[KAWAI]

Everyone knew King Zaffuto Hinata was the kind of king who loved playing power games and this was probably the proof they all needed to make certain of it, right? After all, there was no harm in enjoying the madness and the ideas they had of him in their head, no?

"I hear someone dared to call my people a liar," the king greeted coldly, his deep voice reverberating. He sounded like he had decided to burn everyone and he was aware that you would do or say shit to him without risking their heads.

He was a menace, but that didn’t matter to him at the moment, because the only reason he was here was because of his son. His little Kaito, the boy who had breathed life into his empty life and eyes.

"That’s audacious of you, don’t you think?" the king asked with a deep and dark chuckle like this was just the beginning of a hell he had been working so hard to make a reality in the past twenty-five years.

"You all are here for the mating ceremony. That is the only reason you can smile and laugh like this is home for you. Be glad the rules are bent for the ceremony, or I know a few heads that would have already rolled.

"As it is, you are here to find your mates. Those who will find Lycan mates will remain in Kawai until I decide otherwise. Those who will have not found their mates by the end of tomorrow, you will have to leave.

"Kawai is not a community land for you to wait here and camp," the king said darkly, his voice slicing through the silence that had long become of the multitude of factions in the ceremony.

"And before you ask any questions about where I was or what I was doing, I am here to tell you that it is none of your business. The only thing the lot of you need to know is that I am coming for the werewolves.

"Mated to a Lycan or not, make sure that you remember that. It was a werewolf that cost our dear kingdom our mothers, sisters, and erasthais twenty-five years ago. It was a werewolf that dared to solve the throats of our dear women.

"And I will never forgive the wolves for that. I don’t care if you are the sweetest little wolf out there. I am coming for you. And this time, I am coming with a thirst for blood. If you think I have been insane, be ready for the deaths.

"Blood, for blood. An eye for an eye. So, if you have any information on the pack that was stupid enough to kidnap my son, my heir, my Kaito Hinata and kill the women we loved, you can send your letters starting at the end of the ceremony, because I will be on the hunt.

"And goddess saves your souls, that is if she manages to get to your damn souls before I do. I’ve been practicing a lot in the past years and I assure you, she won’t get to you before me. That said, have fun and I hope you find your erasthais and be happy!"

When the king was done talking, the wolves trained at each other the sheer horror on their faces as they took in the little fact that the king was coming for them. The devil himself had put the entire faction on his radar.

They all knew Zaffuto and they knew he wouldn’t stop until he got to the bottom of all that shit. They knew he would flatten packs to the ground just for his vengeance and it was obvious the Lycans would follow him.

One thing that still shocked everyone at the ceremony, was the fact that the king hadn’t put his queen above everyone they had lost years ago. He hadn’t stated that he was doing this to avenge his Liana. If anything, he didn’t even mention her.

It was the same thing that happened twenty-five years ago at the pyre. He had let his wife be burnt with the other local women who had died. He had let her be a normal woman as she would have wanted.

King Zaffuto had lived a lonely life and he had sworn he would do right by his people and his son. Sure, he was a dark soulless man, but the incident had broken every inch of his soul till the only thing that was left was a void.

Thankfully it was a void that he had Tamiko in. He would forever be grateful that his son survived and he would never let that reality fade away. He would keep watch on his son and make sure he did what he needed at best.

After all, at the end of the day, the Lycan king was not just a king. He was a father. He was a husband. And more than anything, he was a best friend who promised not to ruin everything they had worked so hard for in the past twenty-five years.

He would make sure to keep his promise, but the wolves would burn for the mistake by one of their own unless they gave him the answers he needed and he wouldn’t stop, but even when there was a visible white flag thrown in the middle.

"Interesting what the king said, don’t you think?" Tamiko who had been standing close to Gabriel Grealor at the time his father had gotten to address everyone said and Gabe had to hold himself back from letting out a shriek.

He had expected Tamiko to be here, but he hadn’t imagined that Tamiko would be this close to him. It was something he had hoped would happen, but as the mad king’s son stared at him with dark eyes and a beautiful smile, Gabriel Grealor was confused.

On one hand, his heart was yearning to bond with his mate, while on the other end, he couldn’t let himself give in like that. He knew Tamiko would never choose him, yet at the same time, he was painfully aware That Tamiko didn’t want to reject him.

What the fuck was he even supposed to make of this?

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Gabe asked, making Tamiko let out a dark chuckle, one too similar to the one the Lycan king had let out barely minutes ago. It was like Tamiko was letting Gabe keep in mind that his father was coming for them.

It was going to be an interesting battle and Tamiko would enjoy every little bit of it.

"They invited all unmated wolves, or didn’t you get the memo? Last I checked I am a member of Grealor, and everyone knows I’m unmated because you refused to claim me as your mate, Gabriel, unless you need a recap?" Tamiko shrugged casually.

He knew Gabriel Grealor was way beyond all the possible limits and there was a chance the man was just a walking corpse, but then Tamiko didn’t give a shit about that. He deserved it and more.

"For someone who’s unmated you sure have a mouth on you," Gabe said and Tamiko let out a snicker as a shadow hovered over Gabriel in the night. Gabe didn’t think too much of it, and assumed that it was just a tree.

However, when he turned and saw King Zaffuto smirking darkly at him, Gabriel fainted.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com