Page 46 of Secrets & Sake

Hiro chuckles. “I blame you for this. I was an innocent boy until you corrupted me. Anyway, tell me more about this curse. Why would Namikawa do that to you?”

I trace the kanji carved into my skin. “To punish my father for running off on the pack.” That’s the simple answer. I’m dangerously close to spilling all my secrets to him, but I can’t get into that with him tonight. It’s too much.

Hiro leans his cheek on my shoulder. “That’s horrible.”

I roll my shoulders. “It is what it is.”

“Is there any way to break it?”

“Only Namikawa’s death can free me.”

Hiro exhales softly beside me. “God. I’m so sorry, baby.”

I shake my head. “Don’t be.”

“Are other werewolves behind these disappearances?”

“Don’t know. Our pack doesn’t target humans. It could be another pack. Sometimes people just disappear.”

Hiro shakes his head. “Not like this. These disappearances are exactly like the ones that happened back in 1924. There’s a connection. Has to be.”

Why does he care so much? “Some things are better left unknown.”

Hiro sighs like he’s disappointed, then he asks, “Is it lycanthropy? Like, a disease? Can you spread it to others?”

Snorting, I tousle his hair. “No. It’s not a disease, and it can’t be spread through biting. We’re born this way, and it’s passed down through the generations. I’m not a lore expert, but the stories go that back during the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was a clan of samurai who served a fierce lord who domesticated wolves and unleashed them upon his enemies. The clan admired wolves so much, they summoned shape-shifting yokai to possess their warriors and turn them into wolves, gifting them with superior strength in battle. That clan was Namikawa’s ancestors, or so he claims.”

“Are all yakuza werewolves?”

“Nope, and not all werewolves are yakuza. Plenty are regular citizens. But Takada’s clan and ours are the only werewolf yakuza clans in the city.”

“What is Takada’s beef with you guys?”

I shake my head. “It goes deeper than the current feud between our packs. Takada believes that his pack are the true descendants of the first-ever werewolves, and that this gives him some almost divine right to rule over Tokyo. But Namikawa claims the same thing, that our pack is the one with the deepest roots. It’s all just some glorified territorial dispute.”

Hiro whistles. “Shit. This is all super complicated. What about magic? That’s a… thing, right?”

I nod. “I’m no witch, but my understanding is they also get their powers by making deals with spirits. I’m not sure of all the details.”

Softly, he adds, “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Probably not. It’s risky for humans to know about us. Historically, humans have been nothing but trouble for our kind.”

Suddenly, Hiro crawls into my lap. He cups my face in his hands. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

A smile tugs at my mouth. I love how serious he is. “Good. Otherwise, I’ll have to hunt you down and eat you.” I bite his chin, and when he moans, I claim his lips with mine.

Hiro squirms on me, rubbing his hips against my aching cock. Is he doing that on purpose?

“You okay? You aren’t scared?”

“At first,” he admits, then reaches up to stroke the tip of my furred ear. “But this is… kind of a hot look on you.”

Relief makes it easier to breathe. “You aren’t going to run?”

“Isn’t it a bad idea to run from wolves?”

I chuckle, the sound more like a snarl. “Yeah. Especially when it’s a full moon, and they’re horny as hell.” I grind up against him, primal satisfaction making me snap my teeth when he groans. “Besides, if you did run, I’d hunt you down like the prey you are.”

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