65 Just Something Borrowed

[GABE]

"Are they gone?" Gabe asked Zakhar as they waited out there to see the last of the Lycans who had come to their home.

They had been studying the situation very carefully, and yet even then, they hadn't managed to come up with a reason for their presence there. Perhaps the dead Lycan had to be the reason, but then that was something that the regular Lycans always dealt with.

The Lycan Lord couldn't have crossed their borders to Grealor, just because of a warrior. That wasn't how the rules always worked and right now as Gabe waited for an answer from his wolves, he knew that there was more to this than met the eye.

It had been barely two weeks since the mating ceremony and so much had happened. His father was still in pain, and that was something he wasn't planning on forgiving, regardless of whether Tamiko was his mate or not.

Of course, Gabe knew that Tamiko was never going to forgive him, but then this was andante for him. Or maybe it was just a game for them to determine whether there was something worth reacting to when they got together next time.

But was there anything for the young alpha?

"Yes, they are, alpha," Zakhar seconded worriedly as he looked at his best friend.

He had seen Gabe disturbed since the mating bond and today, he had literally been pleased with lord Sadako not to take his mate. It wasn't something that any of them would want to be a part of but then it wasn't like there was a way out of this that didn't involve blood.

Their lives had been changing and no matter what they decided to look at, they would have to face the reality that things were never going to be the same.

"Goodness gracious," Gabe sighed before adding, "Everyone, dismissed. Judd, Zakhar, Galya, and Danny, you both are with me,"

The mentioned people looked at him as if to ask if he was okay. Of course, he wasn't okay. His mate had been taken from without so much as an explanation, and now they were supposed to investigate a death that they had no clue about.

This was costly to them and nothing they would ever do would change the fact that lord Sadako had targeted them.

"Are you okay, Gabe?" Judd asked, clearly worried for his best friend.

He knew that the situation wasn't going to get any more comforting, and having the Lycans on their radar was as dangerous as any of the dark missions they had gone to.

Then again there were so many questions that Geb heard and the one person who could answer him was his father. The man that his mate had stabbed.

Gabe was feeling a lot of things at the moment. He felt like his world was splitting into several halves and none of that was even comforting. He had to find a way to remain stable, and he didn't have a lot of time.

"Never been better," Gabe said casually, all traces of his anger and worries gone when they reached the alpha's office and Gabe had shut the door behind them.

"What just happened?" Judd asked, confused.

He hadn't thought his friend was bipolar but right now it just seemed so.

The man before him was different from the man who had been watching all the worried sick out there. It hadn't been ten minutes since he had almost bawled his eyes out at the sight of Tamiko leaving. What the fuck was he supposed to make of that at this point?

"Galya, Danny, it's time for the next phase," Gabe said and Zakhar looked at him skeptically.

"Aren't you going to let us in on what the fuck is going on? You just lost your mate and now you're here acting like the day is full of rainbows and shit. What the hell?" Zakhar asked, not ready to be roped into the madness that his friends were explaining at the moment.

"What is all this about phases? What are we missing out on?" Judd asked.

"I'm sorry, please sit. What I am about to tell you must not leave this room, because if it does then the safety of Grealor will be compromised and nothing would ever be the same again. We will be targets of enemies that we have no capacity to fight.

"And now that we have lost our bargaining chip, even for a moment, we have to be very careful," Gabe said, and he briefly looked at him with blank faces like he was talking in a language that they had no idea of.

It was like they were being forced to deal with something that wouldn't be easy to understand, but what part of the secret didn't they understand?

"Okay…" Judd responded as he waited for more from his best friend.

"Tamiko is the lost Lycan prince of Kawai," Gabe said, making everyone in the room look at him like he was insane.

Zakhar had a fit of coughs, while Judd stood up s of to try and understand what the fuck had just been said.

There was just no way that this was happening, not here, not right now, and certainly when they were still trying to understand what the hell had happened with the Lycan Lord. What part of bullshit was this?

"I'm sorry, he's the WHAT?" Zakhar asked after Danny patted his back roughly. 

"The missing Lycan prince of Kawai," Gabe said as he waited for his friends to come to terms with what he had just said.

It wasn't daily they got to get such news but goddamn, there had to be something else here. something that could explain when the hell realer had gotten acquainted with the crown prince. It was crazy, and on so many levels.

"Jeez, you'll go into shock. Relax alright," Galya said, making Zakhar turn to her questioningly.

"You knew?" Zakhar asked Galya and she just shrugged like it wasn't that big of a deal. It was almost like this didn't matter to her, when she had been parading around as the young Lycan's best friend. Oh, but she was a piece of work.

"How the hell did this happen?" Judd asked and Danny spoke this time.

"We don't know what transpired. What we know is that having Tamiko here is the only reason our home hasn't been blasted to ashes. It is the only thing keeping us from being targeted by the Lycans.

"However, now that lord Sadako has come here and taken Tamiko, we have to assume that he knows of Tamiko being King Zaffuto's son and start planning on how to turn Tamiko against him.

It is the only way around this because Tamiko won't trust us if we come clean to him.

"He has some anger issues and could easily kill us without a second thought. If you still think it's too much for you, you can leave now before you get roped deeper into it.

"You may not have wanted this, but us being the beta and alpha's children are sworn to protect Grealor, even if it means hiding from Tamiko that we know who he is and where he came from," Danny said and Judd started with a wide mouth.

He wasn't sure what to make of this.

Sure, he had bullied Tamiko countless times, but this right here, was the betrayal of the highest order; and while he wasn't the one betrayed, he couldn't help but wonder if there was anything real in Grealor.

Everyone knew that the Belova twins were Tamiko's defenders from the moment they had been born. They had loved Tamiko and been with him for years and now as it was it seemed like they had just been grooming the poor boy.

What the fuck was wrong with these people?

"Y— You all knew who he was from the beginning and still went on to bully and defend him in alternates? What the fuck? You know King Zaffuto will have our heads fed to the dogs if he comes here?

"You do realize that man in the worst nightmare of the realm and everyone knows he changed since the death of his wife and the disappearance of his son—

"—Who you just said is the outcast of Grealor?" Judd asked and Danny just smacked his head with a lamp, forcing the man unconscious.

"What was that for?" Zakhar asked.

"He was asking too many questions. We don't have time to explain shit right now. If Lord Sadako chose Tamiko specifically to get out of there, then it means that he is planning something against Grealor. Something he doesn't want his nephew to be a part of.

"And we need to figure that out as soon as possible. Also, Tamiko opened his mind link to me earlier today. I can use that to play the sad boyfriend and get him to trust me," Gabe said so casually and Zakhar was at a loss for words.

His best friend was a cruel and conniving man and clearly, Grealor wasn't all roses and sunshine that they had been made to believe over the years. What version of hell was this that had Grealor as the name?

When did they become these kinds of people?

"Well, I have the letters I got from Tamiko. It seems like the reverse spell Zula cast on Tamiko worked, because she says that Tamiko is suspecting his uncle for the disappearance of the letters.

"That should buy us enough time," Galya said casually as she lifted her robe and pulled out the letters that she had stolen from Tamiko's bedroom.

"Is there anything useful in there?" Gabe asked.

"Other than Igor's coded love language? Nothing."

"Coded?"

"Yeah. I think it's a plot against Grealor. I'm not sure though. Here," Galya said as she handed the letters to Gabe.