[JIMINIE]
Jiminie had always been different and Agust would swear that on his very grave if he had to. Hee knew the alpha so well that it hurt to think of what his very people had done to the man who was meant to rule the realm with him.
It hurt to imagine what life had in store for the brightness of them because Agust may not have believed in the moon goddess and all her shit-fuckery. But he knew the fates understood what was happening.
He knew that this was not what anyone would have wanted and yet at the same time, they had let it happen. They had watched the love of his life strive to fight and finally. They had watched the life leave Jiminie's face and it haunted Agust to this moment.
Perhaps that was why he had come to Kiyoto, not to apologize for what had happened, but to apologize for what he would do in the name of Jiminie.
He loved this Erasthai with all he had and didn't have. Granted, Jiminie wasn't exactly the weakest of wolves out there but Agust had made up his mind. He was done having his Erasthai stay away from him.
"Wake him up, we don't have all day here," Jiminie barked at his warriors who stared at him in confusion. They were still outside, where the wolves were watching curiously to see what the fuck would happen.
The Lycan king was on the ground, unattended, even when the wolves of Kiyoto knew that the alpha and the Lycan king were mates. They had seen the shit that Agust had denied for them before, so this just didn't make sense to them.
"Alpha…" Lee Tang trailed off, unsure of whether this was a really good idea.
He knew that Agust would have his head if he so much as touched the man and as much as he wanted to obey his alpha. This was a red line he was crossing. Surely Jiminie had to have known that too, right?
He was their leader and the man who was unfortunate enough to be mated to Agust. Perhaps there was a consensus that was waiting for them on the other end of the road. But what road would that ever be for them?
"Fuck, I hate him," Jiminie said as he grabbed the nearest bucket with dirty water and poured it on his mate like that didn't matter to him. He wanted to be done with the Lycan king and frankly, he had other people to attend to.
There were the wounded, thanks to the Lycans of Helia, so having this bastard king here wasn't what he needed to deal with.
"Wake the fuck up, Ming Xiao. I don't have all day here with you," Jiminie said.
Agust ignored him. If anything, the Helia king cast a spell on himself so he would be unconscious and that his wounds would heal unless Jiminie tended to him for a few days.
It was a hard bargain that the king was striking, but he wasn't going to leave here without Jiminie.
He wasn't going to let his Erasthai live the hard life anymore and if he had to endure more cold water and dirty water or even perhaps water from a sewer, then Agust would endure it all.
Besides, all of this was no match for the loss that Jiminie had incurred already and that was something the Agust hated more than anything.
"He is faking it. Go tend to the injured and deliver him there. If he is done with his shenanigans, he can find the road back to Helia and leave. No one touches him or even covers him.
"If he is dead, let the vultures feed on his stupid body. You go back to the others," Jiminie commanded and Lee Tang watched his brother in confusion.
He had never seen Jiminie this angry.
He had never seen Jiminie this hurt; and even Luna Park, who was watching in silence, knew that these were not herbs to meddle with. So, she obeyed her son too, and they tended to their wounded.
Meanwhile, Jiminie dragged himself back to the pack house, his body hurting so badly as he strived to fix himself up, but then he couldn't do that with ease because the Lycans had done shit to him that had slowed down his healing too.
Oh, but Jiminie would make the Lycans pay for this and if he couldn't, then their king who had found his way to Helia would pay the price.
"Mimi… are you sure you want to leave him out there for another day?" Luna Park asked, on the third day, when Agust had not shown any signs of healing and he hadn't even woken up.
It was as if he had died, but they had checked his heartbeats and they were slowed.
The wounds on the king's back were raw, and most of his scars had reopened. He was lying on the ground of Kiyoto, looking like a corpse that even the vultures were a tad scared of getting close to.
Perhaps because he was the Lycan king, or maybe it was because, despite the urge to feed on the king, there was nothing to feed on. The man was terribly wounded and needed care. If he stayed out there for more days, he would probably die.
And that's the one thing that the wolves of Kiyoto didn't need.
But was their Alpha going to relent?
"If you feel terrible for him, you can adopt him as your new son," Jiminie said dismissively, walking out of his office, leaving his mother, his Beta, and his best warrior staring at his retreating back like he had gone bonkers.
Perhaps Jiminie had lost his mind.
Perhaps he was done playing the games that got a way of hurting him.
Perhaps he just wanted Agust to die so they could put an end to this.
After all, it wasn't like their mate bond had started ever so beautifully, right?
Agust had taken everything from him; his freedom, his abusive father, his annoying mother, and he had in turn brought life to a people that didn't even know what it was like.
Jiminie had grown up in pain and Agust had taken that away, only to give him a different kind of pain that confused the hell out of Jiminie. He didn't have the time to wallow and wait, because Jiminie was aware that the Lycans would probably come looking for their king.
Hell, they would probably want to kill him themselves because he was the only reason they had not been allowed to wipe out the entire Kiyoto pack. Jiminie knew all of that, and yet his heart was as cold as ice when it came to the dying king.
Immortality was a curse on Agust that Jiminie knew of; perhaps that was why he was not as worried about the man.
"Alpha, wait!" Lee Tang called out, but Jiminie didn't stay to listen. Instead, he hastened his pace toward the Kiyoto training grounds. The Alpha was frustrated, clearly, and he needed something to punch.
Perhaps if he sparred with Lee Tang, they would be a step closer to figuring out what the fuck was happening, right? Besides, three days without any sign of a Lycan, or even the annoying enforcer was a red flag.
There was no telling what the wolves were getting into, and honestly that freaked out Lee Tang.
As the Beta of Kiyoto, he knew that they had to find a way to make things better for them. But nothing would be sane enough, for as long as the Lycan king was on their grounds, and the Lycans would definitely know that sooner or later.
This was a tempting time for all of them and Lee Tang was counting on Jiminie to be sensible. But wasn't he? It wasn't as if the alpha had gone to Helia and summoned his mate into Kiyoto, right?
It wasn't as if Jiminie had pleaded with Agust to come to this side and fall on his feet and whatnot. This was a hassle that Jiminie wasn't interested in and the pack already started figuring that out by now.
"If you're following me to talk about Ming Xiao, then save your breaths. I'm not interested," Jiminie said as he kept going. He wanted to shout at the world and scream at the fates for this, but what use would it all be before him then?
"Don't you find it a little suspicious that we were attacked and he didn't come for the attack but came after the attack? That he was bloodied and bruised?" Lee Tang asked and Jiminie let out a humorless laugh.
"Looks like you're new to Ming Xiao Zhu, brother. Leave me be. I don't want to talk about anything," Jiminie insisted.