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."

Julia put her hand on Callan's shoulder as a token of sympathy "Don't say that. Destiny has its ways to bind people together."

"It isnt that easy." He whispered in hopelessness.

"Indeed It is not." She retrieved her hand and sighed "When you told me that you cannot marry me, I was devastated. I cried for days together, never left my room."

"I am truly sorry." bumpy tear drops erupted from his eyes. He knew he was at fault. He had aspirations for their future. He colored her in his own vision, made her a part of his plans, showed her a fantasy world only to crush her dreams and leave her stranded all alone.

He looked sideways to hide his shameful tears before making a courageous effort to look at her smiling face as she said "I had to accomplish the duty to my father and so I agreed to marry someone else. I never lied to any of my suitors. I told them everything, even the fact that we slept together. I got rejected every time. When Leonard came to my house I was shocked."

"Why?"

"I never really liked him. He was a stalker, or that's what i thought about him initially. He used to follow me everywhere since we were kids. It turned out he loved me for a long long time. He was apprehensive about himself, that he doesnt 'suit' me because of his looks. He backed down when he saw that I was with you. So when he proposed a marriage I was taken aback." She chuckled a mild laugh before wiping a tear of her cheek "He agreed to marry me knowing that i may not love him back. He said that having me in his life was a gift. As the days went on I cherished the moments between us, the efforts and dedication he put on to sustain this one sided marriage was remarkable. I realised that no one in the entire world could love me as he did and still does.."

"I am really happy that you met Leonard." Callan smiled as the burden of his repentance was now somewhat lighter. He was content that Julia was well taken care of. That she was being loved as she truly deserved.

"Yes I am too. You know Callan, I made him suffer so much! Never cooperated with him, threw tantrums and even made him cry. All of it just so that he could leave me alone, abandon me but he did not budge. He waited. He kept a firm resolve and did not expect anything in return. His patience and resilience was praiseworthy. He was so determined to win my love that I had to cave in eventually. I realised that you cannot fight your fate. So what I am trying to say here is that you should not be upset, just dont lose hope. I am sure there is someone made out there just for you."

These comforting words from someone important really filled Callan's mind with hope. Tomorrow he was going to leave his pack and live a life entirely new. A life which was meant for him. So why not give another chance to destiny and wait for his special someone. There was no harm in holding back a little. He plastered an encouraging smile and ruffled Julia's hair "Were you always this wise or is it the baby in you."

"How did you know...?" she stared at him in shock as her biggest kept secret was revealed just like that. Most importantly what bothered her more was that it had been only a month and there were no clear signs to detect if she was pregnant. Then how did Callan know?

"I..I'm not sure." Callan was surprised by his own revelation. He discerned the baby within her and not just that, he was even sure of the gender!

But how? Was he hallucinating? Was something wrong with him?

He looked at the glowing bracelet in his hand and panicked "I should leave."

****

The same night at the opening of the forest

Words had left him. Callan stared at those dark, black orbs with utter confusion and burning dubiousness. What had the demon done! No male wolf in his right mind would kiss another male. What had gotten into him? Einar had a mate for crying out loud! He wanted answers but he couldn't will his lips to move. He was shell shocked.

The demon on the other hand kept gawking at the entire self of his mate from a comfortably close distance. He lovingly looked at him with a smile "It is the first moment in this lifetime that we met as we were intended to." He propelled his body ahead and embraced Callan in his aura. He landed his feet on the ground and went close to his ears "You look more beautiful than you used to be." He whispered in a husky tone.

It was as if this moment had knocked every wisp of air from Callan's lungs. He did not know how to respond or what to say. He stood there struggling, unable to do anything. When his lips finally moved he could only think of uttering the question which was killing his brain "Wh.. Why d..did you k-kiss me."

The demon smiled and he slowly leaned forward to kiss the cheeks of Callan taking him by surprise "Because you are my mate." The demon stated as a matter of fact.

"No! I am not!" Callan retorted. Callan's mind froze at the statement made by the demon. How could the demon have the audacity to even think of touching someone else when he already had a mate! The wolf and the demon shared the same body and hence by nature it was written in stone that they were to have the same mate. In fact Einar had even announced Rosaline as his Luna to the entire pack. Then what was the demon blabbering about? Could it be possible that the demon was tricking him so that he could ask for his soul and feed on it.

With a firm resolve and a tough stand Callan moved his chin up "I cant be. What if Einar knows about....."

"Ahh.. He wanted to kiss you for a long time now." Callan's mouth lay hung open on the revelation "He has been dreaming about these lips every night. I just made his wish come true." The demon caressed the mans lips with his forefinger. Callan subconsciously took a step back as the spirit chuckled at his innocence "The human thinks he can control me and restrict me from meeting you. How stupid can he be! I have told you before my love, no power in this world can separate you and me. I will destroy everything that stands between us!"

At that very moment, lightening illuminated a brilliant pathway in the sky making a thunderous boom "You are doing it again." Callan was confused by the demons words but soon the demon chuckled as he pointed skywards at the crazy zig-zags "Threatening me.."

Callan shifted his focus in a jiffy and looked at the glowing bracelet. He then observed the serene but knowing features of the demon as if the glowing of the locket was nothing unusual to him. Was it possible that the demon knew about the magical powers of the bracelet all along!? And if yes than why did he hid it from Einar, his true being.

"I understand that you are in a dilemma between holding to your facts and accepting the truth but the fact remains the same. YOU ARE MY MATE."

"I don't believe you." Callan whisper shouted at the spirit.

The demon smiled "You will.. Soon."

Callan squinted his eyes when he heard those words. He wanted to believe that the spirit was lying but some where deep down he had apprehensions about his own truth.

To think of it, the demon had saved him on different life threatening situations. He could have easily fed on Callan when he had the chance. Besides he never talked to anyone in the entire pack but him; not even with Rosaline!

These thoughts were unsettling for Callan. His mind was sinking in a pool of anxiousness. He was not confident to even face the demon eye to eye. His mind was filled with a chain of puzzles right now which he was unable to solve.

"What do you want from me?" He gulped with evident fear.

"Nothing.." he brushed some air to the dangling hair on Callan's forehead "Yet I want everything from you."

He kept his gaze stoic as he looked into the deep mesmerizing green eyes of the handsome man. Callan felt exposed and slightly awkward at the constant gawking of the other worldly being. The demon slightly tilted his head "The human was right.."

Callan squinted his brows at the demon as he hesitatingly asked "A-About what?"

"The fact that you have the most alluring eyes in the entire world." As if instinctively, Callan rapidly blinked his eyes and wet his dry lips. He tried to avert his gaze but somehow it was difficult for him to look away.

The demon sighed "My existence in this world is solely for one purpose.. YOU."

Callan's heart beats hammered at a new high. It felt like his rib cage would soon explode with the constant thoughts of what happening to him. The words of the demon were unnerving him. He had to settle this once and for all otherwise he was sure of his hearts failure to pump any more blood. Callan opened his mouth to speak but held back when he saw the disoriented eyes of the demon. They were emitting some glowing mist of their own and were completely unfocused.

The demon came out of his trance and looked at Callan with a stoic expression "We have guests.." he smirked devilishly "It will be fun."

The demon held one of Callan's palm to kiss it "I have to handle some business my love. I have to ensure your safety. You have a lot on your mind right now and I promise to answer every of your questions when we meet next." He caressed the cheeks of the man "I wont let anyone jeopardize my love for you. Not the wolves; not the world; AND CERTAINLY NOT THE HUMAN." he hissed at the last words.

The demon slowly floated in air and looked at Callan with intense eyes "Wait for me on the next full moon my love. I hope that you think of me until then; cause you are going to be on my mind always." He lifted himself higher and accelerated towards the depths of the jungle.

Callan saw the figure vanishing from afar and was glued to the spot in apprehension. What just transpired? He could not wrap around his head for what just happened moments ago. Tension grew in his face and his limbs, his mind replaying the memory from before. His breathing became rapid and shallow. His primal surge was to flee the place and secure himself in a safe haven.

But no place could give him respite at this moment. The torment was real and he wanted answers. He scanned his area and waited for a brief period before exhaling long breaths. Standing here would not solve his problems. With a firm resolve and determination he headed to the place to meet the person who knew it all.

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