I Claim Your Love

As the allotted time drew near the once steady minds had suddenly became restless. The warriors were groomed and lined in their respective positions. In this anxious moment Garrick could barely formulate a thought. Aldous and his men were waiting in anticipation for a command. They had discerned that a serious threat was looming over the pack and so they were being prepared.

Aldous was trying to comfort his men but even he was running out of patience. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at Garrick in frustration “How long do we have to wait? My men have been standing here for quite long now. You are just wasting their abilities.”

“You have to stand your ground Aldous. Its the alphas order.”

“But where is he? Einar has been gone throughout the day. I am supposed to be his protector but how would I save him from any danger if he does not let me know about his whereabouts?”

“Do you really think he needs any saving.” Garrick paused for a moment and sighed to calm himself “Look Aldous, I know the position is casting an undue pressure on you. I know you want to do the job the right way and not fail but believe me had Einar not seen the potential in you he would have never chosen you as the head warrior.”

“And what potential did he see in Ashton?” Aldous spitted in anger.

“Are you questioning the alpha?” Garrick glared.

“You know I’m not. But I am curious as to why a non shifter weakling was put to the highest pedestal just like that. He has even surpassed you! Doesn’t it bother you?”

“It does.” Garrick whispered “The decision to chose Callan as the guard was definitely taken by Einar however, he was only fulfilling his mates wish. Luna Rosaline sympathises with Ashton and so she asked Einar to appoint him as her guard.”

“Still!” Aldous huffed in frustration “Many in the pack don’t approve this decision. He is cursed Garrick! Only luna knows what bad omen he would bring to the alphas mate. If luna Rosaline is harmed in any way can you imagine what kind of havoc the alpha would bring to the pack. I am not taking the chances. I’ll talk to Einar about this. I can accept any other wolf but him.”

“Its the hatred in you spitting those words. How do you know he is cursed? Who told you? Do you have proof against your claim?” Garrick put his hand on the shoulder of the head warrior. He looked him in the eye and with softened expressions he spoke “I know you don’t like him. I don’t like him either but the decision has been made. We cant do anything about it.”

Aldous angrily removed Garrick’s hand “And what if he fails to do his job in protecting the Luna..”

Garrick narrowed his gaze and took a long, deep breath “Then I promise you Aldous. I would be the first in line to demand dismissing Ashton and punish him accordingly.”

When Garrick uttered those words the head warrior seemed to relax a bit. The anger in him slowly evaporating. It was obvious that the men of the pack were envious of Callan for he not being a wolf was given probably the most important job in the pack. This meant that Callan was higher in stature and profile amongst every other wolf in the pack including even Garrick. This was not going down too well with the wolves as many thought that Callan’s cursed fate would bring doom to the alpha mates and destroy the pack.

“Beta.. you need to see this.” One of the pack warrior alerted Aldous and Garrick.

Both the men followed the warrior to the edge of the cliff. From the cliff where they stood lied a large open area beneath. At a great distance from the field was the opening of the dense forest. The blue moon pack could sense some movements through the bushes as few figures started appearing from the dark palette of the woods.

“Finally some action.” Aldous was overjoyed and he instructed his men to take attacking positions.

“Wait for the orders.” Garrick halted their movement.

“But they have reached the pack borders and we outnumber them by a large margin. We can easily wipe them out.”

The beta observed that only a few ferals had shown themselves in the light of the moon. However what grabbed his attention was their reluctance to step ahead, as if they were ordered to stay there. Garrick scowled for his instincts suggested that it was a trap. “Something doesn’t seem right to me.”

“Mind link the alpha, he must be present here at this moment.”

Garrick nodded at once and linked Einar about the situation. He gasped all of a sudden and pursed his lips “Strange..” He whispered.

“What happened?”

“I just connected with Einar but it felt weird and a bit unusual.”

As the words left Garrick’s mouth a commotion of multiple strides could be heard from a distance. The ferals had finally decided to show themselves. One after the other they penetrated the depths of the jungle to enter the open field. What staggered the beta and Aldous was the number of bodies that were moving on the ground beneath them.

“What do we do now?” Uttered a soldier in trepidation.

“We fight.”

“They must be in thousands and we are very few compared to them. I think we have to call for backup.” Garrick reasoned with the head warrior.

“That wont be necessary beta.” The entire group was stunned when they heard the cold, gruff voice of the demon. They all looked back and were astonished to see their alpha flying above the ground with a complete black fog surrounding him. All the men kneeled in unison and kept their heads low. It was fright rather than respect for the demon.

“Send your warriors to guard the main village.”

“But Einar... I- I mean alpha we have men there already and we..”

“Do as I say beta” The stern look from the demon left no room for any argument.

Garrick was staggered at the moment. What was the demon thinking? Was he contemplating to fight this huge army on his own? Yes he was frightening and yes he was mysterious, but taking over these ferals on his own was sheer stupidity. Garrick thought about it for a moment and linked Aldous.

Send some of your men to the main village and let the best fighters stay back.

Are you out of your mind? I don’t know what this demon is thinking but you have your sense attuned. We need help out here. The more the better.

I know that Aldous but right now we are dealing with the spirit and not Einar. He hardly cares about the pack or anyone else other than his mate.

I don’t know what you are thinking but the ferals are reaching the pack border as we speak. In no time they will penetrate our security and kill our people. We cant just sit here and do nothing.

At that very moment the ferals were accelerating their way through the thick dense forest and landing their feet on the large open field. It was like an ant colony, the bodies lining side by side and one after the other. The sea of wolves had covered the entire land while the thumping of paws had created a sand storm hiding them from the plain sight.

Aldous and Garrick were becoming more restless, panic clear in their faces. They knew they had to do something or their packs safety would be in jeopardy as the wolves now were heading for the main village. Garrick gathered his courage and with shaky legs went ahead to confront the demon, to make him see reason. However as he made his way to the spirit, the demon had already levitated his body to hover around the wolves. He created a large mist engulfing the complete area beneath him. The movements of the wolves were halted as their demenor weakened and they whined in agony.

What happened next left Aldous and Garrick glued to the ground in complete horror.

The demon in the next instant stretched his arms sideways and looked to the sky. His eyes glowed dark while the mist surrounding him was enlarging its circumference. The wolves had no time to respond as the mystical fog started entering them. The wolves whined while their eyes bulged and large bumps appeared on their skin as their hair strands became erect, painfully detaching itself from the body. The pain was such that they were forced to change into their human forms against their will. Every single one of them cried in agony as their veins were changing color and popped the black fluid. The ground was filled with screams and moans of aching pangs. People kneeled and scratched the surface, digging their nails, trying to tear open the earth and escape this chastisement. The torment for them was humongous. One by one they bellowed their pain and collapsed to the ground lying there motionless. Dead.

The once bustling ground was left with a sea of departed bodies.

Garrick, Aldous and his men were shocked at what they saw. It was an out of the world phenomenon. Something which terrified them from the core. It was something they would remember as long as they lived. The demon had single handedly killed the enourmous army of fatal wolves. Words had left them as they saw the demon proceeding towards the main village.

****

The situation in the main village was chaotic. The intruders and the defenders were getting head to head to kill each other. The villagers were advised to take a safe refuge while the men called in for some more help. Arthur was leading from the front and was successful in keeping the ferals at bay but even he was running out of strength. He noticed that at a considerable distance a petite man with a smirk on his face was sitting on a chair and viewing the fight with admiration. He was surrounded by some other wolves while it looked like he was orchestrating the entire fallout.

Lothar on the other hand was booming with excitement as the moment he was waiting for had finally arrived. He had gathered a large army and prepared for this attack for months. Initially he was disappointed that his worth of an effort to kill the alpha had failed. However he kept his head strong and deviously planned an altercation to his attack. He grinned for he knew he was on the brink of victory.

At the moment of reckoning however, the pack warriors retreated and stood back at a distance as the ferals they were fighting froze in their movements. They screamed in pain before attacking each other. Nuzzling their jaws, penetrating their canines onto the others flesh seemingly killing their own.

Lothar in a panicked voice commanded the wolves to stop but it was in vain. He tried to asses the reason for this abrupt behaviour until he saw a mass of black fog appearing from the sky and landing across him at a distance. He looked back at the brawl and saw the ferals lying stationary.

Lothar was alarmed cause this was the last thing he was expecting. He never contemplated the demon to show up. He stood from his throne and marched ahead to the demon. His own men were cowering in fear. His excessive pride was clouding his rationale thinking. He was way too confident about himself. So much so that he even overlooked the fact that the demon was an out of the world creature.

“I wasn’t expecting you. Though I am happy you have shown yourself. Now my victory over your pack will be more impactful.”

The demon kept staring at the wolf with a stoic face as the alpha went on “I knew poisoning you would have repurcussions but I never expected you to survive that. Did you know how I felt when the news of your recuperation reached my ears. Angry!” Lothar gritted his teeth.

With a smug look on his face Lothar oscillated in his own place “I knew you would react some day or the other. You are not among the alphas who sit back and take the matters to the council. I knew you would revert and hit hard. But you forgot who you were dealing with. I have the brains.” he cliked his forehead with his index finger “I decided to alter my plan but keep the day unchanged. As you can see, I am in your house claiming it and you could do nothing about it.”

The demon was unnecessarily quite as he stared at the alpha without blinking his eyes which by now irritated the alpha. “You have nothing to say it seems. Feel privileged cause your pack is seized by the hands of the mighty Lothar.” he laughed hysterically throughout the silent crowd as his voice boomed. He was foolish, he was brash and he was full of himself.

“You talk too much.” The cold voice said as the demon slowly stepped ahead towards Lothar.

“Uh uh. Think before you act demon. Cause my life is worthless compared to the precious innocents who are getting slaughtered right now.” Lothar laughed in his ignorance as the demon stopped walking and stared intently at him “Yes. You heard that right. My ferals have reached the pack borders and right now they are hungry for blood. Your men are nothing compared to the gigantic army I have. You wont survive this time.”

Lothar’s face changed color when the demon slowly marched forward with an expressionless face as if the attack on his pack did not bother him at all. This irked the alpha even more “Is this all a joke to you!? Do you not care about your people!?”

The demon was unaffected by it all as he kept his constant pace and moved ahead “Maybe not. But I know someone who you really care about.” A devilish smile plastered on Lothar’s face “Your mate!”

Hearing about his mate halted the demon in his tracks as he gave a murderous glare to Lothar “Now you know my intelligence. When all else fails it would be your mate to my rescue.” One of Lothar’s men quickly pushed forward Rosaline to their alpha. Lothar grabbed her by one hand while pointing a sharp knife to her neck “Now stand back or I’ll slash her throat.”

The demon was back to his stoic face when he saw who Lothar had captured. He again started walking towards the alpha and closing the gap between them.

Lothar was furious. Mostly importantly panic had struck him. His one and only escape plan, the luna proved to be useless in front of the demon. “Do you not see her life is in danger? You take one more step and I will kill her...!”

The demon in no time stood right in front of Lothar and grabbed him by his neck, accidently rescuing Rosaline in the process. He held the man with one hand as if his weight was lighter than pebbles. He stared in the eyes of Lothar which brought frightful shivers to the alpha “I believe you. I belive that you would kill her; but why do you think I would care!”

Lothar’s eyes widened in scepticism and complete horror. What kind of an alpha doesn’t care about his own Luna? Was the demon really going to sacrifice his own mate? Lothar was more taken aback by the fact that the demon showed no remorse even when Rosaline was being hurt right in front of his eyes.

Unless... she wasn’t the alpha’s mate in the first place!

In that moment the alpha had the urge to run, escape and hide. Even the air he breathed felt strangulated.

The demon smelled fear in the alpha and smirked “Today I’m really happy. Overjoyed by the fact that the moment I was waiting for has finally arrived. I am so happy that I would’ve let you go unharmed but you made a grave mistake. You threatened my love! And I cant tolerate someone harming even a single hair on his body.”

Lothar in a state of panic ordered his men to retaliate, to save their alpha. However his men were affixed to the spot, frightened by the divine entity in front of them. All of them took a sudden intake of breath and stumbled backwards when the demon glared at them. With no options left Lothar tried to free himself by kicking his legs and slurring abusive words to make the demon angry. He was provoking the demon to kill him. To end this torture once and for all and escape his punishment.

The demon tilted his head and tightened his grip over the neck of Lothar. After a few moments he let go of the petite man. Lothar fell on the ground and slid his body backwards so as to create a separation from the demon. In the next instant the demon raised one of his hands and all of Lothar’s men were raised above the ground. They scratched their neck, frequently ran their hands through it as they tried to scream but no voice left their mouth. As if their sounds were muffled by the constricting supply of air. They took harsh intakes of breath. Blood rushed through their faces and their eyes popped out before their trembling body became lifeless and unmoving. One by one all of Lothar’s men fell to the ground like the falling leaves of autumn.

The demon now focused his attention on a horrified Lothar “I wont kill you wolf. But you’d wish you were killed than receive my punishment.”

The alpha gulped in fear as his body was levitated from the ground. The demon emitted a strong thick fog from his hands which penetrated the veins of the alpha through his openings. Lothar opened his mouth as wide as he could and screamed from the top of his voice, emptying every amount of sound he would have in his body. His agony surmounted even more when his hands were stretched sideways. The clothes he wore were shredded to pieces and swayed in the wind. He gasped loudly and bellowed his voice when his hands were being pulled by an unknown force. The pull had such strength that the body fibres were slowly detaching itself from the main figure. Crimson red liquid oozed from the spot as blood splattered through the joints. The tinging sensation was such that his body felt the ache in abundance. He screamed one final time as his hands were completely detached from his body.

The amputated arms were swayed at a distance as the joints splashed gallons of blood. The alpha shivered in pain as if he was a fish out of water. The spectators around were left horrified. Muffled screams and cries of fear was a common sight among the crowd. Many sympathized with the alpha cause a dignified death would have been way more better than living a cursed life. Lothar would now require someone or something to always support him. Even for ending his own life!

The demon growled in authority as everyone around gasped in fear and kneeled before the higher being. The demon kept his foot on Lothar’s torso and raised his voice “Let this serve as a warning to the entire world. Whosoever even thinks of touching my love would be tarnished! Nobody harms my mate or you will all suffer worse than death!”

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