I Claim Your Love novel Chapter 51

A few months back

“Why do you want to go to that place?”

The hirsute man closed the door behind him and looked at the man in front of him in bewilderment. He leisurely sat on the chair besides the window and crossed his arms across his chest probably waiting for a reply.

The handsome man however, kept a stoic expression of nonchalance and shrugged “It is not up to me Archer. My father expects me to heed in to the wishes of the alpha.”

“You mean your tormentor.”

“Alpha Ragnar is not at fault Archer. Even if I may not recognise Einar as my leader, it is written in stone that the man will be the alpha of the pack.”

“And you have to work for him?”

“Do I have a say?” The beautiful man huffed in derision

Archer lowered his eyes for he had no answer to that question. Indeed Callan was bound by his duties. One day the handsome man would follow the footsteps of his father and serve the pack and indirectly its going to be alpha- Einar.

The history between both the men had always been on the downside. Archer for one knew that Einar had caused a lot of misery in the life of his best friend. Moreover being the head of the pack meant that his actions could never be questioned while Callan would be put to test every now and then. As also Callan’s fate had always mocked him in his face.

Archer was worried for his friend.

The road ahead seemed difficult. Callan was surrounded with enemies on all sides. His pack mates never cared for him. Even if he became the head warrior, the respect which he truly deserved would not be bestowed upon him. Nobody cared for him. In the hindsight there were people who wanted to harm him and there were the ones who lusted for him.

Archer tapped his foot nervously and stopped suddenly. He looked at his friend with concern “Let me come with you.” he pleaded

“Why?”

The were-bear deeply sighed “That evil of a princess will be there. As soon as she learns of your arrival I am sure that she would clutch you in her disgusting snake arms.” Archer hissed in revulsion.

“I have been to the palace for years now and I know how to take care of myself. Besides I would be spending my time with my grandparents entirely.”

Archer still looked unconvinced. The memory from years ago resurfaced through his brain as the muscular man recalled the unfortunate event of their meeting with the evil princess. Though they were in their early teens, the incident had left a bitter impression of a lifetime. However Archer was more concerned for his best friend. Not only was he just a human but his beautiful features were cause of many of his problems.

Archer knew for a fact that the princess lusted for the man. Given the opportune moment she would strike her game and win Callan forcefully. Claim him as hers without taking any consideration for the wishes of the handsome man!

“I know but I am still worried for you. Its the princess that makes my blood boil. You know what a bitch that lady has been over the years. I want you to be safe.”

“I will be..”

Their conversation was halted when they heard a distinct thud coming from the floor beneath them “Did you hear that?” Callan asked an alert Archer.

“Yes.” Archer sniffed the air vigorously “It is a she wolf.”

“What is a she wolf doing in my house? Is it Viola?”

“No. It is a different smell.”

Without wasting any more time both the men slowly made their way out of the room through the door which led them to the stairs. Midway though, Callan could see the door of a room slightly opened. Callan’s heart beat spiked. The room belonged to his parents who were both absent at the moment. He was aware of the fact that his parents would not show up in an abrupt manner and certainly not like this.

The person could be anyone. A thief or a feral.

He gestured Archer towards the room and alerted him to be cautious. With slow steady steps both the men reached the hinge of the door. Without giving a warning Archer slammed the door hard with thud. The force was such that the door unhinged from its connection.

Callan gave a look of annoyance to his friend and entered right behind him. He carefully surveyed the area when his attention was diverted by Archer’s finger poking. The hirsute man directed his finger at the opaque figure hiding behind the curtains of the window.

Both the men looked at each other in confusion. Archer bravely stepped ahead and stripped the cloth from the she wolf in a jiffy. He was about to attack the person when he heard a meek voice.

“Please don’t harm me!” The trembling hands had covered the face. By the looks of it the she-wolf looked barely of age. In fact she looked like she was on the threshold of her youth.

“Don’t touch me.” she pleaded between her fearful snivels.

Arthur puzzlingly looked at his friend while Callan imitated the same look for his own reasons. He took a sigh of relief as his heart beat slowly became normal. He pulled Archer back and instructed him to stand back while he tried to calm the girl “Shh.. Relax. No ones going to harm you. He is Archer my friend.”

The girl barely looked up but tremblingly nodded at the were-bear in acknowledgment. Archer replied with an awkward smile of his own and went closer to Callan’s ears “Who is she?”

“She is Madeline. Aldous’ little sister.”

“This means that she is the daughter of the beta. What is she doing here?”

Even before Callan could utter anything the girl interjected in trepidation “He will find me! Please help me!”

The little girl clutched her torso firmly to the torso of the man and cried helplessly. Callan tried to soothe the girl while Archer quickly ran to the kitchen to fetch some water. Callan suspected that the man she was talking about was probably Richard.

But why?

Just a day ago the alpha held a ceremony to announce Madeline and Richard as mates. Though she didn’t smile, it looked like everything was fine between them. Then what changed all of a sudden? Callan decided to wait a bit to receive his answers.

It was a long time before the girl was finally in a position to talk. Archer was reprimanded for the damage he did and so he was downstairs fixing the door while Madeline and Callan were at the latter’s room. Callan was trying to persuade the girl with his happy thoughts and irrelevant things which were distracting her from her problems. Ultimately it was the humorous events related to Archer and Callan on which both of them laughed at stretch.

On witnessing the calming behaviour of the girl Callan braved himself to ask the tough questions “Shouldn’t you be with your family? Why are you running from Richard?”

The smile on the face of the girl vanished and she pursed her lips. She paused for a long time probably contemplating whether or not to trust the man in front of her. Eventually she gave in to her instincts “He wants to mark me. He says that I will indulge with other wolves of the pack and betray him.”

“He is an idiot.” Callan whispered to himself “Don’t worry. Try to explain things to him, I am sure he will understand you.”

“I tried. He thinks that I will reject his advances and his wolf wants to claim me before it happens.”

“What kind of a mate is he!”

Callan felt disgusted at the moment. Though Madeline and Richard were mates but there was a considerable difference between their ages. Richard had crossed his teens while the little girl had just stepped in. By the looks of it she barely looked twelve or thirteen. The age when your wolf governs your mating instincts or recognise your other half was eighteen and in some cases it was sixteen.

In this case however Madeline was below the specified age to recognise her mate. This wasn’t something new in the werewolf world. However the older mate was responsible to take care of his other half and respect the wishes of his beloved. Patience was all that was needed. Even if Madeline may not like Richard as of now but ultimately she would fall head over heels when her wolf recognizes her mate after a few years.

Why wasn’t Richard understanding such a simple fact?

The most concerning thing right now was that Madeline was too young to fall prey to the devious lust of Richard. Her body was still premature while her mind could barely promulgate the fact that she had a mate. A person who was forcing her to do things without her consent.

“I am not ready! I am not ready!” Madeline whispered in terror. The brim of tears were ready to explode any time. Callan could see the impact on the innocent heart of the little girl. She was scared for her life. She was scared of her own mate “I am not ready! I cannot go back to him.”

“Calm down.. Have you talked to anyone about it? Peter, Aldous or your mother?”

“They say that Richard has a right over me. I should abide by the laws of nature and give myself to him.”