Vengeance of The Broken Lycan Prince [BL]-Chapter 468: The Ultimatum That Burned

[KOSTA]

"Zaffuto... She has to stabilize the kid. Let her work this out... focus, brother," Sadako said, and it took everything in the king not to lash out, even as Kosta somehow managed to grip Tamiko’s hands, with his shaking ones.

He was desperate, and Yilena watched in disappointment as the kids tried to reach out for each other despite the danger they were both in.

She could see Kosta’s pain, and she knew that Kosta would lose it if he were sent beyond the barriers. There was no telling what the kid would do, and Yilena was trying so hard not to take a chance on that at the moment.

"I’m alright, Kosta... don’t worry," Tamiko murmured faintly when he remained conscious for a bit, and Kosta could swear that he was going to forget the moon goddess for their love. Oh, but it hurt to see them not like that.

"Don’t leave me... please, my soul... don... I can’t lose you," Kosta begged weakly.

The king pulled him away gently, like he too understood the pain in Kosta’s heart. Like he knew how hard it was for both of them not to reach out to the one they loved the most.

It was a kind of pain that only both of them would ever fully understand, and it hurt to an extent. Perhaps worse than always.

"Please let me hold him... I can’t do anything else... Nana, please," Kosta begged.

But Yilena held his hand this time, her grip iron-hard.

The prince was already on the ground, still drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, and Yilena was determined to keep him stable for as long as possible.

"Kostantin... you can’t comfort him, son. It’s too dangerous," Yilena said steadily, her understanding seeping, only to hit walls within Kosta because, for the barbarian, this was not fair.

This was just another terrible day that he and Tamiko had to deal with, Yilena keeping them apart.

"You... you’re lying, nana... You just want to keep us apart," Kosta cried as he stared at her, while shaking his head violently as if that was supposed to make Yilena remember the promise she made to Sahina...

The vow to always keep Konstantin happy.

Then again, happiness was a battle it seemed, and it was alone from the look of things.

Gods, this was unbearable on so many scales.

"Do you really think I enjoy seeing both of you suffer? You think I want to keep you two apart? I’m trying to keep him alive. That second, you’re begging for? I’m trying to keep him alive longer than that damn second. For one more breath.

"Because someone has to, Kostantin. Someone has to be honest and try to make things right. Don’t you dare fault me for this when it was you who couldn’t handle staying away, and fucking kissed him. Tell me, son, what the fuck did you think would happen?

"That you would be happy? That staying away for one week was all you needed to break the damn ultimatum? What the actual fuck were out thinking?!" Yilena shouted, her disappointment and anger screeching at him.

And Kosta curled up into a ball, his nana’s rage a first for him.

He had never seen the woman who riled you, and for a moment it dawned on him that all the woman had done was for him to be loved without being out as a second priority.

Yilena had always been clear with everyone in Kosta’s life that her kid was to be put first, or there would be nothing at all.

She had always made sure that anyone who had tried to get close to Kosta didn’t get close just because the kid was powerful and had the favor of the royals of Kawai.

She had protected his heart.

Saved him from endless heartbreak.

She had protected him from himself too many times.

And Yilena never once said much.

Now here she was, shouting at him, raising her voice at him in front of everyone like Kosta had finally crossed the one line he was never supposed to cross.

It was mostly a shocker to Kosta than a reality check, and as he curled up into a defeated ball, his fear daring to show again, he wondered if there was ever hope for him and Tamiko.

Or even if the fates had known how crazy their lives would have gotten when they were paired together.

"Eleven years, nana... eleven years of waiting. Eleven years of holding on. The ultimatum was eleven years ago, and there hasn’t been anything to make it better. I thought we were past that with the defeat last week.

"I thought... What the heck does that ultimatum have to do with Tamiko collapsing on the field?" Kosta wondered in defeat.

His heart crushed even more as his nana stood between him and Tamiko, like she was the shield that would snap the prince and the Lycan Chief back into sanity.

Like she was reminding them of what the stakes had always been and the ones that they had defeated.

Or maybe it was about the hunger in both Kosta and Tamiko’s blood. The hunger they had for each other seemed to burn even harshly with every passing minute.

Gods, it was infuriating.

But this time, Yilena didn’t answer him.

If anything, she just leaned down and checked Tamiko’s pulse again, her magic steadying him, but it was still not enough for them. She couldn’t even hold eye contact with the kid she was protecting.

What the heck had she been turned to this time, then?

"The ultimate still burns, Kostantin. Grealor is still standing, and your vengeance against it isn’t finished. You know you must follow the terms until it is finished. You know it too, kid," Yilena said, not looking at Kosta.

She was still determined to keep Tamiko steady while the king and Lord Sadako watched in silence. They had expected this conversation to come even after so many years.

They had seen the defiance in Kosta’s eyes the first day that the ultimatum had been thrown to them, and honestly, this was going way better than they had assumed.

If Sadako and King Zaffuto had not already had their talk with Yilena earlier, this would have been a different case altogether. It would have been more than Kosta and Tamiko, and Yilena in the middle of the worst mess possible.

"Really, nana?" Kosta asked hoarsely before continuing, "You’re really throwing that at me now? Now, when my Erasthai is not breathing? You still choose to hide, being the fucking ultimatum? What the hell??"

Kosta was slowly sitting up once again.

The way he was staring at his guardian, he figured that he would jump the only woman who had the answers they needed, and frankly, that wasn’t the best of ideas.

Perhaps that was why when Kosta stood up, the king gripped his shoulders to steady him again.

To remind him in silence what this was for.

To keep him occupied and balanced.

It was a hard choice, but there weren’t that many choices left for them. They all knew that, too.

"He will keep suffering for as long as Grealor lives," Yilena said coldly, and Kosta growled at his guardian.