I Claim Your Love novel Chapter 31

The fear thoughts looped around in Einar's mind as there was room for no other thought. In a matter of a few hours his mate would be in the battle field preparing for his death bed perhaps. The thought brought plenty of rage as Einar had tried his every move to refrain Callan from entering the competition but the adamant nature of his mate compelled him to bow. The next few hours would simply pass as blip or it would break his mind completely.

Sitting in his office in front of piles of paper was the only salvation Einar had. He constantly made sure to keep himself busy in other works which would distract him from the inevitable. But the diversion worked only for a few moments before his mind engulfed in the thoughts of Callan again. Einar visualised the smiling and charming face of Callan which would soon turn into a bloody, bruised figure. He wanted to have good thoughts throughout but his heart could not deny the possible outcome of tomorrow.

Einar screeched his chair back and rose to his feet. He slowly made his way to the window to look outside the open ground. Young enthusiasts were training themselves for the important day. He was happy for the strength of will of his comrades. However he was more afraid about how he would survive tomorrow when Callan entered the ring. His determined beast would kill on the spot if even a hair of his mate was touched. How was he supposed to perform his duties as the alpha and control his animal at the same time?

The Alpha sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his head. His attention was drawn to the door when a sweaty figure made its presence.

"I thought you were working." Garrick asked wiping his face of the wetness.

"I am trying to work but somehow I always get distracted."

By this time Garrick was intelligent enough to know who ruled his best friends thoughts. Talking about Callan with someone had brought a little relief to Einar's burdened mind. Though the pain, the agony would remain the same but the Alpha was soothed a bit when he shared things with Garrick.

"Then i suppose it is the right moment to have a conversation."

Einar furrowed his brow and looked behind his shoulders. "What do you want to talk about."

"The gift perhaps.. Have you thought of anything yet?" Einar sighed as he forgot about the age old traditions of the pack. It was mandatory for every Alpha to present a gift to his Luna welcoming her in the pack. Though it had to be done on the night of the coronation but the situation back then was far from ideal.

"I promised her to give whatever she desires."

Garrick nodded and sat on a chair "You may have to announce a ceremony after the trials."

"For what purpose?"

"We have two new mate pairs on the cards." Einar raised a brow and uplifted his chin for Garrick to continue "The bastard Alpha's daughter is apparently Tusker's mate."

"And the other?"

"It is Hazel; Luella's daughter." Einar deeply sighed when he heard the name. Luella was a distant cousin of Garrick who lived in one of the villages in the northern borders and Hazel was her daughter. Einar was astonished as Hazel was just eight years old.

"You look surprised." Garrick asked.

"I am more shocked actually. The Luna definitely has a wicked sense of humor when she pairs the souls." The irony never lost in his tone.

"And now returning to your problem. How are you holding up?"

Einar shook his head "I have no answer to that question cause I don't know how to feel."

"Don't worry Einar, he wont win tomorrow."

"Have you seen him fight?" Garrick was speechless for a moment "Exactly. No one has seen what he is capable of. You can have a fair idea for he has been trained by Justus himself." Garrick understood what Einar was implying. Justus was fierce and a man of many talents. His fighting skills were well known across packs.

"Even if what you say is possible, he cannot face those number of people in the ring tomorrow. I mean it is mentally and physically taxing even for a wolf." Garrick reasoned.

"You dont think the thought wouldn't have crossed his mind. He must have anticipated this onslaught already and made plans accordingly."

Garrick narrowed his eyes "You talk as if you are sure he is going to win."

"You don't know him as I do." Einar almost whispered "Once he sets his eyes onto something he will do everything in his power to make sure he gets what he wants."

"What about your beasts? Will they be all right when they see their mate in the battle field."

"The demon for some reason has been eerily quite for the past few days." Einar sighed "It is the wolf I am worried about."

"What if it jumps in the middle of the ring and goes on a killing spree."

"I have arranged a temporary solution for that." Einar took a small transperent bottle filled with liquid out of his pocket "It will sedate him for quite some time, hopefully till the day is over."

"Why do you want him losing so bad?" Though Garrick knew the answer to this question he wanted to hear it from his friend.

"You know what the Head warriors post mean. He has to be in the frontline every time there's an attack. He has to put his own life at stake to protect his Alpha. Do you think this will go down well with my beasts. Every moment he is on the field would put me in a tornado of anxiousness and worry. Moreover how am I suppose to bear his injuries, cause he is going to get hurt a lot."

Garrick pursed his lip and nonchalantly sighed shaking his head. He wasn't entirely convinced with what Einar just said "There is more to it isn't it?"

Einar turned away from the window and sat on his chair. He rested his palms on the desk while his head leaned backwards facing the ceiling "If he becomes the next head warrior than we have to work together. Our proximity will increase our tensions. So it is better if he stays away."

"How ironic it is." Garrick chuckled "On one hand you want him to be safe and uninjured while on the other hand you have accepted all the willing applications to fight Callan without even blinking an eye. Let us assume that he overcomes all the hurdles tomorrow; then what would you do?"

Callan was still. It was as if something inside of him had died. He felt guilty, ashamed for he became the reason why his companion was murdered. Tears spilled in succession as his lips quivered and legs wobbled.

The wolf saw his mate crying and his instincts commanded him to soothe him. However when he saw the reason of his sorrow was the bird on the floor, he was agitated. Jealous that his mate was still inattentive to him even after all these years. He snarled at once and picked up the bird with his strong muzzle and swayed his mouth to threw him at a large distance. He then looked at his mate and ferociously growled. He wanted his mate to submit before him; to accept his nature; to embrace his wild.

When Callan saw his friend tossed at a distance a searing pain rose within him. His heart was aching. He was angry. He wanted retribution for the dead and when the wolf growled at him, he snapped! He screamed in exasperation on the top of his voice and retrieved the staff from his back gripping it firmly through his palms "COMMON YOU FILTHY WOLF. I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

The blatant insult from his mate made the wolf angrier and he vowed to show the man his place. The wolf swiftly jumped to the front and took large strides to take a shot at Callan. When he was about to bite the man, Callan stashed the staff in between the wolfs teeth and juggled to take control of his muzzle. The wolf and everyone in the arena were surprised for Callan was just a human but the strength he possessed right now was unthinkable. He had clearly managed to subdue the wolf. It wasn't as if the wolf was holding back rather it was Callan who was making it difficult for the animal.

The tussle soon ended and what followed were a series of hits and misses. The wolf on occasions tried to get hold of his mate while Callan was leaving no opportunity to hit the wolf with his staff. On one such instance the staff was thrown away and Callan was left defenceless. Still, the man bared his teeth and went ahead to land his naked blows left and right to the lower muzzle and the front legs of the wolf. The power of his fists were hampering the wolf's movement. Callan gathered all his strength and landed a mighty blow straight to the lower jaw of the wolf. The animal faltered and the crowds cheering was stilled. Silence everywhere.

The wolf had had enough. He gathered his stance and shook his head violently before roaring a mighty growl. He quickly raised his left paw and tore open the torso of the man. The already injured Callan could take no more as he fell to the ground, lying flat on his back. The wolf pounced on him and stood on his arms. With one final growl the wolf extended his canines and buried his teeth in the shoulders of the man. An unimaginable pain scorched the flesh of Callan.

He screamed in agony, he screamed in pain..

Right at that moment the sky rumbled, wild winds flowed haphazard throughout while the air near the ground uplifted the mud with itself and swirled. Callan was beyond angry, though the pain he was feeling was out of this world, he did not wanted to back down. In his desperation he looked everywhere to try and find a route to escape when suddenly his eyes landed on the glowing bracelet in his hands. He realised that unknowingly he had released the power of the metal. He bit his lower lips hard before burying the back of his head to the ground. Giving up.

The once angry atmosphere was serene back again.

Callan lied down with his eyes closed. Tears made their way through the constricted eyelids. A myriad of emotions were flowing through his body.

PAIN- for the bundle of injuries his body suffered.

RELIEF- as the hours of torture were finally over.

CONTENT- for it took the Alpha to take him down.

BETRAYAL- as his fate had conspired against him.

SORROW- as his dreams were crashed forever.

However, the poor fellow was unaware that the worst was yet to come as another emotion was ready to raise his ugly head and leech itself forever to Callan- HUMILIATION..!

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