บท 30: Just A Name, Now

[TAMIKO]

Igor Konstantin was whipped.

Any other explanation as to the endless things he had thought of about Tamiko and even the things he wanted to do with and for Tamiko, were insane, especially for a man he just met, and one who had nothing left to lose.

Honestly, if Tamiko could have a peek into Igor's head and see what the man was thinking, he could have chosen to be murdered by the man instead of dying of the cringe from the affection that was so sudden.

"I'm kinda on a curfew right now," Tamiko said and Igor just smiled at him, again.

This was easily the fiftieth time that Igor had smiled and awed at Tamiko in the past ten minutes that they had been standing in silence, of course, before Tamiko broke the silence.

It was like the man was ready to worship the ground that the young lycan walked on and in Tamiko's books, that was not a good thing.

"You see, I've never met a beautiful lycan like you, Tamiko, if that is even your name. Then again, from the way you spoke earlier, I figured you have no reason to lie. Here, sit with me, we must have a little chat, no?

"I am curious as to why a handsome lycan is slaving away in a pack of wolves when you can easily rule them. Of course, we will get to that later, but come along, sit with me, pretty please," Igor said and Tamiko just sighed.

He wasn't even sure anymore if he would be able to beat the curfew at Grealor. Besides, there was only so much that the Belova siblings would do for him without getting the attention of everyone.

Tamiko didn't want Galya's first day as the pack luna to be a mess, so he figured it was easier sitting with Igor.

"Sure, what's up. It's not like you're not going to kill me after the little chat no?" Tamiko said and this time, Igor was the one that let out a simple laugh.

"You have so much faith in me, Tamiko. Your name is long, can I call you little love?" Igor asked and Tamiko choked on air.

"What?"

"Or I can call you moya dusha since you're like my soul mate. Or maybe I'm moving fast. But tell me, which one sounds better to you? Little love or moya dusha?" Igor asked as he gently patted Tamiko's back as if to make sure the lycan was healthy.

Igor had noticed that Tamiko hadn't once bothered to correct him when he called him a lycan.

Then again, Tamiko knew that with Igor's experience as a killing machine, the man could identify a lycan who was just born, even though most lycans had the mixed scent of the moon. So maybe that wasn't his greatest concern right now.

"Tamiko. That's the name I was given by the people who found me, though someone called me Hinata today… And I loved it," Tamiko said earnestly and Igor looked at him with a bright smile, like he had just gotten the perfect idea for the day.

"Great. In that case, I'll call you moya dusha."

"Okay, whichever is fine with you."

"Awesome. So tell me about yourself, in a less sarcastic way. I know I'm probably reaching but we both know I won't hurt you or let you get hurt.

"I just want to get to know the beautiful lycan who showed up in Reynard, smelling like Lord Sadako's clothes," Igor said and this time, Tamiko didn't say anything.

Of course, Igor Konstantin knew everything that happened in the lands and the scents of people he interacted with. That should have been creepy and a red flag, but for some reason Tamiko felt like he was way safer here with Igor.

Sure he had felt safer with Sadako, but this was a different kind of safety. The kind that spelled, going to war for him or even taking the hit in the heart for him.

Maybe Tamiko was overthinking, but was he, when the killing machine had disarmed himself completely and had put his weapons on Tamiko's side, just to make Tamiko feel safe?

"You can kill me if you feel unsafe, alright. Those are all my weapons," Igor said while Tamiko just stared thoughtfully. He wasn't used to feeling safe around any other people besides the Belova siblings and in one day, he had felt safe with Sadako, and now with Igor.

Maybe he was closer to home than he knew, right?

"I don't like fighting, Kosta," Tamiko said, making Igor look at him with an even wider smile.

If he had been anyone else, Tamiko would have been weirded out by the fact that the killing machine was way too calm around him and smiling more often than he usually probably did in a day.

"Kosta?"

"Yeah. Your name's too long. Besides, even just for a moment, I'll pretend we're friends," Tamiko said, his tone going from the hard cold one, to the tone he always used with Galya and Danny, the people he considered non-threats.

"Oh, but I don't want to be just friends with you, dusha. I want more than that. However, since we just met, I'll take that for now. Just know where I stand with you," Igor said sincerely, making Tamiko let out a soft smile for the first time since he had been with the killing machine.

Maybe Igor wasn't so bad, right?

"So tell me, dusha. How's life in Grealor?" Igor asked and Tamiko stiffened.

He hated his reaction and wished he could be less transparent with Igor, but then the man was a stranger and Tamiko was sure he was never going to see this man again. Besides this was his chance to let it all out to someone he would never see again, right?

"Simply put? I have good and bad days. On good days, I just work everyone's shift in the pack, but on bad days I sometimes end up with cuts that take forever to heal, bruises, but my lycan always heals me before the next morning.

"It's interesting, always. Like right now, I want to go back before my curfew but I don't even have a cabin because a bunch of happy wolves brought down the cabin. I might have to deal with mosquitoes, but I've been through worse," Tamiko ranted and Igor listened.

He was watching as Tamiko spoke, carefully analyzing the words, and with every word that came out of Tamiko's mouth, so was Igor Konstantin's determination to burn down Grealor. It was strange, especially for a man who never committed to anyone.

But then Tamiko didn't even know that much about Igor.

"What about you? How's life in Reynard?" Tamiko asked, a little too fast like he wanted to change the topic about him. He didn't want to be sad but he wasn't even sure what it meant to be sad. He was always having bad days in Grealor, so he wasn't surprised anymore.

"This swelling on your wrist is not noticeable to the plain eye. But I can see twelve cuts on the same point. Tell me something, dusha, who did this to you?" Igor asked, his eyes darkening as he looked into Tamiko's eyes, daring the lycan to lie to him.

'Oh boy,' was all Tamiko could think of as he took in the anger that was on Igor's face, but wasn't directed to him.

"I want a name, little love."