I Claim Your Love

5 Years later

It was those spring days with a kiss of coldness and some warmth of the rays of the shining sun. Callan bathed himself with sunshine in nothing but his bare essentials. He admired the nature at its best. The blossoming flowers, the sweet melody of the winged animals, the fresh sweet aroma of the land. These were the things which he loved being part of.

“Are you not done yet? I’m getting bored.” A buff tall man with hairs around his entire body was lying lazily next to Callan.

“You are always ingrate about this place Archer. Why do you even follow me here?”

“Being your best friend it’s my job to be with you. Always.” Archer smirked and held Callan with one arm over his shoulder. “I don’t know why you are so fascinated with these kind of places. We could have easily gone to the market in the human village today. It would have been so much fun.”

“Even I want to meet Bradyn and his family. It has been weeks since I last visited the human village but I can’t as I have to go the Alpha house today. I cannot come with you.”

Archer squint his eyes and looked at his friend. “Why do you have to go to the Alpha house today? I thought today was your day off.”

“It’s a celebration actually.” Callan gave a weak and unconvincing smile before saying “Richard has found his mate. Its Aldous’ sister Madeline.”

The governing age of Callan meant that it was time for his fellow counterparts to search for their respective mates. Almost every member of the pack who was of Callan's age had marked their significant other. The ones who were yet to find their mate were sent as goodwill ambassadors to other packs in search for their mates. But Callan was advised to desist any hopes of finding his mate. Ever.

From a very young age he was taught about the customs and rituals about the werewolf community. He always considered himself a part of them. The most enchanting aspect about it was the feeling of being loved, the feeling of belonging and the feeling of acceptance. Something which Callan was deprived throughout his very existence. He wanted to have what other people had. He wanted to share the bond, the relationship which his parents and every other couple in the pack had.

He wanted his Soul-Mate.

Justus knew that Callan was different from his peers. He understood that not only he had more struggles in his life but he would also be underprivileged at the boon of a mate by the goddess. The day after his sixteenth birthday Callan was devastated with the account from his father that he may never have a chance at a mate or of true love altogether. Callan cried his heart out in the arms of his best friend. The news was annihilation of his very soul, the very aspect of his being, of his existence was missing.

In the years to come he gathered courage to portray a fake façade in the eyes of everyone else. Some people sympathized with him while the others believed that Luna was justified in her doing and not granting him a mate. The irony of it being that every woman in the pack wished that the Luna paired them with the handsome man.

The Alpha celebrated every new bonding in the pack. Callan was happy for them but he used to be disheartened at the same time for he may never have his chance of true love to share with his special person. The only one thing he yearned to have; Love.

Archer waved his hands in front of Callan to get his attention. Callan blinked his glossy eyes and parted his lips to give another of his fake smiles. But Archer knew every time when the boy was not being true. In fact they were so close that one could discern every emotion of the other, without any saying.

“Don’t worry Callan, the goddess must have thought something for you, something special. You will definitely have your chance at true love. Who knows Viola could be the one for you.” Archer patted his back in assurance.

Viola was a fellow pack member who was in a relationship with Callan for over a year now. She was twenty nine and had lost all her hopes of finding her mate and hence was forced to settle for an alliance with any other wolf. But like every female, she had her eyes for the most desired man of their pack.

“I don’t know Archer. She is a beautiful and a sweet woman. I know she is always there for me but sometimes I feel this is not enough. Like a part of the puzzle is missing. There is a sense of guilt after every time we make love. It feels like I have betrayed someone or something. I don’t know why.”

“Let go of this feeling for want of a mate brother and look at the brighter side of things. Viola loves you; she is even ready to forego her parents and the pack for you. Her resistance to the pack members and her parents is commendable. I think you should accept her offer of being her mate.” Archer tried to reason with his best friend.

Archer was right. Viola had been his strength for the past several months. The girl had suffered discrimination and bad mouthing because she decided to be with Callan: a non wolf. She always encouraged him to be the best as also she was always with him in his times of need.

She was potentially a perfect mate but the only downside of it being that there was still a possibility of her finding her other half. It may take weeks, months or even years but whenever she finds her mate Callan knew that she would chose the bond over him.

“Don’t over think it Callan, life has given you a chance and it is up to you what you want to make out of it.”

****

The Alpha was seemingly nervous but excited nonetheless. He had called upon the members of the pack who were now filling up the empty hall. He paced around and looked for Justus to enquire about everyones presence. Justus gave a curt nod and closed the doors of the assembly hall. Callan had taken a corner seat aloof from the crowd. As it is, nobody had taken a seat next to or around the boy. The chattering and murmuring resembled the sound of bees. Peter pout his lips and whistled to gain attention of the attendants. The pack was silenced in an instant.

“Let’s start with the order of business today. As many of you must have already realized that we are here to celebrate another mate bond in our pack. This generation is very lucky to have found their mates at a very young age. We all know that a true mate bond is difficult to find until you are twenty five while some may even find their mates at a very later stage in their lives. The moon goddess has really been kind to us. Without delaying any further I present to you all; Richard foreman and Madeline Blakewood daughter of our beta Peter Blakewood.”

A tall man with smooth black hair and a smug look appeared from the corner of the stage holding hands with a young blonde beautiful girl. The entire hall roared with a deafening noise of applause. It’s not every day that a pack member finds his mate, so it was a reason to celebrate. Amidst the cheering, whistling and hooting the girl blushed and hid herself partially behind her mate while the man was acknowledging the hall with a wave smirking devilishly when he caught eyes of Callan.

The Alpha then gestured for attention of the pack “I have some more good news to share with you all. Einar along with Garrick have completed their training years and have decided to return to the pack as early as next week.”

The hall again erupted with a thunderous applause with smirks and happy faces all around. For some reason even Callan was happy with the news. Nobody had seen Einar for around five years now. Ragnar thought that it was time for Einar to be announced as the new Alpha. The smiling faces of the Luna and all the ladies were a sight to behold. The other females of the pack hoped to be the new Luna of the blue moon pack while the young lads were looking forward to be a part of the high ranks and work under the new Alpha. This also meant that the day of reckoning was approaching. Callan had to prepare himself for every member that challenged his position as the head warrior.

****

Aurora was trying some new potions for a more effective cure. She collected all the herbs, a stack of hay, stones and fine ash which were decorated around her in a circle. She was about to transport the cauldron from her almirah to the burner when her door suddenly opened making a loud squeaking sound.

“Hello Aurora.”

The half healer half witch was shocked by the sudden noise due to which the cauldron in her hands fell to the ground. She gasped with her hands to her chest while Callan was laughing hysterically. His eyes were forced to free some of its water.

“Stop laughing will you!” Aurora frowned cleaning the mess on her gown and the floor.

“Ohh.. you s-should have s-seen your f-face.” Callan managed to utter between his laughs.

“What brings you here handsome? You have lately been too busy to even take a note of your friends well being. Last time I heard, that female warrior was all over you like a leech.” Callan's expressions changed dramatically. His laughs vanished and a cold concerned look marked his face. He did not have to be a genius to realize who Aurora was talking about. For some apparent reason she did not like him and Viola bonding up but he never understood why. Being his close friend, Callan thought that the healer would understand his situation and be welcoming of it, but he was wrong.

“Why do you hate Viola so much? She is a nice female. I like her and she likes me.”

“She is not your mate Callan. When will you understand this?”

“You have been saying the same thing for every past relationship I had. I am tired looking for that one special person and honestly I don’t even think she exists. Viola is a good partner for me and moreover I think she does not have a mate. If there was one she would have definitely been taken by now.” Callan frowned with a pinch of agitation.

“You cannot be sure about that. What if her mate is still there somewhere, what if he is searching for her? What would happen if he comes to our pack? She will always choose her mate over you. No one can win over the bond and you should know that.”

“Then what do you want me to do! I don’t want to be alone forever; I have to take my chances. She makes me happy; she likes me and wants to be with me as her mate. For some twisted fates if her mate does find her in the near future the decision will be hers entirely to chose but until then we would cherish every moment together.” Callan was almost desperately presenting his case cause for him this was his only chance for happiness.

Aurora was finding it difficult to reason with Callan as he was right in his arguments but she knew that he belonged to someone else. It was not Viola but Callan who had to make a choice once his mate returns from the king’s land.

She sighed and sat near Callan with one of her arms around his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few moments before Callan's emotions were stable and calm. Aurora then tilted her head towards Callan and said. “Would you care for a muffin?”

Callan sighed and smiled a little at her “Yes please.”

She ruffled his hairs and brought her famous muffins which Callan loved so dearly. He devoured every bite of it and thanked Aurora for cooking it. The muffins helped made the atmosphere cheery again.

When he was about to leave, his eyes caught a golden strip which was glowing so strong that it could easily blind any normal human being. Aurora gasped in shock and tried to shield Callan from the light. The curiosity in Callan made him overtake his friend to reach for the source of the light.

“No! don’t touch it.”

But it was too late. Callan already came in contact with the source of the light and much to the astonishment of Aurora the glow started fading until it was completely diminished on the first touch of Callan.

“What is this? It looks like a book.”

Aurora gasped in shock when the mystical book let Callan touch it. The book flipped its pages on its own while its blank pages were being filled by some magical ink out of nowhere. Callan was awed at the opus while Aurora could not reel her mind from what she just saw there.

“This is amazing! What is this book called?”

“T-This...” she exhaled in bewilderment “This is the book of the ancients.” she cleared her throat to gain some confidence “It has knowledge of the entire supernatural worlds. It contains possible answers to every query of our world.”

“But why are the other pages empty.” Callan was thoughtful.

“The ancient book allows you to perceive only the knowledge which it wants to show you and not the other way around. Just read what is written there.”

“Nothing is written here.”

“What!” Aurora eyes widened in astonishment.

“There is no writing here. It has pictures in it; one is similar to a beast man while the other looks like a ghost.” After examining it further Callan concluded-“It seems like they are at war. Does this click with you?”

Indeed Aurora knew what it meant. The book was a mirror of what had transpired ages ago. It showed Callan those images because he was related to it.

She reluctantly shook her head and went straight ahead to the book. As soon as she tried to read its content the book mysteriously flapped itself and closed. This meant that she did not had access to the knowledge which she desperately needed. Callan was amused by this and thought that Aurora has some more of the magical stuff in her hiding. He was about to move from his place when his palm scratched the edge of the book oozing a pint of blood. Unknown to him some of his blood had dripped on the book cover. Aurora took Callan's palm in his hand and breezed some air to soothe the injury.

“Are you alright? Let me heal you.” The witch was worried for the handsome man.

“I’m fine Aurora. You don’t have to worry.”

A musical sound of chirping echoed the room when a winged creature with long throat hackles and glossy plumage entered through the door. It flapped its arms to reach the shoulders of the man and settled there with a glare at Aurora, like it was warning her.

“Calm down Cornell. No need to threaten the poor lady.” Callan giggled at the panicked state of the healer. Apparently the bird was in a defensive state against Aurora.

Taking a clue Aurora took a few steps backwards while keeping her eyes on the bird.

“I don’t like him. Get rid of him as soon as you can.”

Callan giggled once more and slowly listened to the voice of the bird in his ears.

“He has a message for me. Father has summoned me. I guess I don’t get to see your magical woo-shoo today after all.”

Callan had found the raven in summer of last year when the bird was struggling to release himself from the clutches of a strong net in the bushes. It was a trap set by the human hunters. Callan helped the bird and aided him in his injuries; mysteriously though the bird was able to communicate with him in a language which only he could understand. The first thing he did was to introduce the bird to the healer as he thought Aurora would know who the mystical creature actually was. But as it happened the bird on arrival attacked Aurora with its beak expressing his displeasure and dislike towards her. Thus the two had been on bitter ends from there on.

“I have to visit Archer this evening after my training, after it is over we have to meet and you have to reveal all your magical paraphernalia to me.” He winked at her playfully and bowed before he headed for the exit.

Aurora heaved a sigh of relief as she knew that it would have been difficult to explain everything to Callan about the book. The blood on the book cover had done the trick and Aurora was happy.

****

Callan entered his house where he was assaulted with the delicious smell of cooked fish. He took a piece the savory and set it aside for the bird while he himself was about to dive in the freshly cooked fish when the back of his palm was harshly tapped by his mother.

“It hurts Mother, that was rude.” He made a baby face with a pout to express his fake innocence and hurt in front of his mother.

“Wait for your father will you.” Mary scolded her son.

“He is not home yet? His shift was over when I went to Aurora’s place.”

“The Alpha had something to.... Here he comes.”

Justus entered the house and embraced his mate with a sweet kiss. Callan was happy to see his parents’ joy but resented the feeling of being alone and never having a bond like every other couple or even his parents had. He brushed aside his negativity and looked to his father.

“Cornell said you wanted to meet me. Is everything fine father?”

Justus relieved his coat and took a seat near his son. He was perplexed when the bird was making a grating sound as if to warn him to keep his distance from Callan. Justus and Mary smiled when the bird was calmed by their son just by his single touch of affection. It was amazing to see the bond developing between the two. Justus straightened his back and focused his eyes on his son.

“Everything is fine Cally. I was in a meeting with the Alpha and they were discussing about the return of Einar and Garrick. The Alpha has assigned Peter and me to lead a group of warriors to go to the kings’ land and receive the both of them respectfully. I want you to accompany me.”

Hearing Einar's name made Callan a bit cautious. He knew for a fact that Garrick hated him but Einar was a different story altogether. The Alpha’s son was cause of many of a misery and troubles faced by Callan in the past. But since last five years Callan's life was smooth with less hurdles due to the absence of Einar. But now he was returning. He wished he never had to see him again but at the same time his heart fluttered on hearing the news of Einar's arrival for which he was confused.

Everyone was aware of the powers Einar possessed and also his ability of destruction and mayhem. Callan remembered all the times when he growled at him, the time when he almost attacked him as also he remembered the precarious situations in which he used to be reprimanded just because of Einar. The man was trouble, hence Callan promised himself to never have a friendly relationship with Einar and keep a safe distance from the future Alpha.

But he never knew that his fate would not allow for this. Ever.

********

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