I Claim Your Love novel Chapter 34

A day before the carnival

Callan cautiously paced in his room to collect the things he required before meeting his best friend. With delicate footsteps and hushed movements he opened his drawer and retrieved the present he was going to give Archer. He pushed the drawer back and turned around. His sudden movement caused the bowl on the table to stumble down and make a clanking sound.

The girl on the bed woke up with the sudden noise. Her eyes took in every ray of light and she realised that she had slept for quite some time now. Her heart was pounding while she gulped in fear to asses her surroundings. She breathed in relief when she saw the apologetic face of Callan.

"I am really sorry... I never intended to wake you up."

The girl nodded in understanding. Her eyes caught the visual of Callan being dressed up. "Where are you going?" she asked rubbing her eyes.

"I am going up to the mountains to meet my friend. I may not return home tonight. I had left a note for you." he shrugged and lowered his voice "But I guess there is no need for it now."

"Thank you for giving me shelter." Her lips stretched in an innocent smile.

"I really wanted to talk to you about that." Callan sighed deeply before taking a seat on the bed besides the girl "My parents have been discharged from their duties so they will be in the house more so than often."

The girl bowed her head while she looked at her fidgeting fingers "That would be a problem." she whispered to herself.

"Yes. That would be a problem."

She jerked her head to face the man with hopeful eyes "You can come up with an excuse right?"

"Actually...." He puckered his lips in hesitation "You may not find me here the next time."

"Why?"

"I am leaving this pack forever."

The moment the words left him, the girl was taken aback. She opened her lips but no word came out of her mouth. She looked at him and back to herself and after a pregnant pause she looked again at the man. "This is your home. Where would you go?" her lips trembled "What about me!? You cant just leave me here all alone." Fright was clear in her eyes.

"Just hear me out please." Callan put his palm on her hands in a gesture of sympathy. Small drops of transparent liquid were now freely flowing through the eyes of the girl. Callan felt bad for the juvenile girl but he had no choice. He gathered his courage and breathed deeply "This cannot go on for very long. People will know sooner or later. You have to be open with your parents about it. I know your father, he will definitely help or at least come up with a solution. You cannot hide forever."

"He cannot do anything." She lowered her voice "The constraints surrounding us wont let him help me." The girl soon embraced the man in a desperate hug and clung to Callan as if parting with him would cost the very life of her.

"Please don't cry." He caught her arms and leaned her back to face her. "Lets just talk about it next time." Callan realised that the girl was being sensitive at this time and he had to make her understand his point of view. He decided to leave the matter unsolved and deal with it later when the girl was in her senses.

"Breakfast is on the table and the decoction is in the blue bottle, make sure you apply it before you fall asleep. Take care." He kissed her forehead before leaving the house.

****

The day of the carnival

It was an emotional storm scattering Callan's feelings all over the place. He was happy, he was excited, he was sad and he felt the longing within him. How many days had it been since he met her!? He never expected to see her after the day he broke her heart.

The lady in front of him was charming as ever. Her long curls were beautifully decorated on her forehead. Her gown was shining gold and standing out from the rest of the crowd. Even the adornments she wore added to the mystique of her beauty. She looked vibrant, she looked mesmerizing.

Both of them looked at each other and their gazes locked.

It was as if there was no one around them. The only thing they could see was one another. She smiled at him and a warmth soared his body. He smiled in response until he noticed that a treacherous bead had wet his cheek.

Archer intervened in the moment when he saw his friends emotional turbulence "That's all for today everyone. We have a clear winner. Thank you all for participating."

The crowd dispersed at once muttering curses at the lady. Soon Archer, Fayette and the wolves also left the place to gift the two of them some precious moments together. Both of them stared at each other for a long time. Each one of them having a lot to say, a lot to convey.

It was awkward for both of them as they were finding it difficult to begin the conversation. A void of years could not be filled in with mere words. Finally after a long pause Julia broke the silence with a smile "Happy birthday Callan."

Callan nodded and choked with glossy eyes and a cheerful grin "You haven't changed a bit."

"Usually people say 'Thank You' in response." both of them chuckled. After a brief pause Julia said "You are more handsome than I last saw you."

The pure bliss to watch the lady in front of him brought back some good old memories. They were young and so in love. They cherished each other, praised their abilities and accepted each others shortcomings. They were perfect for each other. The ideal couple.

But Callan's fate had other plans.

He still remembered the day he spoke to his parents about the girl and how he was shattered to know that he had no right to love any one. The most difficult part of it was to make Julia understand his predicament and break things with her amicably.

He distanced himself from her, struggled to connect with his true self and when the day finally arrived he uttered the most dreadful words that broke him from the inside. He saw the struggle Julia had to face to compose herself. Like she was forbidden to breathe. Like she was banned from existing. Like the most precious thing to her was taken away. She pleaded and even begged Callan to accept her but he refused her advances and broke all the ties.

The last time he saw her, she was on her knees. A crying mess, sobbing her heart out, pushing the earth beneath with her hands in vulnerability; and here she was today. All elegant, charming and lady like. He resisted the urge to touch her and gulped his longing for her.

"How are you?" He asked partly smiling, partly crying.

"What do you think?" she winked her eyes.

"Being a village chief's wife suits you. I hope you are happy." He whispered the last part.

"Leonard loves me very much. He agreed to marry me even when he knew about us."

"You seem to like him a lot." His breath got stuck and he paused for a moment before asking "Do you love him?"

Callan hesitated cause in reality he did not want to know the answer. A part of him wished that she loved him and no one else.

"Not as much as I loved you.."

She witnessed the dithering behaviour of the man and decided to lighten the mood by changing the subject "Let the past be in the past." She took a long breath of confidence "Tell me about yourself. I still see you hanging around with Archer. Don't tell me you have fallen for him." she chuckled.

He gawked at her in amusement before replying "I was in a few relationships after we fell apart but they were nothing compared to you. None of them worked. I had hopes for me and a fellow packmate named Viola but it turned out that since I am not a wolf I am forbidden by law to pursue her. So I have given up my hope for love a long time ago."