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"Why isn't he healing?" Einar asked worriedly.
The occasional shuddering of the disfigured face of Garrick was indeed concerning. It had been weeks since the unfortunate incident but the scar on the beta's face was just the same. The flesh that tore open diagonally wasn't integrating as it should be. In fact it oozed blood with a mere wrong movement which would cause a great deal of discomfort to Garrick.
"There is no cure for the curse of the supreme one." Aurora was nonchalant in her reply "Your friend here will notoriously be known as the scarred one."
"There has to be a way to treat him. May be Fayette could help?"
"For the love of Luna! Please keep the poor girl out of it. As if your friend hasn't done enough."
The tone was rude, the words bitter.. but the truth was hard hitting. Einar heaved a large sigh for he felt helpless at the moment.
Garrick had sinned.
When Fayette came begging for help to her mate he relentlessly put forward his condition. He demanded that she slept with him if she had to meet her friend. Fayette was livid with the unashamed proposal of the man. She even considered backing off but Callan's life was at stake. She had to make sure he was alive and so unwillingly against her heart she caved in.
Garrick's insecurities were dozed off but in the process he jeopardized the sanctity of the bond bestowed by the luna. Against the will of of the human Garrick had marked her making sure that she mates none and one day realize his true worth.
But that never happened.
Fayette's hatred towards Garrick grew tenfold and she vowed to never see the man again in her life.
Einar was angry at the actions of his friend and he reprimanded him for his behavior but the damage had been done and perhaps he was suffering the consequences of the same.
Aurora was trying her best to heal the ill man. However there wasn't an ounce of sympathy or emotion which she displayed while treating Garrick. She just went on as if she was meant to do her duty and nothing else. Einar was well aware of the indifference she showed. She was justified in her behavior he thought. After all he raided her house and destroyed her life's work. Moreover he put her on house arrest, suspicious that she would help Callan escape.
Little did he know that the four walls of the alpha house were not enough to stop her from reaching out to her friend.
Moreover the fact that Callan was something beyond a mere human never occurred in his mind. He was so occupied with his insecurities that he never once doubted the handsome man.
"I still cannot wrap up my mind through things. Callan.. how?"
"It was always meant to be." Aurora whispered to herself. She calmly put aside the thick medicated lotion and turned to face Einar "Since you were born.. actually even before you were born."
"I always thought of it as the folklore." Einar huffed "A story that was a bad omen."
"It was true."
"Why did he never tell me?"
And that was the question. He still could not understand as to why Callan would leave such an important aspect of his life hidden from him.
"He loved you but could never trust you."
The words stung but they were true. Love wasn't a problem in their relationship; it was always trust. Einar was heartbroken but realized that Callan might have had his reasons. Moreover, he lost the right to judge him when his own ledger was overfilled.
"He came to the pack house to reveal everything" Aurora sighed "But Rosaline's pregnancy came to the fore and he silenced himself. You refused to meet him thereafter."
The memory surfaced in his mind as if it was just yesterday. He had gathered all his courage to reveal everything to his parents. However the moment he stepped foot in the alpha house the environment had changed. Everyone was joyful. The happiness he saw was in his parents was indescribable.
His world had turned upside down. Being a father brought him joy but that meant that he had betrayed the trust of his mate. His duty as the alpha had overweighed his love for his mate.
"I was ashamed of myself." He lowered his eyes "I slept with her just once before the annual meeting of the alpha. It was done just to solidify the fact that we were an actual couple and that our mating was complete."
Aurora hummed "He did suspect you of killing Beatrice."
"She had it coming for her."
Einar felt as if he never knew his mate at all. His thoughts were always occupied with the beauty and the inner strength of the man but not once in his existence did he ever imagine that Callan was more than what met the eye. "What else did he thought about me?"
"He wanted you to come out of your fear." Aurora sighed and parted her lips "He wanted you to trust your beasts like he did. He knew one day he would succeed at changing your feelings towards them. He failed I guess."
"Or maybe I failed him." Einar was sad once again. He remembered all the precious moments he had spent together with his mate. Callan's presence was enough to calm the beasts and make them sane. However, he felt guilty for he blamed the handsome man for every outburst he had in his growing years.
Einar's beast were free but they hated this freedom without their mate. The aggressive wolf was always in hiding while the demon never showed up after that fateful incident. They were a mess.
Aurora knew the pain he was going through right now but she had to give the man his time.
The room fell into an awkward silence for the longest until something clicked on the alpha's mind and he spoke once again "This Elemental thing or whatever it is called; are there more people like him?"
"There are." Aurora replied hesitatingly "Since he is connected to himself fully now, he will be able to trace every member of his species."
"And his power?"
"You just witnessed a glimpse of it. There is no one like him. He has the power to kill your demon if he so wished."
"That's impossible!" Einar snickered in disbelief. He thought that the healer was exaggerating things but when he saw the look on her face and he was stunned. If what the witch said was true than Callan was the most powerful person on earth. His powers could potentially wipe out the entire blue moon pack.
"Why did he hide these things from me?" he asked more to himself.
"He loved you. Had he embraced his true nature than he would've forced to migrate places on the lookout for his people. Which meant that he had to leave you. He wasn't ready to part ways."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden disturbance of the wind which flew through the window. The blast of air carried with itself withered leaves of the fall and some green grass as well. The leaves then rearranged themselves to form a human face right besides the window.
Aurora was quick to respond as she gestured Einar to move at the far right corner while shushing him in the process
"I was worried sick! How are you?" the lady asked with concern.
The human face smiled a little "I am good Aurora. There were some problems on our way to the mountains but everything is fine now."
"How is Archer?"
"Another few weeks and he will be good as new."
"Seeing Archer as such would have broken the Kemps."
"Not really. We never made it there."
"Why?" The answer took Aurora by surprise. In their previous chats Callan had mentioned about his journey to the far west but before that he had to visit the Wollan mountains where Archers family lived. He wanted to leave his friend with his family where he could be taken care of.
"This idiot is not ready to leave me. Says i would end up in prison again."
The answer brought a little smile on the face of Einar who was listening to the conversation from a distance. "Why I'm I not surprised." he whispered to himself.
"How is Rosaline?"
Aurora took her time and sighed "The poison was too much. It was a herculean task to treat her."
"You did a wonderful job. I hope she wakes up soon."
The witch hummed in response. Strangely though the conversation was halted by the continued silence from the makeshift face.
"What are you thinking?" Aurora asked out of curiosity.
"I know Einar is listening to our conversation."
The alpha was surprised as his heart beat rose to the maximum. The witch side glanced the man who continuously gestured her to keep the talk going.
"The pack never did any good to me but I cant completely resent it because of you and Rosaline. Whatever happened has happened and I don't want anything to change."
"I don't understand."
The alpha was puzzled. His expressions mirrored that of the healer.
"Tell Einar that his first step of forgiveness would be to accept Rosaline."
The room fell silent once again. Einar's lips trembled as he looked at his palms. Clearly the weight of the words were too much to endure. He wanted forgiveness but not by letting the poor soul suffer in agony again. He had learnt from his mistake. In fact he had decided to unravel the mystery of his true mate to the entire world especially Rosaline.
The current luna had already gone through much. She filled in the gaps wherever necessary while still holding her own. She even put her life at risk by becoming the mate of Einar. but that was it. Einar had decided to part ways with Rosaline cause that was what nature had intended originally. He would've always kept her safe but not risk her life anymore.
"There is no need for a façade now." Auroras voice interrupted Einar's thoughts.
"There is! I cant hurt Rosaline. She has lost everything in her life. Her family, her pack, her mate and now her child. I could never repay the kindness she showed me whenever the pack was against me. She is a true gem of a person, and she trusts me. I don't want to be the reason for her unhappiness."
"Lying to her would do her no good."
"It would. She loves Einar!"
That was a big revelation. Einar was at a loss of words. His mind raced through images of his time with Rosaline but he was convinced that he never gave any false hopes to the lady. In fact he was clear from day one that their relationship was a mask for the outside world.
However what baffled Einar more was the sheer ability of Callan to give away his mate for the happiness of another. This was foolishness. Einar could never have a bond strong enough to overpower the one which he had with the handsome man. Rosaline would always come second no matter what. He shook his head in denial but the words of the man froze his heart.
"Tell Einar that I would forgive him if he accepts Rosaline from his heart."
Einar was stunned for a moment. He wanted acceptance more than forgiveness. He wanted to lay his heart open to Callan so that he would embrace him with all of his love But the condition set up by his mate was disrupting their journey of togetherness.
Surely Callan hadn't thought enough what it might cost him. Denying the bond would have severe repercussions on the both of them and not just Einar alone.
Einar had had enough of it. He hurriedly stepped forward and shouted in desperation "You are hurting yourself. The bond will make make the both of us weak. You wont be able to survive!"
The makeshift face chuckled "Does it matter anymore? I am half dead already."
That broke Einar's heart. He slowly stepped backwards with retrospection of his action. Cursing and blaming himself every now and then. He furrowed his brows as his wet cheeks had caught his attention. The pain in his heart had forced the tear drops to roll down his chance of happiness.
Aurora melted at the sheer site of Einar's agony. Her emotions slightly tilting towards the alpha. She pursed her lips and faced Callan "You know I love you and I respect every decision you make but please think again. There will be no turning back."
"I have to move forward and carry on my journey. Love has always disappointed me but not anymore."
The witch nodded "I wish you happiness my dear Callan."
"I wish the same. Until next time Aurora."
The leaves formed a mini storm and rotated vigorously before dying in front of the man. It was perhaps the death of Einar's hope as kneeled with his slumped shoulders and touched the ruins. He crumbled the leaves and bawled his eyes letting away the mountain of pain which swelled his heart.
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