[TAMIKO]
"Get him," Alpha Ashton said to his warriors who looked between him and the two lycans in the room.
Granted, the warriors didn't know that Tamiko was a lycan yet, but they knew that Igor Konstantin wasn't going to let them be just because they tried to point a sword at the love of his life.
It was a long shot, but Alpha Ashton wasn't going to buy any of that. So instead of pulling back, instead of heeding Igor's warning, Alpha Ashton unsheathed his sword, ready to fight Tamiko.
It was a hilarious and yet sad sight on all fronts.
"This is so stupid and boring. You want me, fine, I will come with you, if you all fight me and win. How about that for a challenge, Alpha?" Tamiko asked, and Alpha Ashton looked at the kid before him.
He knew that he couldn't ever win against Tamiko.
He knew that there wasn't a thing on the face of the earth that could defeat the kid before him, and yet as he stood there, Alpha Asthon was willing to bank on the fact that Tamiko didn't know anything about his truth.
He was banking on the fact that Tamiko was mateless and just like every mateless elf in Grealor, he would be weak even for a while.
He was counting on the fact that Tamiko and Igor clearly hadn't mated, and that was going to be enough for him to win the battle against him, right?
"Fine, but Igor stays on the sidelines. He is not to interfere right now," the Alpha said and Tamiko looked at the man who had claimed him. He looked at the man who had been waiting for a chance to defend him.
He looked at Kosta, who was looking at him with warm eyes. It was something that he was slowly getting used to.
Sure, they had been with Kosta for almost three days now, but Tamiko felt safe with him.
He knew that if things got worse, Kosta would always come for him. He knew that Igor wasn't ever going to sit by and watch as Alpha Ashton did things to the lycan kid.
"Yeah, whatever floats your boat," Tamiko said and Igor looked at him, like a proud mate.
Anyone would have expected Igor to stop his mate from getting into the squabble, but then that wasn't the time. He didn't mind watching Tamiko fight.
After all, he would have to learn to fight either way. And these people here were the perfect targets for him to try and learn. Maybe when they were done, things would be fine, but what things?
"Great. Let's take this outside, shall we? The whole of Grealor is waiting to watch the fun," Alpha Ashton said and that caught Igor's attention.
If the Alpha was taking the fight to the public, then he was definitely ready for whatever was about to happen. Then again, Igor knew he couldn't do shit because Tamiko had already agreed to it.
It was not something that he had expected, but to Tamiko, this didn't mean shit. Maybe this time, he would find a way to be free from Grealor, right?
"Whatever, let's get on with it, shall we?" Tamiko said boredly, as he grabbed a sword from the corner and walked outside.
He knew that this wasn't going to be easy, given that he hadn't been trained for battle, but maybe he would try and trust his lycan to win this for him, right?
Maybe after all the years, finally he would have the chance to get away from Grealor without feeling like he was having shit that he still needed to fix, right? Maybe that was it, but what were the chances that he was reaching too?
Outside the shelter, Tamiko didn't see anyone and he thought that the Alpha was playing games with him.
However, when he walked back to the pack and saw the crowd that had gathered in the same place that he had always been standing like the slave of the day, Tamiko faltered.
He could still remember the painful memories he had gotten from that very point, and yet once again, Alpha Ashton was out to make him look like the bastard again.
Tamiko felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment and he felt like the world was going in circles. He couldn't see right and if Igor hadn't held his hand quickly, Tamiko would have fallen to the ground from the pain that came with the cruel recollection.
He could still see himself wounded and bleeding. He could see all the painful things that Grealor had done to him. He could see the horrors that he had withstood in that pack and frankly, that scared him.
Nothing scared Tamiko more than the pain he had pretended to brave daily, and now he was being thrust back into it.
'Focus on me, baby. Focus on me, alright?' Igor tried but then Tamiko was swirling in endless thoughts and horrors.
Maybe he had been too sure that pain couldn't do shit to him and yet as he looked at the knowing smirk on Alpha Ashton's face Tamiko knew that this was no coincidence. Then again, he was determined to prove to himself that he wasn't going to lose.
So he shook his head and pulled himself off of Igor's arms. Like a man with too many painful memories, Tamiko looked at the whole pack one more time, before his eyes settled on the Alpha whose smirk hadn't once left his face.
Oh, but Tamiko was determined to win this, because it would be the best form of fuck you to the Alpha.
"And begin!!" a voice said, snapping Tamiko out of the trance he was in. He was to defend himself and yet he had never once wielded a sword.
Sure, he had trained himself, but heaven he knew that he would never know how good he was at this unless he had found a footing. But would the Alpha and the warriors who were here, that good for a footing?
"This should be fun," Alpha Ashton said, before he charged at Tamiko with the crowd cheering.
He had a sword that no one had ever seen before; not even in the weaponry rooms, they loved that their Alpha was going to deal with the outcast once and for all.
And so the chants continued, while the Alpha swung his word and Tamiko defended himself in the only way he could. The sword was heavy on Tamiko's arms and the men he was fighting were good with their weaponry.
For ten minutes, Tamiko held his fort and defended himself. That was the only thing he could do because there were five people who were against him.
Hell, he had lost count of how many people he was fighting. But then Tamiko wasn't winning anything. He had grown weaker from every hit that his sword took from Alpha Ashton's sword.
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.
"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, including Igor.
And maybe that was Alpha Ashton's first and greatest mistake.