Anticipated Heartbreak

Kotori was watching Ikigai closely, soaking her in even as his own thoughts rolled around in uncertainty mixed with frustration.  It wasn’t fair!  He couldn’t vent at Iki though, she seemed so fragile at the moment, her eyes on her paws instead of him and the softness of her voice.

Well, at least the wolf who was stealing his princess was of solid blood but he was still stealing a part of Kotori’s planned future whether or not he knew it.  She made it obvious she was throwing away her freedom, at least as far as Kotori read it, when she spoke of it not mattering whether she loved the other wolf or not.  Putting the empire before herself?  Kotori was more than proud enough to label himself a prince and want the respect due him.  He was willing to take on responsibilities that seemed due of a prince but being forced to marry?  Was that really a requirement she felt had to be taken due to her status?  That was a tall price to pay.  The selfish notion of it being even a higher price when it affected him!

“I was going to tell you,” when she mentioned the Armada moving, just in case she had wondered if he hadn’t planned to tell her.  “Iki,” Kotori took his own deep breath, having to share this only now after hearing she planned to leave him, “Ikigai, I had you planned into my future.  I wanted to take you as my mate.  You and I, we are both royal blood, you are the only wolf I’ve found I’d want to spend a life with.  We’d make kids of both Fatalis and Ashen blood that would grow up to carry on a future in our names.  You were supposed to stay with me.”

She didn’t love this other wolf.  What if he just died?  Even as he thought it Kotori realized he couldn’t just go killing inconvenient wolves, at least not ones who were also in a strong pack.  Not with one Ashen intended to be allied with.  With Ikigai’s strong beliefs in this marriage being right it wouldn’t be what she wanted either.  Well, what the hell about what he wanted?

At her hesitation in questioning if Kotori would even want to see her again he leaned in his head to lick her muzzle, then right under the ear. “I don’t like this,” admitted with some frustration, “but of course, I’d still want to see you.  To me, you are still MY princess.” Maybe he’d get lucky and the bastard would die from something else.

"Kotori Fatalis"