[TAMIKO]
For ten minutes, Tamiko held his fort and defended himself. That was the only thing he could do because there were five people against him but then it also seemed like there were more.
Maybe he was hallucinating, but that wasn't good for him at least not for the moment, considering this was either a win-or-lose situation. Hell, he had lost count of how many people he was fighting.
But then Tamiko wasn't winning anything.
The young lycan had grown weaker from every hit that his sword took from Alpha Ashton's sword. There was something about that sword because it held so much power and fury.
It was like a sword of doom, because each time their swords clanged, Tamiko felt like he was growing weaker. It was something that was unheard of, and for a lycan, he shouldn't have given in to the sword, but then he did.
He could feel his strength leaving him and he could feel the world turning black so slowly that he wished he could see Igor's face one more time. But the blow that the alpha landed on his face had made him see stars.
Igor was watching carefully in the crowd. He was making sure to count every punch that the alpha landed on Tamiko because Igor Konstantin would remember it the next time he came to Grealor.
It wasn't that hard knowing that he would be back, because, with the lycan king back to life, and the warriors of Kawai being called home as the customs demanded, Igor knew that forgiveness wouldn't even be something that he would ever consider with Alpha Ashton.
However, until then Igor Konstantin chose to trust Tamiko
Granted, his erasthai seemed like a sore loser, but until the last sword was served, until the last blow was made, Igor was going to support his love. Of course, even if Tamiko lost, he wouldn't lose Igor, but the barbarian was counting on something else.
He was counting on the powers he had felt when he had run his fingers through Tamiko's hair earlier. He hoped that he hadn't been hallucinating and hopefully, as he watched his erasthai, hopefully he would be proven right.
Oh how Igor wanted his assumptions to be very true.
'You can do this, baby,' Igor whispered in the hope that the universe wouldn't be that cruel to his mate. He loved Tamiko and wanted to protect him, but he also appreciated the boy and wanted him to win this battle.
"Fight him! Fight him! Fight him!"
The chants of the realtor warriors were increasing and had gotten annoyingly loud to the point that Galya and the elite warriors had come to see what was happening. Even Gabriel and his best friends had come to see it.
The sight before Gabriel was discomforting and for a moment, Gabe wished he could step forward and stop the madness, but he also knew that his mate would probably reject him in public and it would be his worst nightmare.
Gabe was fighting his sanity against stepping forward to defend Tamiko for his father, but then there was only so much he could take too, especially when he saw what his father was about to do to the mate he wasn't allowed to claim in public.
Alpha Ashton looked proud as hell. There was a knowing smile on his face, even as Tamiko faltered and fell to the ground.
The young lycan had lost a grip on his sword and had let it slump beside him, just as he fell to the ground and became Alpha Ashton's kill target. But would the alpha really try to kill the only lycan in his pack in so many years?
Would he try to harm the only possible lycan who could steer the trade between the lycans and Grealor? Would he?
Perhaps there was something else at stake, something more than just a young lycan, something that got the big alpha so scared that he was acting irrationally barely three days after his pack had held the mating ceremony.
Surely the alpha couldn't be that dumb, right?
"Say hello to Liana for me, hmm?" Alpha Ashton whispered to a tired Tamiko, before he thrust his sword into the young lycan, instantly shutting everyone up.
And maybe that was Alpha Ashton's first and greatest mistake.
For a moment there was a long silence, and then everything changed when Gabe let out a loud cry, as he looked at his father and his mate. The unexpected had happened and right before them, the world would eventually know of it.
Igor, who had been watching in shock when the alpha thrust his sword, suddenly looked relaxed, while the wolves looked pretty disturbed.
One by one, the Grealor werewolves walked away as they were not ready to wake up to this reality, not yet. There were sad whimpers even as they walked away, the horrors of what their future would look like were so evident on their faces.
"Tamiko!" Gabe cried out again and for a moment, everyone believed that Gabe was crying out because Tamiko had been hit, but when they felt the gut punch in their pack bond, they knew that the unexpected had happened.
Alpha Ashton hadn't managed to thrust the sword into Tamiko.
Instead, the alpha was the one with his own sword penetrating him on both ends. He looked like he couldn't believe what had happened and by the shock on Tamiko's face, the young lycan couldn't believe it either.
He had stabbed an alpha with his own sword? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
Igor didn't move, even as Gabe rushed to check on his father. It was like the barbarian was waiting for Tamiko to feel the excitement of what he'd done, but that hadn't happened as he was still in shock.
But then Igor and Alpha Ashton knew what had happened.
They knew so well it was agonizing to watch, however, this right here was the beginning of a beautiful journey in Tamiko's life.
"I… What just happened?" Tamiko asked when he managed to find the words in his mouth. He hadn't seen anything like this and he sure as hell hadn't thought that the impossible had happened.
"Who is Liana?" Tamiko asked again as he looked at the alpha who was bleeding and gushing blood from his mouth and ears too, not to mention his rapidly swelling body.
"Father," Gabe cried out defeatedly as she rushed to hold his father in his arms. The warriors had also rallied to help him, but even then, he wasn't sure his father would survive.
"We have to take him to the hospital," one of the warriors said and Gabe just nodded sadly, before letting them take his father away.
"I'm so sorry, Gabe," Tamiko said earnestly, the sincerity in his voice shocking Gabriel. Of the things he had expected from his mate, an apology hadn't been it. The young lycan had proven that he had a heart too.
"You were just defending yourself… Let Igor take care of you, alright?" Gabe responded defeatedly, as he looked at his beautiful mate who was on the ground.
"I—"
"Please… Please don't leave Grealor… I can fix this," Gabe said and for a moment, Tamiko felt his heart break for the boy before him.
So he just nodded in reassurance.
"Who is Liana?" Tamiko wondered as Gabe walked away, leaving Galya, Danny, and Igor staring at Tamiko.