into the woods. She was wondering how Tamiko was feeling, and whether Tamiko had gotten a mate last night.
By the count of the years, the outcast should have gotten a mate, but then again, Tamiko wasn't a wolf.
No one in the pack knew who he was, save for alpha Ashton. Hell, not even his mate knew he was a lycan and that was something Tamiko would take advantage of, always.
"He's not a pack member. He's a stray who happened to find himself in Grealor. Besides, who knows why my father allowed him to grow up here?
"We spent a lot of resources on keeping him alive, the least he can do is to let himself be a good punching bag for the pack, don't you think?" Gabe stated, like it was something everyone was supposed to know of.
Now that Tamiko wasn't within earshot, he could keep on with the act and breathe.
Besides, if he changed suddenly, and started being nice to Tamiko because of the mate bond, Gabe knew it would raise more questions than answers and that wasn't something he was sure he would deal with at the moment.
"Oh, wow. You sound like you were truly born and raised by the Grealor elites," Galya said with a scoff, making Gabe facepalm.
"Hey, sis—"