Einar stepped out once again into the sand and dust of the open arena which was heavily stained with the blood of his previous victims. The audience cheered wildly while Einar raised his hand skyward as a greeting to the gathered thousands. Another prisoner was pushed ahead in the centre of the ring to meet the same fate as his predecessors and fellow inmates. Einar had already executed more than a dozen of these ferals with no help from his beasts. Wild response arosed from the audience as Einar bowed his head to the king. The men inside the arena now circled each other with ferocity and an unreadable expression. Einar looked at his friend for a moment while the feral took this distraction as an opportunity and shifted mid air accelerating towards his opponent. But the going to be Alpha was quick enough to move sideways and dodge the attack. He caught hold of his neck and squeezed it with his muscular arms until the body became motionless.
"And the winner of this bout- Einar Ragnar Knight." The game master announced.
The crowd erupted in cheers and thunderous applause while Garrick looked at his friend with enormous joy and pride. Einar once again bowed to the King-Stanislas and made his way through the exit of the arena. His friends and soon to be Alphas welcomed him with hoots and shouts while some even patted his back in encouragement and appreciation. He was the first in ages to compete in this competition and kill more than a dozen ferals all on his own, without shifting to his wolf.
The people of Stanislas's land simply loved the strength and skill of the boy. He was seemingly younger than most of his compatriots but was more competent and eligible than everyone combined. There were people who admired him and there were some who simply thought that he was overrated. Due to his adeptness, Stanislas was mighty impressed with Einar and gave him a proposal to work under him as one of kings close guard, as one of the high ranks- The Enforcers.
The women folks desperately wanted to be his mate. They turned their way to ogle him on every chance they got and why would they not. The man was sex on legs. His growing years had done wonders on him. He was taller than most of the men and had a well toned muscular body. His squared jaw and his mesmerizing eyes added to his good looks. He always returned a smile when he caught an admiring glance, but his heart had long been taken.
"You did great today." Einar turned when a hand landed on his shoulder and hugged his friend.
"Father would have been so proud of you." Garrick shed a bead from his eye when he almost whispered the sentence. Umberto was a mentor, a teacher and a guide for Einar. He learnt many a things from him.
"I miss him." Einar said with glossy eyes and a disappointed heart when he patted his friends back lightly.
"I miss him too."
Garrick wiped his tears and lightly pushed his friend away. He took a scroll out of his bag and was about to hand it over to his friend when a knock intervened their conversation. It was one of the royal guards.
"I apologize for the interference sire; the king has summoned you to his manor."
Both the friends were quite amused with the sudden call of Stanislas at this ungodly hour. Einar swiftly nodded to the guard and went right after him.
Over the years Stanislas had become very fond of Ragnar's son. Not only he roared power but he was good in his learning as well. Stanislas was so impressed with the man that he had consistently tried to persuade him to stay in his kingdom. Stanislas knew that Einar was special because of his power and he would only prove be an asset to the royal army.
Einar climbed the curved stairs to reach the balcony where he saw a man facing his back to him and looking at the bright blue sky. His shiny brown hair waved with the motion of the wind while his wrinkled cheeks gave way for his lips to expand when his nostrils caught a whiff.
"My king." Einar bowed to the man in front of him "How can I be of your service today?"
Stanislas turned and hugged Einar with a smile. He held his arms with his hand and looked at him "You have made me and the entire werewolf clan proud today."
Einar did not have to be a genius to register what Stanislas was talking about. The battle of the arena was not a small feat. Everyone knew that Einar had a spirit in him and even then he defeated all the rogues with his brute strength and skill without using his power. Not just that, no one has ever killed more than six rogues in the annual game but Einar outperformed himself when he killed almost all of the ferals in Stanislas's game. It was unbelievable!
"I'm glad I could please you my king." The man was expressionless in his tone.
"If you really want to please me you know what you have to do. Just say yes to my offer." Stanislas looked intently at Einar for his answer.
"I wish I could be of any help here my king but my pack needs me. I am the sole heir to my father's position, my people have expectations from me and I shall fulfill them." Einar was clear in his mind that he was not necessarily required in Stanislas' palace. The place already had many proficient wolfs.
"Don't worry about Ragnar. I know him very well, he still has some more decades left in him and I'm sure he will be able to manage the pack just fine." Stanislas returned to his position and was thoughtful about what he said.
He knew about the stubborn nature of the blue moon's Alpha. The pack became one of the strongest because of its leader. Though the Alpha was respectful about the throne but he was aware of the deceitful and conniving nature of the king. He once had also persuaded Ragnar to join his kingdom, but the Alpha had passed on the offer to his younger brother to avoid any conflict of interests.
Stanislas was convinced that with Einar on his side he would be able to challenge any supernatural kingdom and establish his supremacy in the entire world.
Stanislas' thoughts were distracted by a commotion which he could hear from downstairs. Einar and Stanislas quickly made their way to the main hall. The king took his rightful place on the large oversized bejeweled chair while Einar was standing at a few distances away from the closest pillar to the stairs.
A large crowd of people had gathered around the main hall where the centre of attraction were two young lads around Einar's age bounded in shackles. One was taller, muscular with brown hair while the other was submissive and shorter with blonde hair. Einar noticed that these youngsters were beaten and bruised while their movements were restricted with the metal around their legs. Some part of their skin was red and was even discharging the crimson liquid.
Even in these brutal conditions Einar noticed that the young lads were smiling. But Einar's eyes widened like saucers when he saw the boys holding each others hand.
They were mates.
The commotion was gaining momentum as the people around were trying to separate the two while the guards were trying to control the crowd.
"SILENCE." The king roared throughout the throne room. Everybody bowed their heads in submission. Stanislas ordered his men to explain what was going on.
"Sire, the young boys here are from the Ravencrow pack. T-They... They claim to be mates."
The people around gasped in shock and the room suddenly sounded like a swarm of bees murmuring around its nest. Soon the murmuring turned into shouts and curses while the atmosphere became tensed. The people showed no sympathy to the duo while they cursed and demanded that they should be punished.
Einar was now more or less habitual of these proceedings. Every month one or two such cases would arise before the king. Individuals of the same gender claiming to be mates, aspiring of a life where there is no fear or hatred among their peers. But once you are in the clutches of the kings judiciary you have no escape. Every one of them suffered the same fate. Death.
However death did not deterred those individuals to step back or regret their decisions, on the contrary they preferred to die together than live a life estranged with their other half. It was painful to be away from your beloved.
"What are your names boys?" The king was cool in his stature.
"I am Octavious Redwood and he is my mate Lucius Cardin."
The king raised his eyes in anger and annoyance at the word mate. "Do you even know what you are saying? " he hissed "You have the audacity to stand in front me and confess your crime like you've won a war. How dare you!"
The boy had a smug look on his face while his mate was looking at the king intently.
"I said what I know and what is right." The brunette said with confidence and defiance.
"You seem to be from a royal blood line and higher ranks in your pack perhaps. Don't waste your life this way. You have plenty of bright years ahead of you."
Octavious glanced at his mate and said "I have no life without him."
"Don't you know that same gender pairs are cursed? Moreover He cannot give you an heir! There would be no one to carry your blood line forward. He is an omega for Lunas sake! You are a smart and a handsome man, any girl would love to be your mate. Just think about it." The king tried to manipulate the man.
"The Luna paired us with a beautiful bond. I don't want any children if it means I have to stay away from my mate. I'd rather be childless my entire life." He tightened the hold of his palms.
"You are saying these words under the influence of the bond. You have the option to sever the bond and once it is done you will be free from this curse and live a new life afresh."
"The only curse around here is YOU oh almighty king!" The sarcastic tone did not go unnoticed by the king while the entire room gasped. "And remember, you are going against the wishes of the Luna and she won't stay quiet for long."
The entire room buzzed again with the defiant nature of the man. Even Einar was amused by the confidence the man possessed in this adverse situation. "That's enough..! I tried to make you see reason but you are an adamant man. This stubbornness of yours will cost you dearly."
The king knew that this couple had to be made an example of otherwise the people would lose trust in him as also it would create fear among the other werewolf packs to not allow such pairings to exist or they would face severe consequences.
"I Stanislas Grimoir, king of the werewolf world hereby announce that these two individuals who are claiming to be mates would be hanged till death on the first rays of sunlight falling on the giant gong tomorrow morning. Until then lock them up in different dungeons."
The screaming and groaning of the men took the hall by storm as their pain was ignored and people around could only feel hatred towards them.
Aloof from everyone else Einar was replaying the scene before him and instead of the two boys he imagined himself and Callan standing there. Had Einar acknowledged his bond he would have suffered the same fate as these men. People would have hated him, his own family and pack would have looked at him differently, and moreover he would have let down his late mentor.
But the most torturous moment for Einar would have been to see Callan in pain. His beautiful body in shackles would have completely broken his heart.
Just the thought of Callan in pain made the beasts uncomfortable as they were growling and screeching inside of Einar to let them out. Einar held tight his locket which was now glowing and hanging around his neck trying to calm himself and reign above his beasts. Finally the pendant did its job as Einar heaved a sigh of relief and dashed his way out of the royal palace to get some fresh air.
On the outskirts of a beautiful garden Einar was in a deep thought when his beasts started pacing inside him restlessly. Even he felt a need to release his beasts to calm his growing anxiety within him. He started taking heavy breathes for a rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. On the fourth breath however his nostrils were assaulted by a very faint but intoxicating smell. He made his way to the source of it and ran as fast as he could. The smell brought him towards the main gate of the land where he could see his fellow pack mates being greeted by his best friend. It was the head warrior and a few pack warriors who accompanied him. Justus saw the future Alpha and went ahead to greet him. He bowed on one knee with his warriors following suit.
"Greetings Son of Ragnar. We are here on the orders of our Alpha to escort you to our land."
"It would have been fine this way Justus. I had already told father that we were going to be visiting all on our own but he never listens." He exhaled in defeat. "I think we should carry our talks in my chamber." Einar gestured the men to follow him.
"My apologies Einar. But we are still short of one member." One among the warriors said with concern.
"Who is...."
Before Einar could even finish his sentence he heard neighing of a horse which a man was riding. The man looked familiar yet totally unrecognizable. He stepped down from the horse and motioned his hands back and forth to the mane of the horse. A sudden pang of jealousy erupted inside of Einar where now his myriads of emotions were making him loose control. He was about to confront the man but what he saw next made his feet glued to the ground as he was astounded and appalled by the sheer beauty of this being.
There were no words to describe the man ahead of him. His face was strong and defined. His lips were pale and thin while his nose was slender. A prominent jaw curved gracefully around. He had dark eyebrows which perfectly matched his shiny thick black hair. His entire body was lean yet muscular. The man was almost as tall as him. But the one thing which stood out from the rest were the deep green forest eyes. Just a look into those beautiful eyes and Einar's entire world was swept away. He was transported into another universe. How can he ever forget those eyes!
It was his mate Callan.
Callan's beauty was such that one look and both women and men swooned at the sight of him no matter their sexual preferences. Just the thought of other beings seeing his mate made Einar furious and he growled in anger. His sudden outrage confused his best friend but brought terror to the ones who were nearby.
"What happened Einar? Is something bothering you?" Garrick who was now standing beside him was concerned for his friend.
"N-Nothing." Einar gained his composure and looked every now and then to the handsome man in front of him. He continued "Now can we go to our chambers." He retorted sarcastically.
"Yes Einar."
"Actually father I wanted to visit someone first." Callan interrupted the talk.
"Where do you want to go at this hour Cally." Even Einar wanted to know the answer for this.
"You know where father." Callan rolled his eyes a bit and said shyly. "Please permit me to go?" he said in a soft voice.
"Alright, but make sure you are here before the intended time. Do you promise?"
"Yes father."
Callan jumped excitedly. He looked sideways towards the buff man and made his way to the other side of the open area with his horse.
Einar could not believe that even after so many years he still yearned for a glance, a smile, or just an approval from Callan. He could not believe how a simple human could influence his emotions so much. At this moment his every intent was to chase his mate, embrace him and never let go but he knew well that he cannot do as he pleased. He sighed heavily and signaled his men to follow him.
On the other side Callan visited the town area of the palace. As it happened he was met with curious glances. Both men and women could simply not come to terms with his beauty.
He came to a halt near an old cottage and knocked on its door thrice. The moment the person was about to open the door Callan glued his back to the wall besides the door. The person who came out of the door was an old woman with curls and a bit hunched in her stature. She looked around but found no one in particular and assumed that it would have been her age doing tricks on her. She was about to turn her back when Callan stood in front of her out of nowhere and shouted.
"Grandma!"
The old lady was surprised and astounded with the sudden visit from her grandchild. Her lips curved a smile while her eyes had become glossy with happiness. The joy in her face was priceless.
"My boy." She embraced Callan with all her strength. "What a wonderful surprise! Come inside."
****
Back in Einar's chamber everyone were discussing about the awaited return of the future Alpha. Garrick was busy telling stories about their years to his companions while Justus was discussing legal matters with the counselor of the palace. Einar was trying very hard to concentrate on the matter in hand but his mind wandered only to a single person. His mate.
"We have to leave before sunset tomorrow if we intend to visit our pack in time. Will Callan make it in time tomorrow?" a fellow warrior asked the head of the warriors. Einar's ears perked after hearing the question.
"He will join us before we leave. In fact he will be here with us in the afternoon before we meet the king." But why is he not here at this moment ? thought Einar.
"Head warrior, don't you think he should have joined us as of now. I mean he did not even meet Einar for whom the trip was arranged." Now to think of it even Einar did not like the fact that Callan did not greet or spoke any word with him. Though he was not the alpha yet, the action felt like a disrespect towards the high ranks.
"Believe me Zinadine if it was possible he could have been here. He was here in this land for a purpose and the person he is meeting is very beloved to him. Callan cannot resist meeting her."
This did not go too well with Einar. The thought that Callan had someone else in his life made him furious. He gripped the hands of his chairs to try and pacify himself as his beasts were wanting out and eliminate every competition to claim his mate.
With a snort he growled and dashed his way out of the chamber to find Callans lover and KILL her.
********
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