Chapter 74: Shot Glass of Tears

* Long Chapter Alert - the title is inspired by JK's new album Golden. I love that album, sigh

* Also you might need to test your blood pressure before reading this. Bye now, hihi

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[TAMIKO]

If there was a time that Konstantin was confused, then this had to be the highlight of it all. Someone who looked like the king was coming. He looked a lot like Zaffuto, the scars and all. He even walked like the man and it was unsettling.

Kosta had to remind himself that lycan magic was always strongest and that there was a chance that Zaffuto had forced someone to come and act like him. But at what cost?

Well, the Lycan king was the father of crazies, but even then that didn't make it any better for them.

"Wh… you… The fuck?" Lord Sadako whispered as the supposed king sat at the table, not even bothering with the greetings. Either Sadako was hallucinating, or his brother had finally gone insane.

Oh, but Sadako was willing to bet on the latter a thousand times over.

'Well, fuck me?' Lord Sadako said to himself as the supposed king put his huge silver staff on the side, as he made himself comfortable.

"Hello, brother," the king greeted as he sat down, ignoring Kosta and Toshiro who were staring in silence like they were scared of what they would do next or even the expectations. They were all confused, but none more than Lord Sadako.

The lycan didn't even respond to his brother, he just stared, blankly.

"He's here. Rise for the king," Kosta said.

Tamiko was awestruck.

Every action of his was that of a fanboy and it would have been easier to explain had he not been the fanboy of his own father, the psycho of Kawai. He looked like he wanted to move over to where the king was and start asking all sorts of questions.

He wanted to be like the man. He wanted to breathe the same air as the man and now that his dream seemed to be slowly turning into a reality, Tamiko said a silent prayer to the goddess, thanking her for giving him this extraordinary chance.

"You're real!" Tamiko said excitedly as he rushed and stood beside the king. He wasn't even afraid of the man. It was like he was staring at a future version of himself and boy did he love it.

Kosta wanted to say something or even remind his mate that this man was dangerous, but the hearts in Tamiko's eyes wouldn't let him.

He loved his mate and didn't want to take away the excitement. So he watched in awe as the son gushed over his father who was here in two bits, something that Kosta and Sadako hadn't quite understood yet.

The lycan king in question was letting out low warning growls, making Kosta and Sadako want to pull back the young lycan, but Tamiko didn't care.

"Hmm," the king growled dangerously as he stared at the young lycan before him.

"I didn't think you'd come, Zaffuto," Lord Sadako said and Tamiko looked at the enforcer.

For someone who had organized the dinner, the Lycan enforcer sure didn't trust his brother to make a show. Maybe because the king only ever showed up when it was just him and Sadako, no one else. Well, perhaps Lord Sadako had to get used to this.

"You said you wanted to eat, brother. I'm here now. Let's eat," the 'king' said and they all sat at the table in silence, eating like they were in some hole.

The entire palace had long gone quiet, something that Tamiko had also noticed, but he didn't want to ask any more questions.

Tamiko spent the entire dinner staring at the king before him.

He wanted to say a lot of things to the man that many feared. He wanted to reach out and ask the king if he was okay, if it was fine being there. Tamiko knew that power was lonely, but this was something he had learned.

Perhaps after so many years, the king would be okay, or he was used to the loneliness, right?

"Thank you for the dinner, Lord Sadako. I shall take my leave now," Toshiro said and the lycan lord just nodded in understanding, before they all watched the hyper man disappear into the distance.

However, just before Sadako could say something else, he saw his brother's body shift.

It was something that was never supposed to happen, and Sadako could have sworn he and Zaffuto had always agreed to never do it, because of the toll it took on their bodies.

However, watching Zaffuto, Sadako knew that his brother had done what they had agreed not to.

The lycan King had separated into two entities. His human side had been separated from his dark lycan side, which also meant that Toshiro and the dark brooding figure, were both the lycan king.

"Oh, fuck me," Lord Sadako said, getting the attention of everyone at the table. He could see a smirk on his brother's face and he wasn't sure whether to be thankful that what the king had done could only ever be done once in seventy years or not.

"Who is he and why is he here?" the lycan king asked, his voice leaving no room for a light suggestion.

He sounded like he wanted to be everywhere but there with them. He sounded like he had better places to be, and people to torment instead of being there with them like it was some damning reunion.

"My visitor. He wanted to see you, so I organized the dinner. I wasn't expecting you to come—"

"You know I'd never say no to you. Is there anything else you need from me?" the lycan king asked, his tone getting warmer for a second as he looked at his brother. He seemed to be reminding himself that Sadako was never his enemy. Of course, he knew that.

Turning to Tamiko, the king spoke.

"You are awfully relaxed for someone I intend to kill," the king said, and Lord Sadako choked on air as he looked at Tamiko and his father.

"It would be an honor. At least I get to die knowing I met my role model. What better way to leave, right?" Tamiko said casually and this time, it was the king's turn to look at the kid in wonder. He had never imagined any lycan would ever be interested in him and his habits.

Of course, seeing as his Toshiro personality and his lycan side had merged again, he should have been able to know who Tamiko was, but then he couldn't remember shit. It was the side effect of trying a split after years and years of not engaging with his people.

So right now, he was the dark king with nothing to lose, a king who could wring necks and feel nothing.

"Leave us," the king said.

Sadako, Kosta, and Tamiko looked at him, wondering who the fuck he was adressing, especially since he hadn't said anything else.

"Are you sure about that, brother?" Sadako asked and the king just nodded at him, as if to reassure the enforcer that he would call if he needed him. However, was that enough to let them know what the king was planning?

"It's been long since I went hunting. I'm taking the kid with me. No one is to follow us, or I'll kill this kid," the king said with a smirk as he stared at his brother, and Sadako sighed.

He couldn't tell if he was relieved that his brother wanted to step out, or be worried about Tamiko's safety. But before he could say a word, Tamiko interrupted him gleefully.

"That's awesome, Sadako uncle. Don't worry about me! If he wanted to really kill me, he wouldn't have turned his staff at me to take my breath of life," Tamiko said excitedly and reassuringly.

Once again, Lord Sadako was in shock and awe at the same time. He wasn't sure what he had expected when he brought Tamiko with him here, but the fact that Tamiko had managed to bring out a lighter side of the king, a side so humane, was worth nothing.

He also couldn't deny that even though his brother was back to the deadly state he was always in, he still didn't terrify the kid who was with him. Perhaps this was a gift from the fates, to the father who had been so lonely for almost three decades, right?

"I will ki—" the king began and Tamiko interrupted him, making Kosta facepalm.

"I'm Tamiko. Tamiko Hinata. What about you, brooding king?" Tamiko asked like the world was filled with butterflies and unicorns. For a kid that had suffered his entire life and who had been taught fear from, Tamiko sure didn't care about a lot right now.

"I'm Zaffuto. Zaffuto Hinata," the lycan king said, his voice still cold and his eyes glaring daggers into Tamiko's soul, which didn't seem to scare the young lycan, again.

Perhaps Tamiko was taking the whole role model thing a little too lightly, right?

"Great, we have the same names. Now that the introduction is done, can we please go hunting?" Tamiko said, as he reached out to the king, holding his staff with one hand, and grabbing the king's left hand with his other hand.

"Impossible," Zaffuto said, when he noticed that the young lycan could hold his staff.

The staff of house Hinata.

The staff that even Sadako himself couldn't hold, because the magic in it couldn't let anyone else other than someone with the royal Hinata bloodline hold it.

Kosta was facepalming at the new reality.

Sadako was looking everywhere except at his brother.

The lycan king was staring at his brother.

"Lead the way, King Zaffuto," Tamiko said, interrupting the king and everyone else.

"Have fun you two," was all the lycan enforcer said, before he portaled himself and Kosta out of the dinner room.

"Uh, yeah," King Zaffuto responded absentmindedly for the first time in his entire life and reign.

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[A/N]

* Congratulations on making it to the end of the book! It was a good ride and I loved having you guys around.

* Please let me know how you like the book, and what you think I should improve on for the next one. I am hopeful you guys will stay and support the next one.

* Before you come after me, I'm just kidding @Celia... Just kidding lmao. I'll see you guys on Wednesday.

* A confused Zaffuto? I am so not sure how to feel about that lmao. Mans be so sure of everything it's crazy how we get him in a normal person state. Feels illegal to even think bro has feelings lmao.

* What do you think of Sadako and Kosta disappearing?

* More votes = More chapters for y'all