I Claim Your Love

Chapter 31: A Winning Loser

The fear thoughts looped around in Einar's mind as there was room for no other thought. In a matter of

a few hours his mate would be in the battle field preparing for his death bed perhaps. The thought

brought plenty of rage as Einar had tried his every move to refrain Callan from entering the competition

but the adamant nature of his mate compelled him to bow. The next few hours would simply pass as

blip or it would break his mind completely.

Sitting in his office in front of piles of paper was the only salvation Einar had. He constantly made sure

to keep himself busy in other works which would distract him from the inevitable. But the diversion

worked only for a few moments before his mind engulfed in the thoughts of Callan again. Einar

visualised the smiling and charming face of Callan which would soon turn into a bloody, bruised figure.

He wanted to have good thoughts throughout but his heart could not deny the possible outcome of

tomorrow.

Einar screeched his chair back and rose to his feet. He slowly made his way to the window to look

outside the open ground. Young enthusiasts were training themselves for the important day. He was

happy for the strength of will of his comrades. However he was more afraid about how he would

survive tomorrow when Callan entered the ring. His determined beast would kill on the spot if even a

hair of his mate was touched. How was he supposed to perform his duties as the alpha and control his

animal at the same time?

The Alpha sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his head. His attention was drawn to the

door when a sweaty figure made its presence.

"I thought you were working." Garrick asked wiping his face of the wetness.

"I am trying to work but somehow I always get distracted."

By this time Garrick was intelligent enough to know who ruled his best friends thoughts. Talking about

Callan with someone had brought a little relief to Einar's burdened mind. Though the pain, the agony

would remain the same but the Alpha was soothed a bit when he shared things with Garrick.

"Then i suppose it is the right moment to have a conversation."

Einar furrowed his brow and looked behind his shoulders. "What do you want to talk about."

"The gift perhaps.. Have you thought of anything yet?" Einar sighed as he forgot about the age old

traditions of the pack. It was mandatory for every Alpha to present a gift to his Luna welcoming her in

the pack. Though it had to be done on the night of the coronation but the situation back then was far

from ideal.

"I promised her to give whatever she desires."

Garrick nodded and sat on a chair "You may have to announce a ceremony after the trials."

"For what purpose?"

"We have two new mate pairs on the cards." Einar raised a brow and uplifted his chin for Garrick to

continue "The bastard Alpha's daughter is apparently Tusker's mate."

"And the other?"

"It is Hazel; Luella's daughter." Einar deeply sighed when he heard the name. Luella was a distant

cousin of Garrick who lived in one of the villages in the northern borders and Hazel was her daughter.

Einar was astonished as Hazel was just eight years old.

"You look surprised." Garrick asked.

"I am more shocked actually. The Luna definitely has a wicked sense of humor when she pairs the

souls." The irony never lost in his tone.

"And now returning to your problem. How are you holding up?"

Einar shook his head "I have no answer to that question cause I don't know how to feel."

"Don't worry Einar, he wont win tomorrow."

"Have you seen him fight?" Garrick was speechless for a moment "Exactly. No one has seen what he is

capable of. You can have a fair idea for he has been trained by Justus himself." Garrick understood

what Einar was implying. Justus was fierce and a man of many talents. His fighting skills were well

known across packs.

"Even if what you say is possible, he cannot face those number of people in the ring tomorrow. I mean

it is mentally and physically taxing even for a wolf." Garrick reasoned.

"You dont think the thought wouldn't have crossed his mind. He must have anticipated this onslaught

already and made plans accordingly."

Garrick narrowed his eyes "You talk as if you are sure he is going to win."

"You don't know him as I do." Einar almost whispered "Once he sets his eyes onto something he will do

everything in his power to make sure he gets what he wants."

"What about your beasts? Will they be all right when they see their mate in the battle field."

"The demon for some reason has been eerily quite for the past few days." Einar sighed "It is the wolf I

am worried about."

"What if it jumps in the middle of the ring and goes on a killing spree."

"I have arranged a temporary solution for that." Einar took a small transperent bottle filled with liquid out

of his pocket "It will sedate him for quite some time, hopefully till the day is over."

"Why do you want him losing so bad?" Though Garrick knew the answer to this question he wanted to

hear it from his friend.

"You know what the Head warriors post mean. He has to be in the frontline every time there's an attack.

He has to put his own life at stake to protect his Alpha. Do you think this will go down well with my

beasts. Every moment he is on the field would put me in a tornado of anxiousness and worry. Moreover

how am I suppose to bear his injuries, cause he is going to get hurt a lot."

Garrick pursed his lip and nonchalantly sighed shaking his head. He wasn't entirely convinced with

what Einar just said "There is more to it isn't it?"

Einar turned away from the window and sat on his chair. He rested his palms on the desk while his

head leaned backwards facing the ceiling "If he becomes the next head warrior than we have to work

together. Our proximity will increase our tensions. So it is better if he stays away."

"How ironic it is." Garrick chuckled "On one hand you want him to be safe and uninjured while on the

other hand you have accepted all the willing applications to fight Callan without even blinking an eye.

Let us assume that he overcomes all the hurdles tomorrow; then what would you do?"

Einar leaned his head forward and looked at his friend in despair "I dont want that to happen but if the

situation reaches a bind than I would do everything in my power to make sure he does not wins."

****

Warrior after warrior failed to bring the human down. Callan had been on a roll since he stepped foot in

the ring. His fight tactics and manoeuvres were not only unique but were also quite effective on the

wolves as well. He managed to defeat even the seasoned warriors of the pack which was truly

amazing.

Though Einar felt immensely proud of his mate, a part of him was worried, scared for he was close to

wining his trial. Einar's initial plan was to let nature take its course while Callan faced every opponent

who had listed for the head warriors post. Even after facing fifty five people, he was not backing down!

What stressed Einar more was the fact that if his mate did win then he would have no reason to deny

what Callan was after.

When the final dong belled Einar's breath got struck. No one in the arena could believe what they were

witnessing. He saw the reaction of the people, the look of hate and disgust for his mate. He knew that

no one would be acceptive of Callan as the new head warrior. With a firm resolve, he quickly stood up

from his seat and muttered some words to the announcer. He exhaled a deep breath as headed

straight to the ring.

When Callan saw the man in front of him, he was shocked. Never in their life had the two of them

fought each other. Callan was weak and out of breath. Moreover his injuries added to his woes. How

was it fair for him to face the strongest wolf in the entire pack in such a condition! Callan was sure that

even in his good health he could not defeat the alpha. He was dumbstruck when the announcer

declared Einar as his new opponent. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

When he saw the raging figure approaching him Callan almost pleaded "Please don't do this. You will

ruin everything for me!"

Einar huffed in his anger "You left me no choice."

Callan gasped as the very next moment Einar made a dash towards the man and threw him flying to a

distance with just a tuck of his shoulder. Callan fell back on his injured leg and groaned in pain amidst

the cheering of the crowd. He steadily stood up on his wobbly feet and took a long breath to calm

himself. He concluded that there was no other way to come out of this than to fight the alpha. Since

Einar decided to fight in the human form he was partially relieved. He took a mental note on the

accessories he had right now. A metal staff attached to his back, a few darts, a rope, a dagger and

some meditated dust. He gathered some courage and both the men went at it again.

A sudden wild reaction rose from the audience as Einar approached Callan. The latter deceived the

alpha with a handful of dust. He threw the powder aiming the eyes of the alpha. Einar in the very next

instant was rendered helpless as a strange irritation surged through his eyes and he lost his

coordination. Callan took advantage of the moment and flew his darts right at Einar's legs till the alpha

was on his knees moaning in pain. He then fastened Einar's hands tightly together and pierced the

dagger right at Einar's flesh which joined his head and shoulders.

The alpha roared in agony but the move seemed to infuriate him even more.

Callan was bewildered when he saw that the tightly knit ropes were thawed by the pure muscular

strength of the alpha. Einar stood on his feet with angry eyes. His nostrils flared once again as he

charged at Callan with a growl. No sooner Callan came from his shock did an iron fist collided with his

jaw. He felt the pain and saw the second blow come for his abdomen. Blow after blow Einar exploded

every part of the body deemed fit as per any warriors etiquettes. The hits had such a force that Callan's

ribs were almost dismantled, his eyes bulged while his shirt was tore open showing his crimson

patched wounds all over his torso. All this while Callan was trying hard to save himself from the

onslaught but his senses were giving up soon.

Callan sunk to Einar's stomach and threw up some blood. His eyes were swollen while more blood

pooled in his mouth. A sensation of sting bees rang through his head as he made his one final attempt,

a sloppy fist aiming nowhere in particular..

Einar was chagrined. Even in this condition his mate was not ready to quit. He held Callan's neckband

with one of his hands and brought him up, levelling him to stand face to face. Callan's eyes were barely

open while his lips were oozing blood from the cuts. His once beautiful face was now decorated in

scarlet, red liquid. It ached Einar to do this but he had to fulfill his duty for his people. Without thinking

twice he fisted his other hand to swung it back and force it down to Callan's face for the final blow.

With feathers black as tar, the Raven hovered around the alpha with a sickly caw. Einar's movement

was suddenly interrupted as he let go of Callan and focused solely on the approaching bird. The raven

flapped its ebony feathers and landed the first attack on Einar's face with its sharp beak. Though Einar

was taken aback for a moment he was contemplating the attack of the bird to be trivial. However the

strike of the bird brought a burning pain to the area which it hit. The sting was excruciatingly painful and

was not subsiding. The bird was swift in its movements and surprisingly faster. Moreover, every attack

the bird made took Einar by surprise as he was weakening in his stance. He was irritated and

extremely infuriated at the raven.

Up until this time Callan had awakened from his rest and was proud on his bird for defending his

honour. He saw the look on Einar's face and knew that he had to strike at once while the alpha was

distracted, when he has the chance. He stood up and took slow heavy steps forward to help the raven

when suddenly bones cracked and a large black wolf appeared out of nowhere.

Callan was dumbfounded "Luna.. have mercy!"

To change into your wolf in between a match was immoral but not against the rules. What worried

Callan though was the wolf in question was the alpha himself. No one had ever defeated him; hell no

one was even able to stand before him more than a few moments.

Dark as the night, his fur was glossy and thick. His paws thumped the earth with a bang. His

movements were fluid and without any effort. The blood shot eyes glaring with a full intent ahead,

aiming straight at its victim. With a vicious roar the wolf paced after the bird and jumped at an

unimaginable height to grab the raven with its jaws and strangulate its body with its bare teeth until

blood splattered through its muzzle. The gentle aching caws of the raven slowly died with the tightening

of the jaws before it fell to the ground; lifeless.

Callan was still. It was as if something inside of him had died. He felt guilty, ashamed for he became

the reason why his companion was murdered. Tears spilled in succession as his lips quivered and legs

wobbled.

The wolf saw his mate crying and his instincts commanded him to soothe him. However when he saw

the reason of his sorrow was the bird on the floor, he was agitated. Jealous that his mate was still

inattentive to him even after all these years. He snarled at once and picked up the bird with his strong

muzzle and swayed his mouth to threw him at a large distance. He then looked at his mate and

ferociously growled. He wanted his mate to submit before him; to accept his nature; to embrace his

wild.

When Callan saw his friend tossed at a distance a searing pain rose within him. His heart was aching.

He was angry. He wanted retribution for the dead and when the wolf growled at him, he snapped! He

screamed in exasperation on the top of his voice and retrieved the staff from his back gripping it firmly

through his palms "COMMON YOU FILTHY WOLF. I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

The blatant insult from his mate made the wolf angrier and he vowed to show the man his place. The

wolf swiftly jumped to the front and took large strides to take a shot at Callan. When he was about to

bite the man, Callan stashed the staff in between the wolfs teeth and juggled to take control of his

muzzle. The wolf and everyone in the arena were surprised for Callan was just a human but the

strength he possessed right now was unthinkable. He had clearly managed to subdue the wolf. It

wasn't as if the wolf was holding back rather it was Callan who was making it difficult for the animal.

The tussle soon ended and what followed were a series of hits and misses. The wolf on occasions tried

to get hold of his mate while Callan was leaving no opportunity to hit the wolf with his staff. On one

such instance the staff was thrown away and Callan was left defenceless. Still, the man bared his teeth

and went ahead to land his naked blows left and right to the lower muzzle and the front legs of the wolf.

The power of his fists were hampering the wolf's movement. Callan gathered all his strength and

landed a mighty blow straight to the lower jaw of the wolf. The animal faltered and the crowds cheering

was stilled. Silence everywhere.

The wolf had had enough. He gathered his stance and shook his head violently before roaring a mighty

growl. He quickly raised his left paw and tore open the torso of the man. The already injured Callan

could take no more as he fell to the ground, lying flat on his back. The wolf pounced on him and stood

on his arms. With one final growl the wolf extended his canines and buried his teeth in the shoulders of

the man. An unimaginable pain scorched the flesh of Callan.

He screamed in agony, he screamed in pain..

Right at that moment the sky rumbled, wild winds flowed haphazard throughout while the air near the

ground uplifted the mud with itself and swirled. Callan was beyond angry, though the pain he was

feeling was out of this world, he did not wanted to back down. In his desperation he looked everywhere

to try and find a route to escape when suddenly his eyes landed on the glowing bracelet in his hands.

He realised that unknowingly he had released the power of the metal. He bit his lower lips hard before

burying the back of his head to the ground. Giving up.

The once angry atmosphere was serene back again.

Callan lied down with his eyes closed. Tears made their way through the constricted eyelids. A myriad

of emotions were flowing through his body.

PAIN- for the bundle of injuries his body suffered.

RELIEF- as the hours of torture were finally over.

CONTENT- for it took the Alpha to take him down.

BETRAYAL- as his fate had conspired against him.

SORROW- as his dreams were crashed forever.

However, the poor fellow was unaware that the worst was yet to come as another emotion was ready to

raise his ugly head and leech itself forever to Callan- HUMILIATION..!

********