No Matter What

The trees surpassed the wolves in a blink of an eye. Their feet barely touched the ground as they competed with the flow of the wind. With eyes full of fury the black wolf heaved short breaths and ran with his full might.

After covering a large distance from the Idris pack, both the wolves turned into their respective human bodies.

The environment was calm but there was no relief in Einar’s features. He walked at a speed which was becoming difficult for Garrick to catch up.

“Cant you just slow down a bit?” It was more of a request as Garrick was barely keeping up with the mightier wolf.

“I need to be there.” Einar said in a worried tone, hardly caring for the fact that he was not alone.

“We ran through all our journey. I am tired and I am sure you are too.”

“It doesn’t matter. I need to see Callan.”

“But why?”

Einar halted for a moment and turned around to look at his best friend “Because my wolf feels he is in trouble.” he calmly said.

“This.. This is impossible!” Garrick’s mouth lay hung open in astonishment “Can he do that?”

Einar nodded a little. Wolves were known to sense trouble or other powerful emotions of their loved one when they were in a strong bond. The prerequisite to the rule being that the mate pairs must be in the same pack at that time and should have completed the bond at the earliest. This case however did not apply to the inter species mate pairs or for two male bond inmates whatsoever.

“When we were thirteen he sensed that something was wrong and led me to the forest. Callan was fighting that dragon if you remember.” he raised a brow “On my sixteenth birthday he could feel the troubled heart of Callan again.”

“It was the day when the ferals attacked.” Garrick realized the connection.

Einar briefly nodded and returned to his speedy steps marching ahead “When Rosaline arrived in the pack I could only think of Callan because I was worried for his safety. It was mainly because my wolf was worried about him and he was right.”

“Is it the same today?”

“It is a lot worse Garrick.” Einar heaved a deep sigh of sorrow “I felt as if my life was slipping away. Almost as if I was going to die. It is hard to describe but I think he is in immense pain at this moment.”

Garrick could sense the emotional turbulence brewing inside the head of the former alpha and he kept his mum. He couldn’t say anything because his words were not enough to give any reassurance or soothe his best friend’s mind. Einar was in pain which made Garrick sad from within.

Both the men continued the journey in silence for a very long time before Garrick spoke out of curiosity when Einar made a drastic turn.

“Our pack is this way.” he pointed to a direction in the west.

“The wolf is forcing me to turn.”

Garrick could speak no more for the occasional grunts and growls was making him scared. The mightier wolf was angry as hell and Garrick surely did not want to experience his wrath. He followed the muscular man for some more. They crossed a river and a magnificent hill only to land at the entrance of a settlement.

“This is Donovan’s pack.” Garrick said in confusion.

Einar hardly paid any attention to his best friend as his blood boiled at the sight of people jouncing and rejoicing. Their merriment was making him furious for some reason.

Garrick stood by Einar’s side as they marched ahead through the sea of people. The smell of alcohol and meat wafted thick in the air.

Garrick looked all around and spoke in Einar’s ears “It looks like they are celebrating a victory.”

“You look new.”

Garrick was startled by an unfamiliar presence of a Tarakan pack member. He awkwardly smiled and gathered his posture. “We.. uhm..We were here for some official purpose to meet the pack alpha.”

“Oh I see.” The petite man reciprocated with a smile of his own. He looked at the muscular man standing besides Garrick and was a bit disappointed when Einar did not acknowledge him.

“He doesn’t speak a lot.” Garrick defended his friend while Einar kept gawking in the front with his angry, scowled eyes.

After exchanging a few more words Garrick finally made his move and asked the question he was curious about “So what are they celebrating?”

“It is a big day for the pack. The alpha has regained his glory and the respect of his people.”

Garrick’s line of attention went straight ahead to the center of the small dais where a hulk of a man was standing with some warriors and a few elders of his pack. Donovan on the other hand held a large mug and chugged all of its content in one go. He raised the glass in the air and the crowd erupted in cheers and praising chants.

“My fellow pack mates..” Donovan spoke with a booming voice “Rejoice for your alpha has proved that he will always be true to his words. Right here besides the holy fire I swore vengeance on the filthy bastard that ruined my life. I promised to give him a life worse than death.”

“Who is he talking about?” Garrick asked in hushed tone.

“It was someone from the previous pack of the Luna. He maligned her in the past and broke the sacred laws. Our alpha had been deprived of a mate for long and when he finally met her he was shattered.”

“That is unfortunate!”

“What was more infuriating was the fact that the bastard was here to ask for forgiveness.”

“Was he a fool?”

“It seems he is. The alpha was furious. The truculent behavior of our alpha forced him to challenge the man and when the alpha was about to kill him, the fight was broken by our luna. She demanded that the man be released. She invoked her right to ask for a gift of her choice. The alpha was beyond mad. He had no choice but to concede to her wish. However since the Luna never asked to spare his life forever, the alpha had his chance. He raided the pack unannounced and annihilated the very soul of the man without any mercy.”

“Which pack was it?”

“The blue moon pack.”

Einar closed his eyes in defeat as a small bead of water escaped through it. He un-fisted his hands while his lips trembled in trepidation. The pain in his heart was swelling for now he knew the reason for him being here. Callan was hurt and Einar was not there to protect him.

He could see the laughter, the cheers and the happy people rejoicing all around him. All at the cost of his mate.

In a flash of a moment, the sorrowful face of the muscular man transformed into the one of a furious rage. He fisted his palms and growled at the top of his voice. A voice which seeped an unknown fear inside of everyone who was present there. They stopped doing their activity and searched for the source of the sound in alertness.

Donovan was amazed by the authority which the voice exuded and his attention was diverted to the angry figure in front of him “What brings you here Einar?”

The muscular man kept his quiet as his face was becoming red. His brown eyes were flickering back and forth in blood. He was trying his best to contain his anger to a limit but his wolf wanted to slaughter every smiling face.

The non responsive behavior of Einar was seen as a disrespect by the Tarakan pack. Donavon gritted his teeth and smiled through his façade “Well it doesn’t matter. I was really upset when they told me that you left for the Idris pack. I wish you were there. You missed all the fun.”

The words forced Einar to growl again. His entire aura was dominating the arena while the red mist around him was slowly becoming more visible. Garrick knew what was supposed to follow and he hesitatingly spoke in a low voice “Take it easy Einar. There has to be a way.” he pleaded.

“Garrick...” the man gritted his teeth “Run.” He looked behind his shoulders “Whatever happens don’t look back.” Garrick was in two minds but he flinched when the muscular man ordered him in a strong voice “NOW..”

Without wasting any more time, Garrick turned his back and sped away to reach the gates of the pack. Donovan seemed puzzled “What is this all about?”

Einar was unfazed by the strong personality of the giant of an alpha. His nostrils flared and his mind crafted scenarios as to how he should end this all. He was about to take a step ahead when his eyes landed on the lady standing at a distance from the whole scene. She was visibly tensed and bowed her head in shame. Einar huffed “I knew I should have killed you that night.”

The warning growls from all around echoed in the arena “Mind your words Einar.” Donovan roared in warning “You are disrespecting the luna of our pack.”

Einar’s raging face contorted into disgust “You tried to kill my heart all because of this whore!” He took two steps ahead and spoke in low threatening voice “You will see her die with your own eyes.”

These words set the entire joyful environment into the one of strong resentment and anger. The warriors of the pack soon covered the luna while some other strong men stood in front of the muscular man waiting for a chance to attack him.

“It looks like your waging a war.” Donovan smiled with a smug look on his face “All on your own! Where is your army?” he laughed. The entire arena joined their alpha as they mocked the single man.

Their laughter however was short lived as they witnessed something they were not prepared for. The eyes of the alpha suddenly changed into the fearsome crimson red. His canines descended while his claws were long and sharper than a knife. What terrified the people more was that the muscular was now surrounded by a strange red mist all around him.

Einar exalted power beyond imagination.

He sinisterly smiled at the alpha and with a low threatening voice he spoke “I don’t need an army.”

Einar was quick on his feet as he did not give any chance to the alpha to react. With a blink of an eye he positioned himself in front of the luna to the astonishment of everyone. He slashed the throats of the warriors who were protecting Viola and grabbed the lady by her hair.

“No!” Donovan pleaded. “Save your luna.” he ordered his men in desperation.

Einar angrily looked into the eye of the frightened lady and grabbed her throat. Viola was finding it difficult to breathe. Einar on the other side strangled his hold more firmly as he fixated his eyes to the helpless state of Donovan.

The men of the pack rushed to aid their luna. They tried to release Viola by any means they could. They kicked and hit and even bit the muscular man but he did not budge. The determination in his eyes was evident. He looked at the pack alpha for one last time before gripping the jugular of the lady harshly. The entire pack was stunned when the neck of the lady was twisted in an unusual manner with her fearful eyes wide open. Blood splattered all around as a dozen of men were still trying to release the firm hand from their luna.

Donovan was devastated. Witnessing the lifeless body of Viola moved him to tears. He gasped for air as he looked at Einar with disbelief. He gritted his teeth the very next moment and growled mightily. “KILL HIM.”

Every single warrior of the pack was up on his toes. They marched ahead and attacked Einar. They swung their legs and their fists but all their efforts were in vain. None of the strikes seemed to have any affect on the muscular man as he stood rigid in his place, unmoving; undeterred. The men then tried to restrain him by metal but the mighty power of the wolf proved too much for the Tarakan pack.

With the frustration mounting up due to the constant failures, Donovan ordered his men to transform into their wilds. The howl from the pack leader was reciprocated by the members of the pack and more than a hundred wolves filled the arena all of a sudden. They grunted and growled in warning trying to overpower the dominance projected by Einar.

Einar flared his nostrils and waited for the first attack. All of the wolves marched ahead and jumped over Einar at the same time, trying to suppress him. Donovan’s relived face vanished soon when the pile of wolves were thwarted away by just a flick of an arm. Such was the power of the muscular man.

He wasted no more time as he glared to the sky above and the red mist around him grew darker, wider. An unknown fear was instilled in the wolves as they bowed their head in submission and strode backwards. They tried to resist but the dominant aura of Einar was too much for them to overcome.

The completely red orbs of Einar were devastatingly dangerous.

He grabbed a wolf by his neck and trashed him to the nearest tree. Wolf after wolf that he encountered suffered the same fate. Some were thrown at a faraway distance while others were killed by the fatal blow of his fists.

Donovan was pained by the carnage he saw. His men were lying on the floor lifeless. The earth below was colored in patches of red. Blood seeped through the ground wherever his eyes roamed. The horror in peoples eyes was shaking Donovan to the core. There was chaos everywhere. People were running helter-skelter to save their lives. On the other hand, Einar was not ready to stop.

Donovan was shocked by the being in front of him. Nobody was a match for Einar.

Donovan at once ordered his men to take cover. He wanted to distract Einar so that the women and the weak could take shelter and be safe. He along with two of his best men, stood in front of Einar and channelized all their strength to strike Einar the hardest. They threw punches to the torso and to the face but Einar stood there as solid as a rock. He was unaffected to the very surprise of the three men.

When the men tried to attack Einar again, he inserted his claws deep into the rib cage of one the warrior while he mercilessly slashed the jugular of the other one. Donovan gulped and stepped back in complete horror.

With no way to escape, the hulk of a man transformed into a large grey wolf and stood firmly in front of him. He bared his teeth and howled in an attempt to challenge Einar.

Up until now the wolf in Einar had completely taken over him. He was synchronous with the mind and body of its human and had full control over it.

Donovan circled the man to assess his weakness. He eyed him constantly and without taking any more time he leaped ahead aiming for the leg of the man. He reached Einar in no time and pierced the canines to his flesh.

The muscular man however did not flinch. His face showed no grimace. He grabbed the large wolf by its mane and picked it up with his left hand like it weighed nothing.

“You hurt mate. You die.” the voice had a surreal mix of Einar and an unknown entity. It was bizarre.

The entire pack stood in disbelief as the hulk of the man was easily being dominated by a wolf in his human form. He was toyed like a child. This was unreal!

Just as they thought that nothing could shock them anymore, the arena was filled with screams and loud gasps.

Einar held the lower incisor of the wolf with his right hand and he inserted his left hand to grab the upper teeth of grey wolf. He growled in anger as he stretched his hands to dismantle the jaws of the wolf to completely detach it from its body. Blood spilled all over as two severed, disfigured body parts lay on the ground of the once strong and hulk of an alpha.

****

The head warrior of the pack laid some unique leaves and flowers on the table “I couldn’t find more of it.” he spoke dejectedly.

“That would be enough Aldous.” Aurora weakly smiled at him.

Aldous reciprocated the gesture but his smile soon faded when he noticed the severely abraded skin of the handsome man. Callan was trying to keep his calm but the pain in his eyes was evident by everyone. He opened his mouth to breathe in more air which could soothe his burns. The disfigured scars of his flesh rendered him incapable to lie down or even rest without any support. All this time he was uncomfortably sitting in a uniform position with a teary eyed Aurora tending to his injuries.

Aurora could see the discomfort on Aldous’ face “You need to leave.”

Aldous nodded after thinking for a while “If you need anything please don’t hesitate to ask.” he bowed to her and turned his back to leave.

The healer dipped a wet cloth in the thick orange fluid and slowly applied the medication on Callan’s wounds. The slight touch of the cloth would make the handsome man flinch as tears rolled down through his cheeks. His moans of pain were causing great sorrow to the lady but she kept her mum to be brave in front of the man

“Where is Isadora?” Callan asked all of a sudden. His voice was low as he was barely able to speak.

“I sent her to Arthur. Your choice of being punished had repercussions on the poor lady as well.”

“I didn’t realize.” he whispered to himself.

“She could’ve helped! She was born to protect you and here you are being stubborn and not letting her do her job.”

“We have talked about this.”

Auroras attention was diverted by the haggard breaths Callan was heaving. He was in immense torment at the moment and he needed to rest. She realized her mistake and looked apologetically at Callan.

“Yes of course.” she nodded briefly “You should talk less. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” she wiped her tears “It took me great efforts to bring you alive.”

“Thank you.”

“I wish I could be of more help to you.” she pursed her lips to contain her emotions “No magic would work on you. I feel so helpless.” she bowed her head in shame and diverted her gaze.

“Maybe Einar could help?”

“I wish he could.” she sighed “No supernatural power will be effective on you anymore. Those human medications are the only comfort.”

The wet stripes on Callan’s skin were making him quite uncomfortable more so because the cloth was forcefully attaching itself to the inner layer of his skin. His injuries were forcing in all the negative thoughts in his head. Crafting scenarios as to how this pain could end with just a weak but decisive moment. He felt vulnerable and was contemplating the worst that could happen to him.

“Will I be..” Callan couldn’t continue what he intended to speak.

Aurora palmed her hand to Callan’s arm “Your awakening will heal everything.” She smiled in encouragement “You may not get into shape as fast as other shifters but you would be certainly more advanced than the humans.”

Callan nodded. His eyes were drained of all the water yet the pain he suffered was refusing to alleviate. He focused his energy to contain all his emotions when something came up in his mind and he was afraid all of a sudden “Has anyone told Einar?

“I don’t know.”

Callan sighed deeply “I just wish he heads straightaway to the cottage and no place else.”

“He will come to you.”

“You don’t understand.” The handsome man was nervous “I have liberated the shackles of Einar’s mind for Orcus.”

“So?”

“Daragor once told me that Orcus’ powers were limitless and unmatched. Imagine what he would do when he realizes the state I am in! I fear his reaction.”

“Don’t stress yourself.” Aurora weakly smiled.

She started collecting all the medicated fabric from Callan’s skin one by one. The very movement of the cloth made Callan flinch and he winced in pain. The moments were torturous but the handsome man was relieved that is was all over.

“I will be back soon.” Aurora said as she picked her tray and went outside of the door.

Callan tried to relax. The exposed wounds were testing his limits of endurance. A slight wave of a breeze would cause unwanted shivers to his body which in return would cause him major discomfort. He winced every now and then but the exposed skin was flaring his agony. Just as he was about to close his eyes and take some rest, he heard heavy footsteps from the door. The shadow that came in soon became larger and the person was seen in his full form.

Einar stood there in complete disbelief; stunned.

He forgot to breathe for a moment when he saw the disfigured state of his mate. The haphazard lines of his exposed wounds caused shivers of pain to Einar. His eyes could no longer hold his tears while his lips parted.

The once beautiful and shiny skin of the handsome man was now corroded from below the neck. The flesh had protruded on the outside and strange linings appeared all over. Callan was drained of energy and his charming feature was maimed by the violence he suffered. His weak eyes and puffy lips seemed happy for some reason but Einar felt disgusted from within. He felt disgusted at himself for he could not be there to save his mate.

“Wont you come near me?” Callan asked in a meek voice.

Einar sniveled. He opened his mouth to utter some words but he could not speak. His hands trembled while his mind was shocked by the atrocities that Callan had gone through.

Soon he scowled in anger and snarled menacingly. He was angry beyond measure.

He was angry that his people could not save the man he loved. His wolf was angry because his pack could not honor his mate. He was angry that a thought of hurting his mate had crossed mind of that alpha.

How could someone be so ruthless to harm someone so pure?

Orcus wanted to set an example to the world to let everyone know who they messed with. He wanted to kill anyone who passed his eye. This would teach a lesson to his enemies that they should keep a distance from his beautiful man.

Einar growled and angrily turned his back to leave.

“Are you ashamed of me?” Callan’s words stopped Einar midway and he exhaled in surprise.

His shoulders were slumped as he looked at Callan with slight disappointment “How can you say that! How can I ever be ashamed of you! On the contrary I am the one who is ashamed of himself. I don’t deserve to be your mate. Those people out there hurt you and they deserve to be treated much worse.”

Einar growled in anger and he tried to leave once again. Callan sighed for his tactics were failing to hold back the muscular man. Einar’s anger was detrimental to everyone around him and so he was needed to be stopped. Without contemplating about the repercussions he uttered the words which he thought were right at the moment “I think we should part ways.”

This caught Einar off guard and he froze in his place. His body trembled. His leg’s made a turn of its own as he looked at Callan with helplessness “Why?” he questioned in disbelief.

“Look at me.” Callan snickered in sarcasm “I am not the handsome man you fell in love with. Every part of my body is damaged... Even my mind. I am just a human and so my chances to heal are next to none.”

“Don’t say that. You will heal.”

“Do you really believe that?” Callan huffed. “My skin is beyond repair. It has been hours since I am sitting in the same position while all the medications Aurora could use are not able to stop the oozing of my blood. Besides” he gestured his finger to his torso “It may take years to cure my fragile body. My own self disgusts me and I know you are revulsed too.. We may not be able to make love ever! You will lose interest in me. You would find it hard to bear me and I would be nothing more but a burden to you.” Callan sighed deeply “Before any of this could happen I want us to go our separate ways.”

Einar rushed as soon as he could and planted a tender kiss of promise to Callan’s lips. The handsome man was taken by surprise at first but he reciprocated nevertheless. Both the men parted their lips and Einar looked lovingly at his mate “I am sorry that I could not be there to save you but mark my words.. No one would ever dare harm you again.” He cupped Callan’s cheeks “There is no power in this world that could make me hate you. These wounds on your body can never be a deterrence to my love. You will always be beautiful to me. It doesn’t matter if we don’t make love, it doesn’t make any difference as long as you are next to me.. How can you ever be a burden to me when I always keep thinking about a life with you! Just you! I can never stop loving you even if my heart stops beating. I love you.”

Callan smiled bravely through his teary eyes, through his wounds and rested his head carefully in the shoulder of the muscular man. Einar kissed the hair of his mate and thanked the goddess for against his unwanted thoughts, Callan was alive and safe.

********