I Claim Your Love

It seemed that the clouds had gotten a sudden fascination to the cottage as they hugged each other and hovered above it. The sky which once was swept away by flickering stars entirely, now could no longer hold its place. The clouds had banished the illumination of the celestial bodies.

The heavens were restless tonight.

Sabinus tapped his fingers to the curved silvery top of his walking stick. He occasionally glanced at the coruscation of the clouds, the way they were moving around the cottage and rumbling against each other as if threatening the mortals beneath.

Elder Odulf was restless while Aurora could not keep her emotions at check.

"Will you please say something!" she glanced at the man who was pensive looking at the sky. He rested his stick to a nearby tree and turned to face the duo. Aurora could extrapolate the gravity of the situation when she saw the grim face of the healer.

Sabinus sighed in defeat "I'm afraid there is little we can do."

"There has to be a way!" Aurora almost choked while her eyes could no longer delay the tears.

The sharp loud cracks from above were making matters even horrifying.

"The wounds are too deep for any shifter to bear let alone this human form. The canines have ruptured his skin entirely. You can even see his bones!" Sabinus caught a moment and sat on the nearest wooden log. "His powers have not fully manifested yet which makes it even worse. The minimum powers which he has activated are keeping him alive but barely."

"I don't believe I am saying this.." Odulf whispered and sighed "but if the arm is the real culprit then why cant we just get rid of it. Rip off his arm!?" Elder Odulf asked unsure of himself.

Sabinus shook his head "That would not help elder Odulf. Their race can survive only when every part of the human is intact. Think of it as a circle where the soul is the centre surrounded by the body; any part missing and the circle is broken, the energy flow lost."

"So we are back to square one. I cannot think of any more possible solutions. My medications and potions work differently on him; but I cant keep on experimenting. Its dangerous!" elder Odulf said in a low voice.

"Your right elder Odulf. We should not take the risk."

"So you are saying that there is no way to save Callan." asked the lady.

Sabinus stood from his place and looked at the motion of the wind which was gaining strength. "I can think of only one way." he turned to face them and said indifferently. "His true mate.."

Skeptical of the solution Aurora and Odulf looked at each other helplessly. It wasn't as if they had not thought about it. Even as a child Aurora had tricked Einar to save Callan, but tonight was different. Einar was not a child anymore; he could not be tricked or forced to do anything against his will. Moreover he had detached himself from his mate for a long time now so they were unsure if Einar would help.

"The fact is, Einar has not accepted Callan as his mate. From what I can gather, even his wolf has some issues regarding Callan. So I don't think he will agree to do it." Aurora reasoned with Sabinus. She knew for some reason Einar has not been accepting of his mate and keeping a safe distance from him. Aiding his process was his wolf who showed no sign of marking his mate as any normal case would be.

"Here is where you are wrong my love. The bond they share is way too stronger for the wolf to not acknowledge. However its not the wolf we need here." Sabinus whispered the last words.

Perplexed by the statement elder Odulf interjected. "As far as I remember Einar's wolf cured Callan when he was thirteen so it should not be a problem now."

Sabinus smiled curtly and nodded. "Back then Callan was a child and barely had his defences. Now the situation is contrasting, Callan's powers will repel every attempt made by the wolfs bond to claim him."

"So you are suggesting...." Elder Odulf tried to understand what the healer was trying to say.

Sabinus crossed his arms to his shoulders and said "We need the shedim spirit's power to cure him."

Elder Odulf could not form any words to speak while all Aurora could do was to stare at nothingness remembering the last time the shedim spirit had unleashed itself.

It was a brutal mayhem.

The problem was, that if the spirit was released from the enchantments than it would become uncontrollable. It would crave the company of its mate and unleash its wrath on anyone who came their way. It would be disastrous..!

But they seemed to have run out of options. If saving Callan would require a higher price to pay; than so be it.

"How much time does he have?" the helplessness and utter fear for her beloved friend had made Aurora cautious.

"The clouds have gathered already. I would say Callan has until midday to revive himself." Sabinus dejectedly lowered his eyes.

"Einar would never agree to such a request. He will not jeopardise his lineage by giving control to the beast." Elder Odulf stated as a matter of fact.

a resolve "He has to agree.." she almost whispered as if reassuring herself of Einar's

****

with their families.

Garrick and Rosaline. He was certainly not enjoying himself being in this situation. The constant chatting and muttering made the event even more unwanted

was fine made him less worrisome but his beasts had the mind of their own. Their anxiousness

headed for their respective accommodations. Garrick followed Einar in his room to discuss some pack business. Their interaction was disturbed when a guard knocked on

and said "Sire, lady Aurora

the healers presence at such an

in the

"He is sire."

back, returning to do his work. "Then ask lady Aurora to take up her matter with him. I have some

sire she insists that it is important and is adamant to

processed his line of thought for why the healer wants to meet him. For any other reason the healer was to report to the delta of the pack. Only in cases where the packs integrity was at stake was any healer required to handle

healer was different. She had defied orders in the past and certainly

What could possibly bring the healer here at this time? Garrick asked

clueless as you are. Einar shrugged. He than faced the guard "Bring

them noticed were her wet clothes.

to broach the subject. Einar discerned her hesitation and spoke

she realised Garrick was there too. "Actually.. I-I wanted to

Garrick is

uttered at

could sense that

mind giving us some space."

"But Einar.."

Einar

huffed and left the room

locked the room and appeared normal; his façade to hide his emotions. "So you were

She sighed and took a deep breath. "Callan needs

knew there was something wrong with his mate but Einar dismissed them thinking that they were

is talking a toll

Aurora, he turned his back and pretended to search for something. "I suppose he was recovering when mother visited him before sunset."

but his condition deteriorated thereafter and he is now barely

could you possibly think that I-I can help." he gulped glass after glass to

there is anyone in the world who

the glass with a thud on the table.

as well that his healing power is that of a normal human. The situation has

at her. Just the sight of blood earlier had made his beasts insane so how could

of his locket, took deep breaths and calmed

he poured another glass of

she almost

what do you expect me to

have tried everything in our power, every magic that I knew has failed. We are running out of time to experiment anything on him. We don't want anything to backfire you

don't get it. How do I fit in this proposal?" Einar

time. Aurora composed herself and took deep breaths of credence "If a higher power comes to play than we can hope that Callan's life

and spoke his words carefully slow "What you mean is that I use

"Shedim spirit. Yes."

her with wide eyes. "IMPOSSIBLE." he said with conformity. "I am not releasing the beast ever. The last time I had it, it ate

expected this answer but she had to try. She supplicated her request by pleading "Please..!

not risk it. The

your own

while the liquor bottle shattered into pieces as it slipped through his hands. To say he was shocked was an understatement. Einar's brain stuttered for a moment and his eyes