I Claim Your Love
The Worst Of The Hurt

The air in Einar got stuck. His nightmare was coming to life. He breathed unevenly and he flared his nose in defiance “No! No...!” He raised his voice in protest “No you cant!”

“Why?”

“Because you just cant.” Einar took two steps closer as his face was calm for the first time “I love you and I know you love me too.”

“That is the reason I am leaving you.” Callan said with indifference.

It was like a cold splash of water on Einar’s face. His heart was weak after hearing those words.

What did Callan mean that he was leaving him? Was it something that he had done? Did Callan know all the hidden secrets? If that was the case than Einar was in trouble. However Einar was sure that Callan would understand him. He just needed some time to make things right. He believed that his love was above their problems.

Right now however the important task was to stop Callan from making a rash decision.

“You know that I wont let you leave. You just cant.” Einar said as a matter of fact. “I know you are upset. I know I might’ve crossed the line this time but please try to understand me. I did everything to protect you!”

Callan gritted his teeth “You imprisoned me!” He said with accusation in his tone “Hid things from me. You blamed me for the death of your unborn!”

“I know and I am sorry..” He lowered his eyes “But believe me I did everything for us.”

“Don’t you dare say that! What you did was nothing more than selfishness. You hurt me more than anyone can imagine.”

The atmosphere was tensed all of a sudden. The fine gravels from the earth were circulating in mini whirlpools while the sky above was gathering an army of rumbling black clouds.

Einar cared least about these changes as he kept his focus intact on the man he loved “I have always cared for you. I held you hostage for a reason. You don’t know what dangers lie in there. It was the only way to keep you safe. There are people who..”

“Who want me dead. I know... ” Callan completed the sentence in a hurry and took a long pause “But I am more afraid of you.”

Einar exhaled unevenly. Those words shattered Einar’s heart a million times. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that Callan would be afraid of him. He was ashamed, he was heart broken. He wished he was dead before hearing those words.

“Don’t say that.” he pleaded with wet eyes “I will not harm you I promise. I cannot even think of it!”

“You promised to keep me safe. You promised to accept me. You promised to hold my hand forever. You promised a lot of things Einar.” Callan’s emotions were reflecting all over as he flared his nose in rage. “You are nothing but a coward.”

The tensed sky was was forming a shield of its own while the breeze was swaying the tree tops in a wild manner. Einar was becoming slightly cautious of these changes. He soon understood that natures fury had something to do with the mood his mate was in right now.

“Stay calm.” Einar looked at the sky in trepidation “We can work things out. We will make this better; together.”

Up until at this time Einar was surprised to see his warriors sensing the presence of their alpha. In front of his pack he had to control his emotions because Callan was nothing but a fugitive for them. He swallowed hard before uttering the words he regretted “If you wont listen to me than I have to use my power against you.”

Callan huffed once.. twice.. and he chuckled. He looked at the alpha with determination and narrowed his eyes “Try me.”

Though Einar was not bothered by Callan’s words his wolf was enraged by it. The challenge was accepted by the beast and he roared. Einar was trying hard to keep his wolf under check but the growls and the snarls which escaped his mouth were incontrollable. To make things worse he ordered his men to take lead and capture the human so that he could have some time to calm his beast. Little did he know that the consequence would not be as he expected.

The wolves were in their human forms charging for the man in front of them. The plan was simple. They surrounded Callan from all sides making it hard for him to escape. As they moved forward closing in on the distance they were taken by surprise for Callan just didn’t show any signs of surrender. He slowly looked at the sky and closed his eyes with a teasing smile on his face.

Before any one of the wolves could even register, a shrilling sound of the ravens scream boomed throughout.

The raven circled her master and multiplied itself at a rapid speed. Every wolf eye on the ground was wide with astonishment. It was the fear of the unknown in them. Arthur ordered his men to hold their ground and attack. However his plan shattered when the wolves were helpless to respond to the strikes made by the bird. Every time she descended, she made sure that her enemy felt the agony of her hit. It was becoming unbearable for the wolves to handle the sharp claws and beaks. Witnessing the apathy of his men Arthur ordered them to retreat.

Just as the raven was gaining momentum Arthur came up with a plan of his own. He gathered a few skilled warriors and was prepared with his darts and bows. One by one the flying birds which surrounded the human were being shot down. All but one.

Arthur was about to shoot the last bird but a gush of powerful wind misdirected his position and he missed.

Callan looked concerned as he ordered the raven to take her human form.

Arthur could not believe what he saw. The last remaining bird transformed herself into a beautiful lady with long black hair. She was his mate. He connected the dots and understood that Callan was the reason he met her. That Callan was the man who encouraged their relationship. That Callan was indeed the master his mate was so proud of.

Isadora stood protectively in from of her master shielding the sight of the wolves. This sparked an insurmountable jealousy within an already angered Orcus. The alpha growled and charged towards the lady as fast as he could.

“No.. Not this time.” Callan whispered.

As he said those words he quickly twisted his palm and a large boulder uprooted from the ground. The rock levitated mid air and shredded into smaller stones as it paced towards every wolf on the ground.

The stones hit them left and right and the warriors were wounded by the assault. Arthur ordered his men to be safe and take cover. However his worry only accelerated when he saw the madness in Einar’s eyes. The alpha was holding his own while moving forward amid the bashing of the rocks.

“Protect Archer. I will take care of him” Callan instructed the lady.

Isadora obeyed the order at once and was off the ground. Einar on the other side was getting restless. He growled mightily before giving in his control to his wolf completely.

The black wolf howled and snarled at Callan. He wanted to dominate him, keep him under his command. He moved stead fast as the rain of stones barely affected him.

When Callan saw the black wolf approaching he gritted his teeth once again. He slowly joined his little finger to his thumb and moved his hands to his right. Orcus fumbled in his steps as the earth shook. The trees and rocks were creating a divergence between them. It was as if the land was separating in two parts.

No one could believe what they saw. The earth was cracking!

Orcus’ will was not shaken though. He took two steps back and leaped ahead to bounce on his feet and jump on the other side. He bared his teeth to Callan and went for his feet. However even before going there Callan lifted himself up in the air and circled the wolf in a tornado of gushing water out of nowhere.

A few distance away from the mayhem were some clueless but frightened wolves who were watching the scenario unfold before them with a feeble will.

“I have never seen something like this before!” Arthur exclaimed in astonishment.

“What is he?” A warrior asked.

Arthurs expression was mirrored by the entire pack. As the leader right now he had to take a call and so he braced himself “We have to help Alpha Einar.”

Seeing the confidence in their Gamma the wolves agreed at once as the army of wolves ran with force to reach their alpha. They marched a long distance round way to avoid the gap and were finally near their leader. Arthur ordered his men to form a chain of hands to reach Einar but Callan had other plans.

The wolves bravely went against the odds as Arthur was able to reach the wildly rotating water. He stomped his foot hard to replace ground and gather his momentum but the look on Callan’s face made him cautious.

From a higher distance above the ground the Elemental scowled his eyes as he looked at the warrior wolves. With just a flick of his hands the winds blew haphazard. The breeze took a wild momentum and every wolf on the ground was suddenly transported to higher distance from the ground. Their bodies swirled before being thrown at a considerable distance.

He flickered his hands once more and the water vanished in thin air. Orcus growled again and charged but his motion was caught by the earth below as it started swallowing his feet.

“Had it been otherwise I would’ve beheaded you right now.” Callan said with anger in his voice.

Orcus tried to free himself but the more he tried the more he struggled. The exhaustion forced his movements to halt. Hence with no option left he whimpered in agony before transforming to his human again.

Einar looked at Callan with determination “You know I would never let you leave. This land is under my protection. I will do whatever it takes to stop you.”

Callan felt smug after hearing those words “You don’t have the power to stop me.” He smiled with pain in his eyes “All this time when you foolishly thought that you were holding me hostage I was keeping my calm for your sake, for our sake! But now I realized my mistake..”

Einar scowled. The look in Callan’s eyes was more of an accusation. He tried to free himself from the ground so he could comfort his mate but all was in vain. Callan’s eyes were red with the insurgence. “You took away every one dear to me.” He whispered every word slowly making Einar freeze for a moment.

Callan kneeled in front of Einar and poked a finger to his chest in anger “You are the reason I could never have the childhood I deserved. You are the reason people hate me. You are the reason I am deprived of love.”

The skies above drastically changed their mood and underbellies of the cloud cluster darkened. The wolves from afar were watching the horrifying scene unfold before them. All this while Einar was frozen in his place with the mountain of his guilt.

“What wrong did I do to you?” Callan sniveled and shrugged “I don’t understand..! All I ever wanted was a normal life with the person I love. Was it too much to ask? You could’ve thrown me away from the pack and created a distance. At least my parents would’ve been still alive.”

Einar zapped his neck above as he widened his eyes in absolute fear. He had hidden this secret for the same reason. He felt obligated towards the protection of Callan’s father and mother and he failed. He hid the secret from his mate because he wanted to save him from the tremendous agony.

“Yes I know.” Callan read Einar’s face and replied. “Can you imagine the pain they must’ve been through when those nasty ferals attacked them?” He cried as his words fumbled and lips quivered “How it pained me to know that I could not see them for the last time, bid them farewell... All of this could’ve been averted if they weren’t banished from the pack.”

Callan was full of rage. “I deserved to be at my my parents funeral!” he roared as he scowled hard “Who gave you the right to lock me up and forbid me to meet my parents?”

His anger had reached its breaking point as he fisted his hand and hit Einar’s jaw with a force. The blows came in succession as Callan cursed Einar over and over again. All this while Einar silently took all the beating with a heavy heart.. He had hurt his love and he deserved this punishment.

When his anger was subsiding a little Callan was at his breaking point. He held Einar by the hair and slowly kneeled while sobbing profusely. He clicked Einar’s forehead with his own and opened up his heart to him “I just wanted to see them, one last time... Now I never will and this is all because of you.” he looked him in the eye as he said those words.

Einar was immensely shameful. It was the first time in his entire existence that he wished that he had died. His beasts were restless inside of him and so was he.

Callan took calming breaths after the emotional breakdown and stood on his feet. He walked away a little from the alpha as the gravels on his path moved, rearranging themselves to form a steady track. He sighed a large breath and turned, his face was indifferent of any emotion. “Kamryn, Meredith, Declan, Miriam, Alina... they never deserved to die. You killed them just because you were insanely jealous, overly possessive.” he took a pregnant pause “You are sick!”

“It was the wolf.”

“Orcus’ rage was fueled by your insecurity. Deep down you agreed with what your wolf wanted.”

“I.. I couldn’t control myself.”

“Like how you couldn’t control fighting Archer?”

“He challenged me..!”

“AND YOU ACCEPTED?” Callan raised his voice “Knowing for sure that he would end up getting killed. Knowing what he means to me.”

Einar’s eyes softened as he spoke “He wanted to take you away from me.”

“Was I ever yours?” Callan huffed in derision “What are we? lovers, friends, pack mates, acquaintances?” He shook his head “We are no one to each other.”

“We are bonded.” Einar said with pride “We are soulmates.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

Einar was taken aback by the statement. Time had frozen and his world had stopped revolving. His breath hitched as he looked at Callan with absolute disbelief. The only string that was mightier than any of their problems was acknowledgement. The fact that Callan acknowledged Einar as his mate made the alpha the luckiest man in the word. But now everything felt empty.

“You.. You don’t mean what you say.” Einar stammered.

“But I do.” Callan said with absolute conformity in his voice “You can never get out from this filth. This pack has ruined the both of us and I don’t intend to establish myself as the alpha mate. I am over it.”

“Please don’t say this. The blue moon pack is your rightful place. You belong to the pack, you belong with me. Leaving me will only hurt you because you love me and so do I.”

“What kind of a love is this where you hurt me over and over again.” Callan retorted “You crush my heart without giving a thought. You don’t acknowledge me, you let me be assaulted, you let me be disgraced. You destroy every reason of my happiness.”

“This is not true.” Einar shook his head vigorously “I have always thought about making you happy. I always think about keeping you safe, that’s my priority. Please don’t take my actions otherwise.” His words faltered as his breath became uneven “You know that I never intend to break your heart.”

“And yet you do..” Callan inhaled a large amount of air and looked at Einar with confidence “But now it stops.”

Callan stepped closer to Einar and leaned towards his torso. He soon engulfed the locket from Einar’s neck to his hand and whispered softly “Daragor my dear, I know you are inside there somewhere.” the locket glowed “I know you are listening.” Callan closed his eyes “I just want to say that I love you. You will always be in my heart.. I am not upset by you and how can I be?” he chuckled “I spent some of the most memorable moments of my life with you; the memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.” Callan’s smile faltered as he gripped the locket tightly “I am still hopeful that you will forgive yourself someday because I already did. Remember that I will be waiting for you... up until then I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart.” he kissed the locket with sad eyes.

Einar’s heart was racing. It was as if it would tear open its cage.

“Forget me. Clear my name from your mind. Wipe out all those memories that we had together.”

“Please don’t do this to me!”

Einar pleaded with his heart but the Elemental was indifferent.

Callan slowly took out the glowing locket out of Einar’s neck and propelled it to the air. The locket was levitating mid air as a tussle of power emanated between the beasts inside of Einar.

“What.. are.. you?”

“I am releasing you of your misery.”

Before Einar could respond to it a sudden bolt of lightening hit the locket mid air. The fog engulfed the locket completely as the zig zags were gaining momentum. The random strikes were weakening the structure of the gem as it cracked. The power of the gem was diminishing. Callan raised his hand one last time as the forceful bolt hit the center of the locket and it broke into tiny parts.

The gem released the powers of the beast as two huge fogs of red and black color hugged each other, trying to compete against one another before assimilating themselves inside of Einar.

The alpha screamed in immense pain. His booming voice reverberated across the entire main village. His eyes widened and his nerves pulsated the flow of confidence in him. With the new found strength in him he slowly pulled himself up and released his arms and legs from the ground.

As the wolves watched from a distance it gave them a new zeal, a new hope. Their alpha had regained his upper hand and now it was time for them to show their loyalty. Hence all of them unanimously ran towards the fugitive.

Einar was now sure that Callan, even if he wanted could not leave him.

As soon as the wolves tried to approach the Elemental, a loud screeching sound halted them in their path. They froze midway and howled. Their instinct cautioned them of danger.

Standing before Callan was a large black bird. The raven stood as tall as her master right by his side, shielding him. It was the magnificent shape that the bird had taken all of a sudden because of which the entire ground lay stunned. The raven crowed harshly and flapped her wings vigorously against the army of the wolves.

The blue moon pack on the other side could not withstand the tremendous pressure of air and they were thrown backwards. Callan gestured the bird to stop as he looked at Einar for one last time.

“We are never getting back together. I wish you luck.”

Einar was equal at strength but his heart was weak. He wanted to use all his muscular power to held the man captive. He gritted his teeth and and held Callan’s hand with a vigor. His eyes were focused and enraged. He wasn’t keen on letting go of his mate; ever. Callan dominantly matched Einar’s gaze waiting for his next move. Einar huffed in anger and gripped his mates arm to lock him inside so that he could never escape again.

But his conscience was already battered by his wrong doings.

He slowly pulled his hand back in helplessness. He had already lost the trust of his mate by doing what he thought was right. Had he listened to his instincts at the right time a lot of misfortunes could have been averted. He realized his mistake but it was too late.

He gathered his courage as his lips quivered and his eyes were wet. And just like that the most powerful wolf on the planet slumped his shoulders and kneeled in front of the Elemental. The entire pack was watching with disbelief but Einar did not care. This move would prove him weak but Einar did not care. For all the air in his body he just wished that Callan would accept him again.

Einar gently held both the hands of his mate and lightly kissed them.

“Stay..” he whispered. “Please..!” He begged with a quivering voice. He was rendered exposed to his inner self, the real Einar but the alpha felt content. He wasn’t ashamed, he was just scared.

Callan was glad to see this side of his mate. Einar was finally embracing the real him. Callan stretched his lips a little and sighed to control his emotions. He bend forward a little to plant a long kiss on Einar’s forehead. He gradually withdrew himself from Einar and stood there motionless.

The golden moments they spent together were all flashing through his mind. The day when he knew Einar was his mate. The moment he realized the abundant love in Einar’s heart. The day when they first kissed!

The glimpse of those memories were weakening the will of the Elemental. He looked at the sky and exhaled for he knew that the alpha had enough chances already.

Callan retreated his steps slowly as his gaze locked with the man he once loved so dearly. He sighed to brace himself. He climbed the back of the raven and ordered her to leave at once. Isadora obeyed and the large black wings flapped steadily leaving the ground the very next moment.

Arthur was about to instruct his men to chase the Elemental but Einar with a heavy heart forbade any wolf to intervene.

Einar was glued to the ground and he watched his life slipping away from him. His tears flew in succession as the water was raining upon his happiness; taking away all the joy of his life. Callan was evading from his clear sight, marching for the heavens while Einar was left stranded to gather the empty pieces of his broken heart.

******** The End********