The ground was soaked with the incessant rains. The rains had become a killjoy in the otherwise happy environment. The abrupt arrival of rainwater was unforeseen as the sky had been clear the entire time. But soon the sound of music was replaced by spine-chilling noise of thunder and lightning. The entire ground was turned into a pool of water. The pack was appalled with the sudden disappearance of the rains as well. It was as if the rains wanted to make its presence felt; like a warning.
Einar could not concentrate on his surroundings. His mind was wandering.
He was remorseful.
He knew that he owned his behavior, that he trigged the flicker of his emotions. It seemed unfair that no matter how much he strived to be the man his conscience wanted him to be, he still would have to carry the burden on his shoulders and kill his heart.
He wanted forgiveness otherwise the memory of Callan's hurt face would haunt his memories tomorrow and the days which followed.
On the other hand, the pack had now assembled around the large open space. It was time for the celebrants to ask for longevity, prosperity and wisdom to Luna. As per the traditions the chief would be honored the duty to lit the bonfire. But the rains proved spoilsport here, the entire substance of heat had been wet due to the sudden downpour. Ragnar tried to ignite the bonfire but he failed miserably every time. The tradition was an offering to the Luna and if it could not be finished than as per the beliefs of the people, bad omen would follow the pack.
"Why don't you let Einar try? After all it's his birthday today; the Luna would definitely accept his offering." Ragnar agreed with Umberto.
"Come here son. Hold this torch and incinerate the bonfire. This would be your first step to reign in as the next Alpha." Ragnar's smug look said it all. He was happy that his son could finally carry his legacy forward.
Einar cautiously marched forward and held the torch in his hand with Garrick behind him. He was stiff and uninterested with the procedures that were going on. He gave the torch to Garrick while Garrick lit the torch and handed it back to Einar. When he reached the bonfire the illumination of the torch displayed a beauty; Callan was standing a few distances from the bonfire across the Alpha's son. Einar was mesmerized with Callan at the moment; his wet clothes hugged him tightly while his white shirt was transparent enough to show his beautiful skin.
Einar was turned on by the beautiful boy.
The beast inside him wanted to come out and be near Callan. Sniff him; taste him; devour him.
A slow tap on his shoulders brought him out of his trance.
"What are you waiting for? Light it up." Ragnar ordered his son.
Einar cleared his throat and concentrated on the task in hand. The moment the torch touched the bonfire, it doused off. The material was heavily wet and hence could not hold any fire. He tried once again but the result did not change. The pack members around were now tensed, the lighting of the bonfire was necessary for their procession to begin.
Aurora was standing near Callan and observed the situation. She knew that in order to light the bonfire her intervention was necessary. She quickly stood behind Callan's ears and whispered. "This may sound uncanny but I want you to concentrate on the bonfire. You were angry sometime before. Right?"
Callan nodded curtly.
"Channelize your anger at the bonfire. This will be your redemption."
Callan did what Aurora said. He focused his sight on the wet substance and remembered all the wrong that had happened to him today. He remembered all the pain, the suffering and the agony he had to endure because of Einar.
He was enraged.
Moments later, beads of water were flowing upwards as the bonfire made a whoosh sound. The people around were astounded with the glimpse of the miracle in front of them. The water in the substance was detaching itself, while it looked like it was raining in an upward direction, in a reverse fashion. The people had not recovered from the instance when the woods crackled and ignited a huge amount of fire to blur everyones vision for a moment.
Everyone around gasped in shock.
"That's enough Callan. Calm down now." Aurora kept one hand on his shoulder.
The people around were happy that the miracle did happen in the first place. They gave all the credit to Einar as they believed it was he who had been blessed by the Luna. That the Luna had accepted Einar's offering. How wrong could they be! Ragnar was swelled with pride for his son.
"Your magic definitely works Aurora. This wristlet is convenient indeed. I was in two minds to wear it initially but now I think I will keep it. Thank you for the gift." Callan hugged Aurora who returned his embrace with a curt smile.
Aurora had been gifting Callan a piece of ornament for his birthday every year. This was to keep his powers under control and make sure he is safe always. While Callan thought that all the strange happenings around him was because of Aurora's magical jewellery, it was actually the ornament which used to keep track of Callans powers and contain his emotions which he himself did not knew.
"But remember Cally. You are to tell no one."
"I know I know. I haven't even said anything to Archer, though I am dying to tell him."
"No Cally, you have to keep it a secret. Or you can to give it back to me."Aurora raised one eyebrow. Callan forcefully pulled his hand back, hiding his wristlet with the other hand.
"I promise I won't tell anyone. Please don't take it back. Besides it's a gift, you don't take your gift back. Once it is given it is the sole property of the recipient."
Aurora ruffled his hair and kissed his cheeks.
"That's the reason I love you."
Callan turned back when he heard a growl from Einar who was meticulously staring at Callan and the witch. He was completely miffed with Einar's behavior. "What is wrong with him? I always try to keep my distance but somehow he keeps meddling in my business. He must surely hate me to do this."
"He must've been stressed today. Don't hold any anger against him dear. I'm sure he must feel regretful for what happened earlier. Give the boy a chance." Aurora tried to pacify Callan.
Callan rolled his eyes "As you say Aurora."
Meanwhile Zelda was besides her son when she felt his anger.
"What happened son? Are you not feeling well?" Zelda asked with concern.
Einar frowned and answered "I'm feeling a bit tired mother. Can we just finish with this please."
"Of course my love."
Everyone gathered around the bonfire. People swayed to the music of the large drums while they sang their songs of glory and merriment, all to please the Luna.
Callan stood alone at a distance from everything. He was uninterested; standing there with nothing to stare at but distorting flames of fire was excruciatingly dull. He wanted go home and have some rest.
"Hi Callan. Happy birthday."
He was surprised to see a young girl with black curls and beautiful blue eyes standing behind him. Her lips were carefully tinted red and her skin was flawless. She was beautiful.
"You remembered! Thank you so much Meredith." Callan smiled in appreciation. He was smitten by the girl.
"Of course I do. By the way you are looking gorgeous!" Callan blushed at the compliment.
"Says the beauty herself." The girl's cheeks were red as she was giggling at what Callan had just said.
This was not going too well for Einar who had been watching Callan the entire time. He arched his back with his head to the moon and howled in a strong voice. The sound was of authority. The sound was of a raging fire burning inside him.
The entire pack was on a standstill with their heads bowed in submission. Except for Einar's parents and surprisingly Callan. Ragnar felt the conflicting emotions inside his son and realized that his beast was taking control. This could have been because of the full moon he thought. He commanded Einar to cool down but all Einar did was he glared at his father more fiercely like he was challenging his dominion.
Meredith was so scared that she ran towards her father for safety. Meanwhile Einar was glaring in full force. Ragnar knew that his son was now accepting the full force of his beast, which was dangerous in this situation as the beast could go berserk and hurt someone. He had to fight his son to keep his pack safe. What Ragnar did not know was that the beast wanted out only to eliminate the possible competition to get his mate.
Callan stood alone watching the eye battle. There was silence everywhere but as nature would have it, he sneezed all of a sudden pulling attention of everyone towards him. He embarrassingly returned a weak smile and apologized to the Alpha. But To Ragnar's utmost surprise his son was now laughing at the hilarious situation. His beast was in control and his emotions were serene. The entire pack was relieved and they all joined in the laughter of their future Alpha.
Callan found this insulting. What he did not know was that Einar was laughing in admiration of the boy and not degrading him.
Ragnar took control and announced.
"Be in order everyone. Now the presentation of your gifts to my son shall commence." He knew that the full moon was affecting his son. And before the situation got out of control he had to finish this feast before it's too late for his pack.
Einar was standing near the bonfire. He saw a long queue before him eager to present him their gifts. This was baffling him as he only wanted Callan to be near him tonight. His father presented him with a nicely carved and a sharp spear while his mother gave him a finely made tunic which she handcrafted herself. Thereafter he received gifts of all sorts from the members for which he hardly cared. He weakly smiled at them and kept the conversation small to mostly avoid them.
As per the tradition, Callan had to carry ash and circle Einar. He then had to throw the ash at the bonfire and pray to ward off any evil from Einar. He then had to present his gift and kiss the back of the hand of Einar.
Just the thought of it infuriated Callan. As if the humiliation earlier was not enough that he had to go through this all over again.
"Callan my dear! Where is your gift? Are you not going to present it to your future Alpha?" His mother and a few ladies were now besides Callan.
"Goodness grace! Your son really is a precious gem." One of the women said with amusement. Even the others could not help but praise Mary's son.
"He is gorgeous. That's the reason every girl wishes him to be her mate."
"It looks like the gods have carved his beauty themselves."
"No wonder why my daughter always talks about you. She really is fond of you and I can see the reason for it now." It was Meredith's Mother who spoke.
These praises from the woman actually uplifted Callan's mood. He was blushing red to which the ladies laughed in amusement.
"Don't mind them honey. You haven't told me where your gift is."
"It is right there Mother. I will give it to Einar when the time is right." He pointed to a nearby tree where an object covered in a black cloth was kept.
"It's fine dear. But remember that you had promised to stay until the feast is over. Your father and I would love to spend some time with you my child."
The admiration and hope in Mary's eyes forced Callan to change his decision to leave early. He got hold of his gift and followed the queue.
On the other hand Einar was now getting pissed with the gift receiving ceremony. Usually he loved this part of his birthday. But today he was finding it unbearable, like he was trapped somewhere. He used to tilt sideways every now and then to see if his pacifier had joined the queue of his admirers.
After a few anxious moments Callan was visible in line of sight and Einars happiness knew no bounds. He was purposely avoiding everyone so that he could get closer to his beloved. He glared at them and even snatched some of the gifts to make sure the people fall out of line fast.
Callan was relieved that he had to wait a very little time for his opportunity to come. He even assumed that this procedure will be over soon as everyone was falling out of line prematurely. It was a good sign for him.
Little did he know..!
Standing toe to toe were Einar and Callan.
Callan grabbed a handful of ash from the container and started circling Einar. Whereas the Alpha's son was relieved and his features were calm when he saw the beauty of his life standing in front of him. Everything else had blurred. He wanted the moment to stop; he wanted to touch the boy so badly, feel his skin with the palm of his hands. But he remembered what he did earlier and his demeanor changed to the one of regret and remorse. He wanted to apologize. He tried to speak to him but Callan did not spare him a glance.
After circling the boy Callan threw the ash at the bonfire which surprisingly flamed with great intensity. Aurora was aware of it as also she witnessed the shocked faces of some people. Callan then turned to pick up his gift and handed it over to Einar. It was covered in a beautiful black satin cloth.
Einar wanted to gain Callans forgiveness but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Callan touched Einar's palm, turned it over and kissed it with his soft lips.
Einar was euphoric.
A sensation of bee stings in a beautiful manner ran throughout his body. He started sniffing the air harshly and was soothed when he inhaled an aroma like no other. It was faint but it was making him insane.
It was coming from Callan.
In the midst of the confusion, Callan saw Einar's expressions changing. Einar's jaws were tickling while he forcefully elongated his canines. His sclera was bloody red while a faint vermilion mist had appeared all over him. Einar's beasts were unleashing.
The onlookers were running in helter skelter. The shouts and screams attracted the attention of the Alpha and he soon was on the side of his son. He witnessed a scene of horror. The full moon was lighting up the spirit of his son while both his inner beasts were struggling, dominating to come out.
"Justus, Umberto, Gyro come here. Grab Einar's arms." The Alpha ordered in a state of panic.
Callan moved back slowly without realizing that the distance was causing the beasts agitation of another level. Einar was sweating and breathing heavily to try and calm his beasts but he was being overpowered. The Alpha and his aides were finding it difficult to contain Einar.
He was very strong.
Even when the Alpha was using his own powers he could not override the strength of Einar at this moment. Einar flipped his arms to get rid of the resistance. Umberto, Gyro and Justus were stroked down every now and then. Callan could not see the state of his fathers apathy and decided to help.
He saw an opening when Justus fell back and swiftly moved in his position to replace his father. As soon as Callan touched the shoulder of Einar, he visibly relaxed. His eyebrows returned to its normal place. The constant flickering of his orbs stopped while he moved his head around to see Callan who was out of his sight. He was on his knees because of the struggle while he closed his eyes taking deep breaths to compose himself.
"Are you all right my child? You scared me for a moment there." Zelda's horrified face said it all.
"I'm all right mother. Just a little tired... Nothing I can't handle." He said in between his heavy long breaths.
"I did not believe you when you said that your birthday would be remembered for a long time. But now I see your point." Garrick chuckled to lighten up the mood.
Callan paced his way to Aurora the very next moment. "Did you see that?!?"
Aurora nodded with fear in her eyes. She was completely shaken.
"I think your magic helped him calm down."
"What do you mean?" Aurora frowned while her eyes showed skepticism.
Callan lifted his arm to show the ornament gifted by Aurora.
"As soon as I touched him, the wristlet glowed. But this time it was changing colors from blue, yellow, brown, white and lastly it changed to Black." Callan said in an amused manner and looked at his wristlet in awe.
Aurora's eyes widened in trepidation while her mouth opened in astonishment for what she just heard from Callan. This meant that her assumptions were underfed. The boys were more than what she presumed. This was even bigger than she thought. Maybe she should have refrained Callan from coming here tonight. If Callan can soothe Einar than he can even bring the nightmares of the people come to life. Panic struck her like lightening.
Aurora realized her mistake and vowed to keep Einar and Callan apart before it's too late..
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