I Claim Your Love

Chapter 15: A Stranger With Powers

The night was growing darker with every passing moment. The sky was black tranquility married to a

poetry of stars. It was a special kind of blackness today as there was no moon to throw its light on the

dazzling stars or the world beneath for that matter.

Callan veiled his face and covered his body to prevent leaking of his scent. The irony being that nobody

except Einar knew how Callan smelled. He strode ahead and passed the sleeping soldiers who were

guarding the large dungeons of the King's palace. He quickly made his way to the deep underground

spiraling through the pavements where he was met with the horror and brutality of the King and his

people. The prisoners here were literally rotting. There were corpses lying all around which drenched of

foul sickening smell, others who were alive were either mutilated or were reduced to their bones.

Callan was deeply saddened with the sight he witnessed. He wanted to help them but he knew he was

out there to perform an important task. Turn after turn he quickly scanned every prison. He settled on

one of them when he saw a blonde haired man who was of a short stature, hugging his knees with

water flowing through his eyes constantly. His face said it all and Callan knew that he had finally found

his destination.

"Are you Octavius?" Callan murmured in a whisper so as to make sure only the man inside could hear

him.

The blonde man slowly raised his head to inquire about the source of the sound. He thought that his

end was near. He wiped his tears and scrunched his nose to sit straight and look at the dark figure.

"I-I'm his mate." He said in a shaky yet confident voice.

"Alright. Now listen; stand back and don't make any noise. I'm here to help you out of this. Do you

understand?"

The blonde man shook his head in oblivion.

Callan sighed and calmly asked "What is your name?"

"M-my name is L-Lucius Cardin."

"Lucius, I want you to step back and stay quiet. Can you do that for me?"

Lucius nodded awkwardly and forced his body backwards with his legs to meet the far end of the cellar.

Callan knew it was time to use his powers which he learnt with the help of Aurora. He swiftly moved his

hand in circular motion and focused very hard on the metal lock of the cellar. In the same instant a

strong blow of wind appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the metal. The constant pressure on the

lock forced it to detach itself from the bar.

Lucius was dumbfounded with what he witnessed. He quickly made his way to the door and helped the

stranger open it. He was constantly wary of the man.

When the metal door opened with a screeching noise Callan was quick to question "Can you find your

mate?"

"I can never miss his scent." Indeed the scent was exhilarating enough for Lucius.

The smell brought both the men more deep into the dungeons in front of an isolated cellar. The sight in

front of them broke their hearts. Octavius was beaten and bruised for speaking up against the King. His

body was scarred. injuries sustained with claws and whip decorated his entire figure. His hands were

caned horizontally which supported his body off the ground.

Callan performed the same trickery and opened the doors of the cellar. Both the men released

Octavius from the cane and put him on the ground. Lucius was trying to wake him up but to no avail.

"Stand back." Callan ordered Lucius.

He then joined his ring finger to his thumb and focused nowhere in particular. He moved his hands in

half an arch and a small water sphere appeared, gradually filling the bubble in mid air. He then rested

the bubble above the head of Octavius and released it causing his face to be splashed.

Octavius woke with a sudden want of air to breathe and relaxed after a few anxious moments. Lucius

on the other side still could not come to terms for what he just saw.

He was contemplating at the aura and figure of the stranger before uttering." Goodness Luna! You are

not a wolf! You are.."

"Lucius." The whispered call of his mate distracted the wolf.

Octavius sat on his knees and hugged his mate as if his life depended on it. He caressed his cheeks

and was all glossy before slightly kissing his mate thanking Luna for the fact that they both were safe

and most importantly together.

Callan saw the admiration and longing in both of their eyes which was now brimmed with sheer

happiness and content for each other.

Octavius turned his back to Callan and said. "Thank you! Lucius told me what you did for us."

"Don't thank me just now. Tidy yourself up we are leaving as soon as possible." Callan said in a hushed

voice before he hurried himself for the exit.

Both of them nodded at once and readily followed Callan. Just after passing a few distance Callan

asked both of them to mask themselves with a veil which he had brought with him.

After walking some more, the men could see a mist of green air surrounding their route of escape.

"Don't worry. It's a sleep inducing gas. It works wonders on wolves but unfortunately my vision is not as

good as you people. So you have to lead the way to the exit."

Octavius happily obliged and marched ahead of the other two. They crossed many a soldiers who were

now suffering the effects of the gas and were lying on the floor in a deep slumber.

It was a perfect time for prison escape.

****

Einar's mind was oscillating his thoughts to and fro from the incidents of this afternoon. He was

seemingly guilty enough to use his powers on an old man and it certainly did not help that the old man

was the grandfather of his true mate.

For every other time Einar's brain was chilly as the mountain ice but when it came to his mate he

always lost his cool. This caused only mishaps or hardships for Callan.

He knew his own behavior, he tried to be calm, tried to be cool but then a trigger is flicked and he was

least proud about himself for what he does.

What was Callan doing to him?

The wolf inside him which could easily slay the toughest warrior there is, turned into a love lost puppy

when it came to Callan. How was this even possible!?

Whatever the reason may be; one thing was for sure, Einar was at fault and he should've apologized to

the elderly couple at that moment itself.

With these thoughts in mind and a heavy heart laden with guilt, Einar made his way towards the house

of the Ashton's. When he was a few distances away from the house he saw two soldiers who were

actually supposed to guard the boundaries of the land, running to the mansion. He recognized one of

the guards and was quick to stop him.

"What happened Theodore? Why the rush? Is everything alright at the boundaries?"

"Sire one of our soldiers in the dungeon has alerted us that there is an intruder in the castle."

Who could be so foolish to enter the castle without permission? It must be his death wish thought Einar

"But why are you receiving the call. The call should be answered by the guards of the castle not the

soldiers of the boundaries." Einar stated as a matter of fact.

"Indeed sire. The guards of the castle did go to check the matter but none of them came back, neither

any of them are responding to our calls."

This is strange. Who possibly could be so strong to keep an entire army of royal guards on hold? I must

check on them. With that, Einar retrieved his steps made his way to the dungeons.

Halfway through though, he saw the prisoners from today with an anonymous person who was

completely hidden behind a long cloth standing near one of the high ground walls. Einar was unable to

figure out who the third person was but what did strike him was the only part that could be seen of the

man.

The beautiful forest green eyes!

This could not be the person who Einar thought he would be. To be sure he concentrated hard to sniff

his surroundings and was left astounded when he smelled the aroma for which he lived.

The third person was Callan! But what was he doing with those prisoners?

He was about to confront the trio when suddenly a mist of white thick fog surrounded the area. All of a

sudden strong winds were blowing in haphazard direction. It was icy chilly breeze everywhere.

The wind blocked vision of every wolf nearby. This caused Einar to grip his position firmly to the ground

so as to stay focused on marching ahead but the force of the wind was making it difficult to move

ahead.

The atmosphere around became normal after a few moments.

When Einar regained his composure from the beat down, he strode to his mate. By the time he

reached the place there was no one to be seen.

They all had vanished.

****

The King was fuming over the unprecedented escape of the prisoners. According to the royal court the

greatest sin one could commit was to be in a same sex bond and thus the people acquitted must be

punished for this heinous crime. In fact every couple who were caught were sent to jail and eventually

punished.

But now there was an exception to this tradition.

For the very first time anyone had managed to escape the manor, the King's clutches! This was not

acceptable to the King. He was furious with his guards and the enforcers who failed to perform their

duties.

For weeks together the King ordered search operations around every pack to nab the culprits. The

parties involved worked day and night, searched every nook and corner there might have been

possible, even the longest of the shores were frisked but there was no success to their endeavors.

Everyone was surprised over the sudden disappearance of the young lads.

The departure of blue moon pack was put on hold by the King for security reasons. It was obvious that

he was suspicious of everyone and wanted to be sure of any assistance in this escape.

On the other side, the members of the blue moon pack were oblivious to the happenings around them

while Callan was really good in hiding his emotions and his expressions on the matter. Einar was

finding it difficult to stay in the same room and yet still be unable to touch his mate. His beasts were

making it even more difficult for him to endure the longing.

Einar knew that uptill now the King would have been suspicious of an involvement of another being in

the escape of his two prisoners and it won't take long for him to realize that the culprit is someone from

within; someone close. This could possibly lead Callan into trouble and he could land in prison. Before

any of this happens they must return to their own land. Only this could ensure Callan's safety.

With these thoughts in mind Einar rose from his chair

Where are you going? Garrick interjected.

Someplace important. I need you to come with me. Einar replied.

Both the men made their way to the castle and asked the royal guards for permission of assignation to

the King. The guards let both the men enter the palace. The men made their way through the various

large rooms. While Garrick was calm and composed Einar was anxious and a bit hasty in his

movements.

Slow down will you! Why the rush? Would you at least tell me why are we meeting the King on such a

short notice?

Einar just ignored Garrick's questions.

"Seriously!" Garrick was perturbed with his best friend's behavior but Einar remained as he was,

ignoring Garrick like he was not present there.

They knocked on a large golden metal door to ask permission to enter. Stepping inside the room one

could see a large bed, beautifully carved artifacts made of rare gems. The corner of the room even had

a golden statue of the King and his wife.

"Welcome Einar. Garrick." the King addressed both the men. "My guards told me you were in a hurry

and wanted to meet me as soon as possible. Is everything alright?"

Einar cleared his throat "My King; I and Garrick want to leave for our place tomorrow morning at the

earliest."

Both the King and Garrick frowned in surprise for their own reasons.

"Looking at Garrick I can surely tell that you haven't discussed the situation before hand with him, it

means that this must have been a spur of the moment decision for you. Now the question is - Why?"

the King smirked at the bemused expression of Garrick.

"You are right my King. Garrick does not know about this." he looked sideways to his friend.

"You were supposed to stay for two more weeks. Then why hurry?"

"The disrespect be pardoned but you are wrong here my King. I and my pack were supposed to leave

weeks before. But due to some unforeseen circumstances we were held prisoners to this land for quite

long now. I and my people have our duties towards my pack but we are stuck here for no apparent

reason. I thus request you to please let us leave by tomorrow morning."

The King was displeased with the way Einar was talking to him. He gritted his teeth and said. "What if I

make you stay for a few more weeks."

The King looked in his eyes while gritting his teeth like he was challenging Einar to defy him.

Einar breathed a long exhale and snorted. "I understand your order my King. Indeed my wolf obeys

your command. But the other part of me is not obligated to you and his anger has grown ten times

more since he was locked down and denied a release. Lately it has been difficult for me to control him."

Einar paused and marched two steps ahead.

Einar glared at the King and said in an almost whisper "In fact it is proving difficult for me to control him

at this moment!"

The King was undeterred from his place but he bit his lip and gulped a bit indicating that he was scared

of the shedim spirit inside of Einar. He knew that his wolf was obligated to his stature and hierarchy but

his spirit was a different case altogether.

Stanislas took a deep breath to calm himself and his stoic face returned to its original charm.

"I suppose there is no harm for you to leave. You, Garrick and your pack have my permission."

The King nodded once while both men bowed their head before leaving.

Garrick could not believe what he just witnessed. He was holding his emotions in him to find a right

place and time to talk some sense in his best friend. As soon as they left the palace doors Garrick got

hold of Einar's arm and he dragged him to a faraway tree aloof from the prying.

"ARE YOU INSANE? Do you even know what you just did? You challenged the King. The KING!"

Garrick was oscillating on a small run in front of Einar while Einar was standing with his back supported

by a tree trunk.

"You know what the King could possibly do! It's not a good sign to be on the bad side of the King. He

could turn against our pack and create problems for all of us."

Indeed the King was capable enough to harm Einar's pack but his mate was far more important for him

at this moment. How does he explain his side of the story to his best friend. If only Garrick knew..

"I know what I am doing Garrick. I am also ready to face repercussions if any." He looked sideways and

exhaled. He turned to face Garrick and intently looked at him "Do you trust me?"

"It's not a question about trust." Garrick rolled his eyes

"Yes it is! Do you trust me?" Einar looked with hopeful eyes.

Garrick sighed in defeat "You know I do."

"Then just believe me on this."

Garrick exhaled and looked down while cursing under his breath for his helplessness. "At least tell me

why you want to leave so early. We could have stayed further in this land without any hindrance to the

workings of our pack. The pack was ready to wait. Then why the rush?" Garrick wanted answers for his

questions.

"Trust me on this one. When the time will be right I would tell you everything." Einar assured Garrick.

Both the men entered the large room where their pack was staying at the moment. Garrick's mood was

sour from the events earlier as also the presence of Callan made it even worst, while Einar's mind was

filled with mixed emotions right now when he studied every gait, every movement of his beloved.

The very next morning the entire crew was ready for a departure. Callan said his goodbyes to his

grandparents and packed a whole lot of stuff which was seemingly a gift from the elderly.

Everyone had taken their seats on the ship. Callan was sharing his muffins made by his grandmother

to everyone. When he came to Garrick, he outright rejected the gesture by showing his palm to

Callan's face. He used to constantly huff and avoid Callan throughout their journey back home. Einar

was worried for this behavior of Garrick which was not going too well with his inner beasts. He loved his

best friend but his monsters did not care for anyone else when it came to Callan.

When Einar and the pack reached their land they quickly changed to their wolf forms and raced their

way to the pack house in the main village. Callan stayed back taking the responsibility of the luggage

behind.

The pack was decorated like it was a grand festival. The lanterns and bonfire had made the night even

more exotic. The entire Alpha village and the other village heads were gathered for the arrival of their

going to be Alpha.

The wolves howled signaling that they were approaching the Alpha house. Zelda's eager eyes were

roaming every tree pass to assure herself of her son's arrival. Soon a large black wolf with

differentiated shiny thick fur appeared from the dense web of trees. He extended his hind legs and

stretched his body backwards before giving a thunderous howl by raising his neck upwards to the sky.

The black wolf changed in his human form to reveal a tall muscular buff man. The man standing in front

resembled both the Alpha couple but yet was so different. The ladies swooned to the pure muscular

curves and nerves popping through the god like defined body of the Alpha son while Zelda appreciated

the manly growth of her son which she missed in these five years.

Einar soon dressed himself and ran towards his mother embracing her in a tight hug. It was the first

time in five years that Zelda was meeting her son.

Five torturous years.

Zelda was smiling and crying at the same time when her happiness had crossed its limits on seeing her

son.

"Don't cry mother. I will never leave you now." Indeed it was a promise.

Einar went to his father next who was standing besides Zelda. He hugged his father while Ragnar

patted his sons back with a few proud tears of his own.

"You made quite a name for yourself in the elite circle. People have been congratulating me from all

over the world. You do really make my chest swell. I'm glad you denied the offer of the King."

Einar was dumbfounded on his fathers statement." How did you know..?"

"I have sources." Ragnar smiled and hugged his son once more.

At this moment Callan had arrived with the whole luggage and the neighing of his horse caught

attention of everyone around. Callan stepped to the ground and lovingly moved his hands through the

mane of the horse.

Again with the horse. Einar did not really like the caring gesture of Callan towards the mute animal. His

eyes were glued to the movements of his mate. The pure bliss of watching the most handsome man in

the entire world was making Einar's nerves pump more blood, make his heart race a bit more.

And just like that without caring about his surroundings Einar announced.+

"Father.... I HAVE FOUND MY MATE...!"