CHAPTER 352: A TOUCH OF KOSTA’S PAST & PRESENT

[KAWAI]

"We’re insatiable," Kosta laughed as they finally took a break to catch their breath. It was a real necessity at this point because if they continued like dogs, they would lose their minds. They had spent the entire morning fucking around the house.

Tamiko had been expecting a house tour, but the way that he had gotten that tour had gotten him mastering the Lycan chief’s house like he had been living here for thousands of years beside the Lycan chief.

This was perfection, and boy, did they both love it.

"If we step out right now, Papa will disown both of us, Uncle will probably kill us, and Danny will help him bury our bodies," Tamiko laughed heartily, and Kosta joined in. They had truly had the time of their lives within these walls and the best of their mornings.

"Akila would come with the flowers since he can’t kill us," Kosta added, and they once again burst into peals of laughter, their voices echoing around the house like it was a norm for them. They were happy; that was all that mattered.

"My family would have definitely loved you. Especially my annoying little sister, she would have dragged me through the mud just to come see you," Kosta said happily amid the laughter and Tamiko stilled.

This was the first time he was hearing about Kosta’s family.

Over the years, Tamiko had been careful not to ask about them. The only thing he had been sure of was that the barbarians had been Kosta’s second family and the kingdom of Kawai, the third.

The barbarian never once talked about his real family, and Tamiko had always been curious about it. He was the crown prince and everyone already knew his sad tales and his heart’s desire for vengeance against Grealor, but he hadn’t heard shit about Kosta.

"Kosta..." Tamiko trailed off in uncertainty.

"It’s okay... Besides you’re in my house. It is just a matter of time before you see their drawings somewhere in or on the desks and start being curious," Kosta said causally and Tamiko stared at him softly.

Kosta was right.

This was his home, and curiosity was the one thing the young Lycan prince had been born with. Eventually, the questions would have come up, and Kosta would have either stalled or come clean to Tamiko.

Or even better, Tamiko would probably have used his connections with the king to know about the Erasthai he had chosen out of all the Kawai Lycans, right? The truth wasn’t something to be stored away for long anyway.

"Not if you don’t want me to," Tamiko said in all seriousness.

Kosta let out a light laugh. He knew that he was telling the truth, but this was also his chance to talk about his family, the people who were no longer here. He just hoped that at the end of the day, his reminiscing wouldn’t get him in trouble so much.

"Well then... But I must warn you, it’s not a beautiful tale," Kosta sighed.

Tamiko leaned towards him in reassurance. He knew there wasn’t much he could do about Kosta’s past, but they could work together to make newer memories that would make their lives happier.

"Together, my love," Tamiko whispered.

"There isn’t much to say about them really, only that they were the best part of my life, of course, before you... I was born last in a family of six. We were common Lycans, who had nothing to worry about because we were just existing.

"We had followed every rule the king had set for the kingdom, everything that was asked of us, we followed it all. We didn’t have enemies or even people whom we could consider foes. We were just a simple family that was struggling to survive.

"My brothers and I had a sister, one who always kicked our asses. Thankfully, she wasn’t the firstborn, but she was the strongest of us all. She was braver than any of us ever was. Sahina was the bravest person in our family.

"And she had a brave best friend too — Nana, who was probably unstable like her — but we were too busy trying not to cross the two women to think of the crazy shit they would do. Even then, we were one.

"When I was born an omega, my mother said the realm would curse us out. But Sahina... my sister reacted differently. Instead of looking at me like a weakness, she saw me for what I was. Her brother. Her youngest brother.

"She said that nothing would ever change the relationship we had, and she reminded even Father that family was everything. It was Sahina’s belief that everyone in our family was to be protected. And we all swore a vow to protect each other till the end.

"And we did, for a time. For hundreds of years, we lived uneventful lives, protecting each other fiercely. We had all that we needed, but with time, the risk we didn’t want to think of had come to hit us. Someone figured out that I was an omega.

"The secret my family had kept for hundreds of years was out in the open. King Zaffuto had been the first to hear of it. Out of fear for what the king would do, my family hid me, and tried to clear the rumors. It was hard, but it almost worked, until the rogues came.

"There were lycan rogues at the time who despised omegas. They hated that one of them was an omega. I couldn’t even blame them, because omegas were never heard of in lycan families. Not even the ordinary ones. I was the abomination.

"The one they needed to eliminate. So they came for my family. For the people who had managed to hide the abomination for hundreds of years. It was something that othered them so badly, and I knew that my time had come to be murdered.

"Sahina and Nana fought along with my brothers, while our parents hid with me, convincing me that it wasn’t my fault. I wanted to believe them, I really did. But it was all too harsh at the time. I wasn’t scared of the rogues, but of King Zaffuto.

"With the mad king out there with the knowledge of the one thing that could ruin Kawai, I had to leave. I couldn’t wait for him to come for me. I preferred to die on my own terms, if I had to. So I ran toward the rogues — the danger my family was protecting me from.

"I went into the free lands, to avoid bringing the fights to my home, but I was too late. Perhaps it was a dangerous decision, because the rogues got to them. They took down everyone in my family. The vow we had made had doomed us, because of me.

"Sahina and Nana were the only survivors, for a time. They tried to hold their own, with the high guards watching from a distance, which was strange. But then it wasn’t long before Sahina was hit and Naina had to make a choice.

"Sahina had always known where I was, so when she died, Nana came to look for me. But before she came, Nana went to the king with an ultimatum. My sister’s best friend went to the king to fight for me, when she lost Sahina.