CHAPTER 348: ALL THAT MATTERED WAS HERE, THEM

[KAWAI]

Tamiko was on a streak with his father, and the Lycan Lord was sick of them. What had begun as a challenge for the father to train the son had swiftly turned into something that the Lycan Lord regretted ever being a part of.

Here they were, on the fourth day of what would go down as one of the worst decisions that Lord Sadako had ever made. The poor man had been stuck here watching the father and son play like there weren’t other things that they needed to do.

And for a moment, the Lycan lord blamed it on the way that Kawai had been structured to move on and function even without the king for a few days. Oh, he hated that he had been the one to make it so, but fuck it if he didn’t wish for a break from these two.

"Again," Tamiko spoke excitedly, making his uncle let out another groan. There was no knowing with these two. This was a daunting challenge from the very beginning, and they were the monsters that Sadako had cultivated himself.

He just had to pay the price for it, and boy, was it a really high price this time. He hadn’t thought much about it when the game began, and he had encouraged the kid not to go slow on his father, who was struggling to lose every game.

King Zaffuto knew that he had to lose, but it was a little hard seeing as he was genuinely losing at the hands of his son. It was the first time someone was besting him, and that had him curious even more.

He had never gotten to this point, truly, and he was honestly fascinated by the sheer idea of being bested by his kid. It was the one thing that had him up and about, praying while playing, and yet smiling sheepishly at the thought of being bested by Liana.

It was honestly a beautiful moment for them, so when Tamiko said, again, the mad king didn’t have any other option but to agree to be challenged.

"I will best you this time," the king said, hopefully it was sickening to Lord Sadako’s ears. So far, he had only won thirty out of the eighty-five games that they had played, and that went to show that maybe he wasn’t always born to be the best.

But then the king wasn’t complaining, not if the one that genuinely bested him was his son. It was the reminder that sometimes there were genes and some traits really did run in their blood, either way.

This was a heaven for the two and a hell for Lord Sadako, who couldn’t remember if he was on the hundredth cup of coffee thanks to these two bastards or if he was on the tenth plate of ribs.

He was tired of them and just wanted his sleep. Oh, but this was going to be the reminder that there was never going to be a challenge between the father and the son that Lord Sadako would ever volunteer to referee.

He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

"The kid won already, Zaffuto. Let it go," Sadako whined as he stared pitifully at his determined brother. It was interesting, and it would have been even more exciting if the Lycan Lord wasn’t deprived of sleep and wasn’t going to murder them all if they didn’t stop.

He wanted a break. He needed to, and even though they were adamant about continuing, it was obvious that they needed it to. Maybe if the goddess interceded for them, they would be able to figure it all out, right?

"Just one more game," King Zaffuto said, and Lord Sadako sighed. However, before he could add onto anything, the bells for the coming of the warriors rang, and Sadako could have sworn that the moon goddess loved him so much.

This was his chance at salvation, and honestly, he wasn’t about to waste it.

"Your Erasthai is back, kid. Or aren’t you going to see if he is hurt or not from the battle?" Lord Sadako spoke and Tamiko stared at his father and then at his uncle who wasn’t relenting in his quest to end this damned game.

They both knew what game the Lycan Lord was playing at, but beneath all of that was the genuine concern for the Lycan Chief, who had been out of the palace for the past four days.

They needed to know how the battle had ended, and Tamiko needed to be certain that the protection barrier he had put on his Erasthai discreetly had worked, even if he chose to unmask his scent or even if someone tried to mess with Kosta’s scent blockers.

It hadn’t been the easiest of things for Tamiko, but he needed to know what had happened out there. He needed to see if it was all alright or if he still needed to come up with the craziest of shit to make things work.

"Papa..." Tamiko trailed off, and King Zaffuto smiled at him, knowing so well that he would be the one training his son and that all would be okay for them.

Deep down, the king hoped that there was enough time in between the training sessions for him and his son to bond. He wanted to learn more about Tamiko as a kid, and not just the prince who had been burdened by the demands of his birthright.

And the king was looking forward to their binding sessions even more.

"Go. Your Kosta awaits, my little Tamiko," King Zaffuto said, and Tamiko smiled heartily at the statement. He then side-hugged his father and his uncle and left for the borders. He knew that that was where Kosta had to be at now that all was done and dusted.

"Your majesty," Floki spoke respectfully as he addressed the prince who had just shown up. They all knew that he was the one who had commissioned them on this mission, and it was just right that he was here.

However, with the way the prince’s eyes were wandering around the entire fleet, he knew that the prince was looking for someone, more specifically, some barbarian who made his heart beat in all the right ways.

"Floki," Tamiko voiced emptily. "How was the mission? Any casualties?"

"None, your majesty. Chief Konstantin ordered us to come back with a few rogues to establish any weaknesses from the enemy’s end. Everything else is well. Sanjiro is also in our custody," Floki reported, and Tamiko let out a sigh of relief.

His Kosta was alive.

His Kosta had kept his promise, and he didn’t falter. It was the best thing that Tamiko could have heard since the morning sun had given way to the evening. Perhaps life wasn’t always going to be as bad, right?

"And where can I find Chief Konstantin?" Tamiko asked as casually as he could.

However, with the way the prince’s eyes were wandering around the entire fleet, he knew that the prince was looking for someone, more specifically, some barbarian who made his heart beat in all the right ways.

He knew that he was looking almost desperate for his Kosta, and honestly, he was. He needed to see the Chief. He needed to breathe him in regardless of the scents that he had gathered from the battlefield. After all, it couldn’t all be that bad, yeah?

"He left with the barbarians, sire," Floki said, and Tamiko smiled in relief. Of course, he wanted to stay and say a lot more to them, but they obviously knew that this had to be done.

"How long ago was that?" Tamiko asked; this time, not bothering to hide how excited he was to see his Erasthai. He could have easily followed Kosta’s scent, but it wasn’t possible because of the scent blockers.

But then again, Tamiko had known that already. He was intelligent enough to know that his mate was still going to be in danger even with the scent blockers off. Surely, he had been smart about that, too, right?

"Twenty minutes, sire," Floki responded carefully.

"Alright then, you carry on. Tonight’s dinner is on the king. Dress well and come with your significant other. Congratulations on the successful mission," Tamiko said proudly and sincerely.

He knew that it couldn’t have been easy if Kosta hadn’t insisted they take a few rogues with them back home. It was almost like a tempting sin but then what the fuck was that supposed to be for them?

At the end of the day, no one would want to be on the wrong side of the Lycan prince’s wrath, because the kid may have been new to Kawai, but everyone knew who he was and the power he wielded.

"Aye, sire," Floki responded, and Tamiko began the long walk back to his Erasthai. He was sniffing around, which was strange, seeing as no one, not even him, could have been exposed to Kosta’s scent once he left.

But perhaps it wasn’t just that that called out to Tamiko. Perhaps it was more about the Lycan Chief. Maybe if he followed the trail of the barbarians, he would get to his Erasthai faster, right?

’Where are you?’ Tamiko wondered as he hurried down. He was tempted to portal, but he wasn’t sure where Kosta was, and it wouldn’t benefit him to be reckless this early into the evening.

Deciding against holding back, Tamiko portaled to the crossroads that connected with the main road from the border, then tracked the little barrier he had cast on Kosta when the Lycan left for the mission.

"My beautiful baby," Tamiko sighed in relief when he found Kosta.

"My soul..." Kosta breathed as he leaned into Tamiko, his scent overwhelming the young prince, but it was the good kind.

"I missed you," Tamiko said, slamming their lips together, before Kosta could even let another word out.