I Claim Your Love novel Chapter 56

The scorching heat was unrelenting in its wrath. The wolves stood in apprehension taking shelter under every shade available. They were forced to endure the brutality of the radiating heat. It wasn’t a choice. Today marked the day when the former alpha would repent for his deeds.

Two large metal strings were attached to the arms of the muscular man. At the end of the metal were two giant boulders firmly fixed with the rope. Einar looked at the sky above and slowly wiped off the sweat which formed on his forehead. He glanced at every face which either looked at him with worry or either in pity.

Everybody but one.

Beatrice sat on her royal throne whose back sprung a large umbrella upwards while four enforcers guarded her throne from every corner. She occasionally smirked and huffed at the pitiful state of Einar. She felt proud for she was responsible for everything that would occur from a few moments onward.

Einar looked at his loved ones in shame and sorrow. He couldn’t bear the agony, the pain his mother was suffering right now. His father though with a tough exterior, was on the brink of losing his constraint of emotions. Garrick looked equally worried while Rosaline fidgeted her fingers with nervousness. Everyone was scared of the outcome.

Einar than slowly swiped his gaze to the one face he wished he hadn’t looked at. Standing afar from everyone else was his mate in all his handsomeness, looking slightly worried but his smile remained intact and glued to Einar. He smiled through his eyes and nodded in assurance for this was his way to encourage the man he loved.

Einar lost his eye contact when Beatrice spoke all of a sudden. “Well then, I don’t think we should wait any longer. The sun is at its peak which means that you are ready to go.” She leaned ahead and devilishly smirked at Einar “Pay for your sins.”

Einar growled lightly in anger but he kept his mum for he was ready to suffer what Beatrice had to offer. The day when he attacked his pack members rendered him an obsolete alpha. A man who was seen as a destroyer rather than a protector. He knew that the royal council would use his vulnerability as an opportune moment to prove that the pack was in doldrums. Though his father’s timely intervention had saved the pack to an extent but the damage was done.

Beatrice smiled at everyone present and ordered the gong to be belled thrice. Everyone looked in anticipation as Einar had to seek forgiveness for his deeds. He had to pull the large boulders with his brute strength to the other side of the pack where his forefathers laid in peace. He then had to carve the name of his grandfather and put the stone right besides the grave. But all this was to be done before the sun was up the next day.

For even a muscular man like Einar the stones were heavy to pull. Besides the length he had to travel seemed impossible to cover in a span of one day.

The first step of Einar looked impossible. He gritted his teeth vigorously while all his veins popped up to rush the flow of blood, to provide him the energy to pull. He moaned in frustration and slowly inched forward slightly displacing the boulders.

Callan looked worried from afar and though his conscience was against it, he decided to intervene. He joined his thumbs and overlapped them face to face. As if on cue the weight which was being carried was lighter and easier to pull. Einar was astonished at his strength for the stones were moving fast and he could cover more distance.

The people around were amazed by the strength the man possessed while the alpha mates were partially relieved that Einar was able to circumvent this obstacle. Callan was trying his best to keep his identity hidden and use his powers without being detected. However his efforts were draining him. The more time this went on the more he was deprived of his energy.

Beatrice on the other hand found this predicament disturbing. She wasn’t expecting the previous alpha to be this strong. It wasn’t going too well with her. She stood from her place and whispered something to her guards. She marched forward and halted Einar’s strides.

“Stop right there.”

Her stern eyes were indifferent to the pained expressions of the man. She took two steps ahead and gestured to the people.

“Perhaps I underestimated the strength of this man. It is but obvious that the procedure is being carried out for repentance and look at him! He slid these stones with no effort at all. How will he prove to our ancestors that indeed he his sorry!” She huffed derisively and took a pregnant pause “I don’t think that only pulling this stone is enough to gain forgiveness.”

Soon the enforces arrived with huge sacs and took their respective positions. Beatrice turned to look at Einar with a devilish smirk and turned again. “He deserves to feel the pain he forced those innocents to go through.” She held the helm of the sac and retrieved an empty glass bottle. She gestured her guards and all of them pulled out glass articles one by one. Without any warning she slammed the glass bottle with a force right in front of Einar’s legs!

The people in the crowd were shocked when they realized what was happening. The entire path through which Einar was supposed to lead his way to the grave was being covered by smashed pieces of glass. Callan was left speechless when he saw what was being done. The anger in him was growing and he felt like strangulating the princess right at this very moment.

Einar closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh before his determined eyes looked ahead. He wasn’t going to back down. He took a strong step forward and as soon as his feet touched the ground the sharp brittle substance stung to his skin. The irritation was evident but the pain had just began.

Step by step Einar moved forward while the charred glass penetrated his bare feet. He grimaced with every touch of the substance but held his groans. His stifled moans of pain were noticed by the man who was equally pained at the moment; Callan.

Einar’s feet were now leaving behind a shadow of red dust. The blood which oozed through his leg covered his tracks.

A collective gasp echoed throughout when Einar stepped on a thick pointed glass. The brittle substance had pierced the skin right through the bones of the man such that glass had made a hole in his leg to make its way up.

Pain soared throughout his entire body and Einar could no longer contain his agony. He moaned the loudest while his eyes released some water to ease the pain.

Callan’s heart beat accelerated as he watched the man he loved in utter despair. His intention to help had somehow caused the muscular man to suffer even more. Callan looked at the women with hatred and resolved to show her her place when the time comes. However his sole attention was now focused on the man who was hissing in burning pain.

Beatrice felt proud of herself as she smiled at the weakened state of Einar. She was sure that he wont be able to reach the grave in time. She looked at the people with a dramatic change of expressions “I think we should leave the man alone. Let him complete his act of remorse in solitude. We being here will only discourage him.”

She diverted her attention to Einar and stepped towards him. she leaned ahead and whispered in his ears “I hope you die soon.” She smiled at him while Einar groaned in retaliation.

Beatrice huffed and ordered the pack to retreat. With glossy eyes and worried faces the people were compelled to follow the orders. Everyone took heavy steps back home but one man stayed behind. Einar looked at him with confusion while Callan looked at Einar as if his life dependent on the man in front of him.

As soon as everyone was out of his sight Callan ran as quickly as possible and embraced the man in a tight hug. The gesture took Einar by surprised and he leaned his body a little to ease his pain.

Callan slowly pushed him back and bent on one knee. He lightly but carefully uplifted Einar’s injured feet and kept it on his own knee. The very sight of the wound was disturbing to say the least. The hard glass had passed inside-out of the leg piercing all the way up. Callan was deeply pained for the suffering Einar had to face and for the agony which he was in right now.

He mindfully caught the lower end of the glass and without any warning pulled it downwards. The action made Einar groan loudly. He hissed in pain and when he couldn’t hold any longer he growled.

Callan slowly stood up and embraced Einar in a sweet hug. He kissed his cheeks softly and wiped the tears of his pain “Everything will be fine. I wont let anything happen to you.”

The spoken words soothed the muscular man of his pain in an instant. His façade was broken and he mirrored the adoring look of the handsome man. Both of them gazed at each other for the longest.

Just as he came to his senses Einar’s smile vanished and he sternly looked at Callan “Don’t be stupid Ashton. Go back home.”

“I wont go without you.”

“You are making it difficult for me. Leave at once Ashton I beg you.”

“I wont go. I told you I am not leaving you now and never.”

“You cant come with me.”

“And who will stop me.”

Einar gritted his teeth in anger and growled. However he took long breaths and calmed himself “Alright but stay out of the path.”

Callan smiled and nodded his head. He quickly made his way to one of the boulders and jumped on it to sit “I hope I wont be a burden on you.”

An innocent smile plastered Einar’s face as he whispered to himself “You will never be a burden for me.”

“I heard that..”

Einar cleared his throat and sternly rebuked him “Just keep your mouth shut.”

Callan smirked at that and decided to be quite. Not because he wanted to chafe Einar but he wanted to focus on what he was about to do.

Einar limped with his left foot and was heaving deep breaths to soothe his pain. He was aware that his discomfort would be noticed by the quick witted human and hence he had to endure all the pain in silence. Callan on the other hand was ready to share the punishment of his beloved.

When Einar took one step forward, Callan swiped his left thumb and all of a sudden the winds changed their direction. The winds circled and stationed right in front of Callan. The handsome man twisted his palm. The very next instant the strong breeze crossed both the men and swiped away all the charred glass pieces along with them.

Einar was astonished and he stood glued right at his place “Did you see that!”

“What?”

“The winds.” Einar’s mouth lay open in shock.

“What winds?”

“The winds that cleared the path just now.”

“That’s strange indeed.” Callan smirked “its an indication that your forefathers have already forgiven you.”

Einar was aware that Callan wasn’t taking this seriously. He marched ahead because he had no time to stop and think what miracle had transpired.

“We should proceed.”

Callan smiled at a bewildered Einar and used his powers to lighten the weight of the stones. On the other hand the easy going boulders was making Einar wonder if he had gained some extra strength all of a sudden. Soon the men reached the graves of the former alphas. It was a place where all of Einar’s forefathers rested in peace. Einar quickly searched for the appropriate grave and marched his steps ahead.

Callan however was sweating while his hands trembled to keep the stones in place. The excessive use of his powers was draining his energy. Callan sighed and breathed more air for he wanted to help Einar complete his task without any mistake. He landed on his feet and stood at a distance watching Einar hammering the stones to carve the name of his grandfather. Einar had to break the stones in a suitable size to fit in the length of the resting place.

Callan knew that Einar would have to exert a lot to do this strenuous act. His love and compassion propelled him to use his energy to help Einar. His breaths came in shallow pace but he gathered all of his energy one last time for when Einar hit the hammer, the big boulder was broken and a square shape stone was born.

Einar lay stunned for what he witnessed. The task required hours of hard work but was done alarmingly soon. He turned back to look at Callan to reassure himself of the miracle when he saw the handsome man lying on the ground unconscious.

****

The feeling of tender hands on his cheeks brought Callan out of his sleepy daze. He opened his eyes to witness a relieved Aurora sitting on the bedside besides him. She smiled at her friend and enquired “How are you feeling?”

Callan nodded in assurance that he was fine “Who brought me here?”

“It was Garrick.” Callan scowled for he remembered that Garrick was nowhere in the picture. He realized that Einar must’ve been worried for him but at the same time he was in the midst of something equally important. However there was hurtful pang in his heart because Einar preferred Garrick to take him home rather than he himself.

He sighed and looked at Aurora in anxiousness “What happened?”

“I guess you exhausted yourself too much. You should complete your awakening, in this way your body wont tire itself. You will be able to use your powers for long.”

Callan shook his head the moment those words were out of Aurora’s mouth “You know the time is not right.”

“Will you tell Einar?”

“Yes but only when I trust him.”

Aurora looked surprised “But I thought..”

“I love him. Trust is another issue.” Aurora nodded in understanding and decided to not delve in the matter any longer. Callan on the other side scanned his eyes throughout the room and came to the conclusion that he was in a familiar place “Why am I in my home and not in the alpha house?”

“They thought it would be better if you were treated in seclusion.”

“Beatrice?”

Aurora hummed. Callan was aware of the princess and her tricks. Had she known about Callan’s condition she would have investigated the matter to the core. On one side she would have tried to be unnecessarily closer to him while on the other side Einar would have been reprimanded because of Callan’s presence in the vicinity.

“Where are my parents?” Callan asked all of a sudden

“They are downstairs. Do you want to meet them?”

Callan smiled and nodded his head. He was aware of how worried his mother would be right now, she must’ve have cried a river and caught everyone in her storm of concern. He mentally smiled at his mother’s behavior and propelled himself up. Aurora was right behind him when both of them heard ranging voices from the floor beneath.

Callan sped his steps ahead and saw his parents face to face with Garrick and Einar. The muscular man for some reason looked angry. Accusation was clear in his eyes. Callan reached the ground below and stood besides his father “What is going on?”

Einar’s expressions softened for a moment before he gathered himself and looked sternly at the Ashtons “It is time for confessions. Your father hid something important when he was the head warrior.”

“I beg you Einar.” Justus spoke helplessly in a low voice “It has been years.”

“You broke my fathers trust.”

“I had to do it for my child.”

Einar huffed “Putting your Childs life in danger was necessary!”

Callan intervened the heated conversation “Will anyone tell me what’s going on!”

“You stay away from it.” Garrick pulled Callan away from the both of them much to the chagrin of the Elemental.

Einar kept his eyes focused on the man as if the presence of his mate did not bother him. “You knew the consequences.”

“I knew.”

The air in Einar was stuck in his throat while his locket glowed. He vigorously shook his head and took deep breaths “This means that you knowingly risked his life.”

Justus was calm for the longest. He exchanged looks with a crying Mary and diverted his gaze at Callan apologetically. The handsome man deduced the features of his father and his eyes widened in shock. He soon realized what the matter was all about and pleaded his father to keep his silence. However Justus bravely smiled at his son and turned his head to look at an angry Einar “I did.”

The words got Einar rallied again. His locket was vibrating while it levitated mid air. His eyes flickered from the original brown to a complete black. He gritted his teeth to control his beast and threateningly whispered “You also knew that he could’ve got killed.”

Justus was ashamed for his deeds and he bowed his head “There was a possibility.”

That was the trigger point for Einar. The locket in his neck was beyond his control. His eyes enlarged and a dark mist completely took over him. Before anyone could even realize it the demon had stretched his hand to the jugular of Justus. The angry veins in him popped up to flow the dark liquid and Daragor hissed his displeasure at Justus.

Callan’s mind froze and he stood on his place with a blank expression. He never imagined a scenario as such would ever occur in his entire lifetime.

Garrick, Mary and Aurora ran quickly to intervene Einar’s actions. They all tried to stop him but their efforts were in vain. One by one Einar was waving his hands and thrashing the wolves out of his way.

Callan was astounded to see the vexation in Daragor. It was certain that Daragor would stop only when Justus was killed. He looked at his father whose flow of blood was being constricted. The air in his body was leaving him and he was slowly falling in a deep sleep. Without wasting any more time the handsome man ran to his mate and held his hands with all the force he could

“Stop it... Stop it... Daragor NO!”

However the demon was in a different world. The only thing in his mind was to end the man who could have gotten his mate killed even before they met. He was angry beyond measure. He was so much in his daze that he even did not realize the hands which were stopping him from doing the deed. Even before he could stop it, the demon flicked his hand with his brute strength and Callan was thrashed to the nearest wall.

The agonizing sound of Callan’s painful moan was what brought the demon out of his daze. He slowly brought his hands down and looked at Callan with an empty expression.

Remorse. It was the only thing which he could feel right now. What had he done! He had hurt the only person in the world who he ever cared about. His subconscious mind was demanding reparations for his actions. He wished he could un-do what he just did. He didn’t feel like he deserved the love of his mate any more. The guilt was a stain on him, an ugly scar.

The handsome man looked at the distraught face of the demon and he was scared. Callan recalled the words of Daragor that he could never see him in pain and now he was the one responsible for it.

Callan stumbled in his stance but stood on his feet. He smiled at the demon assuring him that everything was fine; that he was perfectly all right. However the moment he took two steps ahead Daragor’s feet retreated backwards. He squeezed his eyes and tears of contrition flew through his cheeks. He apologetically looked at Callan and uttered his regret

“Please forgive me.”

Just as Callan was about to touch his mate, Einar inhaled a large breath and a globe of dark mist circled the man. It forcefully revolved around Einar before completely vanishing. Einar was on his knees with his eyes shut tightly. He heaved long breaths while his body trembled.

Callan sat besides Einar as quickly as possible and cupped the face of his mate. He instinctively jerked his face in order to make him open his eyes “Daragor! Daragor! Please open your eyes..”

The muscular man slowly opened his eyes. However his eyes were the usual brown instead of the dark orbs of the demon. The brown eyes were sad. Callan’s fear of losing his beloved became true when Einar uttered in a sorrowful voice “He is gone.. Forever!”

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