Chapter 12: The Ancient Book
5 Yearster
It was those spring days with a kiss of coldness and some warmth of the rays of the shining sun. Can
bathed himself with sunshine in nothing but his bare essentials. He admired the nature at its best. The
blossoming flowers, the sweet melody of the winged animals, the fresh sweet aroma of thend. These
were the things which he loved being part of.
"Are you not done yet? I''m getting bored." A buff tall man with hairs around his entire body was lying
"You are always ingrate about this ce Archer. Why do you even follow me here?"
"Being your best friend it''s my job to be with you. Always." Archer smirked and held Can with one
arm over his shoulder. "I don''t know why you are so fascinated with these kind of ces. We could
have easily gone to the market in the human vige today. It would have been so much fun."
"Even I want to meet Bradyn and his family. It has been weeks since Ist visited the human vige but
I can''t as I have to go the Alpha house today. I cannote with you."
Archer squint his eyes and looked at his friend. "Why do you have to go to the Alpha house today? I
thought today was your day off."
"It''s a celebration actually." Can gave a weak and unconvincing smile before saying "Richard has
found his mate. Its Aldous'' sister Madeline."
The governing age of Can meant that it was time for his fellow counterparts to search for their
respective mates. Almost every member of the pack who was of Cans age had marked their
significant other. The ones who were yet to find their mate were sent as goodwill ambassadors to other
packs in search for their mates. But Can was advised to desist any hopes of finding his mate. Ever.
From a very young age he was taught about the customs and rituals about the werewolfmunity. He
always considered himself a part of them. The most enchanting aspect about it was the feeling of being
loved, the feeling of belonging and the feeling of eptance, something which Can was deprived
throughout his very existence. He wanted to have what other people had. He wanted to share the
bond, the rtionship which his parents and every other couple in the pack had.
He wanted his Soul-Mate.
Justus knew that Can was different from his peers. He understood that not only he had more
struggles in his life but he would also be underprivileged at the boon of a mate by the moon goddess.
The day after his sixteenth birthday Can was devastated with the ount from his father that he may
never have a chance at a mate or of true love altogether. Can cried his heart out in the arms of his
best friend. The news was annihtion of his very soul, the very aspect of his being, of his existence
was missing.
In the years toe he gathered courage to portray a fake fa?ade in the eyes of everyone else. Some
people sympathized with him while the others believed that Luna was justified in her doing and not
granting him a mate. The irony of it being that every woman in the pack wished that the Luna paired
them with the handsome man.
The Alpha celebrated every new bonding in the pack. Can was happy for them but he used to be
disheartened at the same time for he may never have his chance of true love to share with his special
person. The only one thing he yearned to have; Love.1
Archer waved his hands in front of Can to get his attention. Can blinked his glossy eyes and parted
his lips to give another of his fake smiles. But Archer knew every time when the boy was not being true.
In fact they were so close that one could discern every emotion of the other, without any saying.
"Don''t worry Can, the goddess must have thought something for you, something special. You will
definitely have your chance at true love. Who knows Vi could be the one for you." Archer patted his
back in assurance.
Vi was a fellow pack member who was in a rtionship with Can for over a year now. She was
twenty nine and had lost all her hopes of finding her mate and hence was forced to settle for an alliance
with any other wolf. But like every female she had her eyes for the most desired man of their pack.
"I don''t know archer. She is a beautiful and sweet woman. I know she is always there for me but
sometimes I feel this is not enough. Like a part of the puzzle is missing. There is a sense of guilt after
every time we make love. It feels like I have betrayed someone or something. I don''t know why."
"Let go of this feeling for want of a mate brother and look at the brighter side of things. Vi loves you;
she is even ready to forego her parents and the pack for you. Her resistance to the pack members and
her parents ismendable. I think you should ept her offer of being her mate." Archer tried to
reason with his best friend.
Archer was right. Vi had been his strength for the past one year. The girl had suffered discrimination
and bad mouthing because she decided to be with Can: A non wolf. She always encouraged him to
be the best as also she was always with him in his times of need.
She was potentially a perfect mate but the only downside of it being that there was still a possibility of
her finding her other half. It may take weeks, months or even years but whenever she finds her mate
Can knew that she would chose the bond over him.
"Don''t over think it Can, life has given you a chance and it is up to you what you want to make out of
it."
****
The Alpha was seemingly nervous but excited as well. He had called upon the members of the pack
who were now filling up the empty hall. He paced around and looked for Justus to enquire about
everyones presence. Justus gave a curt nod and closed the doors of the assembly hall. Can had
taken a corner seat aloof from the crowd. As it is, nobody had taken a seat next to or around the boy.
The chattering and murmuring resembled the sound of bees. Peter pout his lips and whistled to gain
attention of the attendants. The pack was silenced in an instant.
"Thank you for visiting. Let''s start with the order of business today. As many of you must have already
realized that we are here to celebrate another mate bond in our pack. This generation is very lucky to
have found their mates at a very young age. We all know that a true mate bond is difficult to find until
you are twenty five while some may even find their mates at a veryter stage in their lives. The moon
goddess has really been kind to us. Without dying any further I present to you all; Richard foreman
and Madeline kewood daughter of our beta Peter kewood."
A tall man with smooth ck hair and a smug look appeared from the corner of the stage holding
hands with a blonde beautiful female. The entire hall roared with a deafening noise of apuse. It''s not
every day that a pack member finds his mate, so it was a reason to celebrate. Amidst the cheering,
whistling and hooting the girl blushed and hid herself partially behind her mate while the man was
acknowledging the hall with a wave smirking devilishly when he caught eyes of Can.
The Alpha then gestured for attention of the pack "I have some more good news to share with you all.
Einar along with Garrick havepleted their training years and have decided to return to the pack as
early as next week."
The hall again erupted with a thunderous apuse with smirks and happy faces all around. For some
reason even Can was happy with the news. Nobody had seen Einar for around five years now.
Ragnar thought that it was time for Einar to be announced as the new Alpha. The smiling faces of the
Luna and all thedies were a sight to behold. The other females of the pack hoped to be the new Luna
of the blue moon pack while the youngds were looking forward to be a part of the high ranks and
work under the new Alpha. This also meant that the day of reckoning was approaching. Can had to
prepare himself for every member that challenged his position as the head warrior.
****
Back in her room, Aurora was trying some new potions for a more effective cure. She collected all the
herbs, a stack of hay, stones and fine ash which were decorated around her in a circr manner. She
was about to transport the cauldron from her almirah to the burner when her door suddenly opened
making a loud squeaking sound.
"Hello Aurora."
The half healer half witch was shocked by the sudden noise and because of that the cauldron from her
hands fell to the ground. She gasped with her hands to her chest while Can wasughing so
hysterically that his eyes were forced to free some of its water.
"Stopughing will you!" Aurora frowned cleaning the mess on her gown and the floor.
"Ohh.. you should have s-seen your face." Can managed to utter between hisughs.
"What brings you here handsome? You have beentely too busy to even take a note of your friends
well being. Last time I heard, that female warrior was all over you like a leech." Cans expressions
changed dramatically. Hisughs vanished and a cold concerned look marked his face. He did not
have to be a genius to realize who Aurora was talking about. For some apparent reason she did not
like him and Vi bonding up but he never understood why. Being his close friend, Can thought that
the healer would understand his situation and be weing of it, but he was wrong.
"Why do you hate Vi so much? She is a nice female and wants to spend her life with me. I like her
and she likes me."
"She is not your mate Can. When will you understand this?"
"You have been saying the same thing for every past rtionship I had. I am tired looking for that one
special person and honestly I don''t even think she exists. Vi is a good partner for me and moreover I
think she does not have a mate. If there was one she would have definitely been taken by now." Can
frowned with a pinch of agitation.
"You cannot be sure about that. What if her mate is still there somewhere, what if he is searching for
her? What would happen if hees to our pack? She will always choose her mate over you. No one
can win over the bond and you should know that."2
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"Then what do you want me to do. I don''t want to be alone forever; I have to take my chances. She
makes me happy; she likes me and wants to be with me as her mate. For some twisted fates if her
mate does find her in the near future the decision will be hers entirely to chose but until then we would
cherish every moment together." Can was almost desperately presenting his case cause for him this
was his only chance for happiness.
Aurora was finding it difficult to reason with Can as he was right in his arguments but she knew that
his heart belonged to someone else. It was not Vi but Can who had to make a choice once his
mate returns from the king''snd.
She sighed and sat near Can with her one arm around his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few
moments before Cans emotions were stable and calm. Aurora then tilted her head towards Can
and said." Would you care for a muffin?"
Can sighed and smiled a little at her "Yes please."
She ruffled his hairs and brought her famous muffins which Can loved so dearly. He devoured every
bite of it and thanked Aurora for cooking it. The muffins helped made the atmosphere cheery again.
When he was about to leave, his eyes caught a golden strip which was glowing so strong that it could
easily blind any normal human being. Aurora gasped in shock and tried to shield Can from the light.
The curiosity in Can made him overtake his friend to reach for the source of the light.
"No! don''t touch it."
But it was toote. Can already came in contact with the source of the light and much to the
astonishment of Aurora the glow started fading until it waspletely diminished on the first touch of
Can.
"What is this? It looks like a book."
Aurora gasped in shock when the mystical book let Can touch it and not just that it also flipped its
pages on its own while its nk pages were being filled by some magical ink out of nowhere. Can
was awed at the opus while Aurora could not reel her mind from what just she saw there.
"This is amazing! What is this book called?"
"T-This...this is the book of the ancients." she cleared her throat to gain some confidence "It has
knowledge of the entire supernatural worlds. It contains possible answers to every query of our world."
"But why are the other pages empty." Can was thoughtful.
"The ancient book allows you to perceive only that knowledge which it wants to show you and not the
other way around. Just read what is written there."
"Nothing is written here."
"What!" Aurora eyes widened in astonishment.
"There is no writing here. It has pictures in it; one is simr to a beast man while the other looks like a
ghost." After examining it further Can concluded-"It seems like they are at war. Does this click with
you?"
Indeed Aurora knew what it meant. The book was a mirror of what had transpired ages ago. It showed
Can those images because he was rted to it.
She reluctantly shook her head and went straight ahead to the book. As soon as she tried to read its
content the book mysteriously pped itself and closed. This meant that she did not had ess to the
knowledge which she desperately needed. Can was amused by this and thought that Aurora has
some more of the magical stuff in her hiding. He was about to move from his ce when his palm
scratched the edge of the book oozing a pint of blood. Unknown to him some of his blood had dripped
on the book cover. Aurora took Cans palm in his hand and breezed some air to soothe the injury.
"Are you alright? Let me heal you." The witch was worried for the handsome man.
"I''m fine Aurora. You don''t have to worry."
A musical sound of chirping echoed the room when a winged creature with long throat hackles and
glossy plumage entered through the door. It pped its arms to reach the shoulders of the man and
settled there with a re at Aurora, like it was warning her.
"Calm down Cornell. No need to threaten the poordy." Can giggled at the panicked state of the
healer. Apparently the bird was in a defensive state against Aurora.
Taking a clue Aurora took a few steps backwards while keeping her eyes on the bird.
"I don''t like him. Get rid of him as soon as you can."
Can giggled once more and slowly listened to the voice of the bird in his ears.
"He has a message for me. Father has summoned me. I guess I don''t get to see your magical woo-
shoo today after all."
Can had found the raven in summer ofst year when the bird was struggling to release himself from
the clutches of a strong in the bushes. It was a trap set by hunters. Can helped the bird and
aided him in his injuries; mysteriously though the bird was able tomunicate with him in anguage
which only he could understand. The first thing he did was to introduce the bird to the healer as he
thought Aurora would know who the mystical creature actually was. But as it happened the bird on
arrival in the healers cottage attacked Aurora with its beak expressing his displeasure and dislike
towards her. Thus the two have been on bitter ends there on.
"I have to visit Archer this evening after my training, after it is over we have to meet and you will have
to reveal all your magical paraphernalia to me." He winked at her yfully and bowed before he
headed for the exit.
Aurora heaved a sigh of relief as she knew that it would have been difficult to exin everything to
Can about the book. The blood on the book cover had done the trick and Aurora was happy.
Can entered his house where he was assaulted with the delicious smell of cooked fish. He took a
piece the savory and set it aside for the bird while he himself was about to dive in the freshly cooked
fish when the back of his palm was harshly tapped by his mother.
"It hurts Mother, that was rude." He made a baby face with a pout to express his fake innocence and
hurt in front of his mother.
"Wait for your father will you." Mary scolded her son.
"He is not home yet? His shift was over when I went to Aurora''s ce."
"The Alpha had something to.... Here hees."
Justus entered the house and embraced his mate with a sweet kiss. Can was happy to see his
parents'' joy but resented the feeling of being alone and never having a bond like every other couple or
even his parents had. He brushed aside his negativity and looked to his father.
"Cornell said you wanted to meet me. Is everything fine father?"
Justus relieved his coat and took a seat near his son. He was perplexed when the bird was making a
grating sound as if to warn him to keep his distance from Can. Justus and Mary smiled when the bird
was calmed by their son just by his single touch of affection. It was amazing to see the bond
developing between the two. Justus straightened his back and focused his eyes on his son.
"Everything is fine Cally. I was in a meeting with the Alpha and they were discussing about the return of
Einar and Garrick. The Alpha has assigned Peter and me to lead a group of warriors to go to the kings''
Hearing Einars name made Can a bit cautious. He knew for a fact that Garrick hated him but Einar
was a different story altogether. The Alpha''s son was cause of many of a misery and troubles faced by
Can. But sincest five years Cans life was going smooth with less hurdles due to the absence of
Einar and now he was returning. He wished he never had to see him again but at the same time his
heart fluttered on hearing the news of Einars arrival for which he was confused.
Everyone was aware of the powers Einar possessed and also his ability of destruction and mayhem.
Can remembered all the times when he growled at him, the time when he almost attacked him as
also he remembered the precarious situations in which he used to be reprimanded just because of
Einar. The man was trouble, hence Can promised himself to never have a friendly rtionship with
Einar and keep a safe distance from the future Alpha.
But he never knew that his fate would not allow for this. Ever.