Chapter 14: Meeting The Ashtons
The old woman was short with a fairplexion. Her wrinkles and grey hair clearly showed that the
woman had crossed her peak long ago. But still one could see the spirit and enthusiasm in her as it
was a special day. Among the many grandchildren she had, she admired Can the most and he was
with her today. Not only was he kind and loving but also he would regrly visit the old couple every
chance he got.
The old Ashton was not still; she baked and had conversation with her grandchild simultaneously. But
what stood out most was the happiness and content which she was experiencing in her otherwise
mundane life.
She served him a full meal of beef, pork and her famous muffins. Can was surprised at how the old
hunger, eagerness to consume it all. He moaned and rolled his eyes every now and then indicating
how delicious the meal really was.
After the meal, both of them went straight to the garden where the olddy was eager to show the man
her new ntations and the blossoming flowers when Can suddenly asked.. "Why don''t youe
with us grandma? I miss you so much! I feel really bad when you can''t visit me on my birthdays."
"I wish it was that easy my child. When your grandfather passed on the mantle to your father he really
was not relieved from his duties." The olddy replied.
"How can that be possible?" Can was puzzled as to what the olddy was referring to.
"The King invites people around the world who have relinquished their positions to their sessors.
Every couple of the esteemed high ranks has got to stay in hisnds."
Can sighed and said "I know about this grandma but father told me that it was your choice if you
really want to go or not then why do you wish to stay here?"
The olddy chuckled "Believe me my child if it was really a choice we would have never chosen to be
in this ce. The King does not ''enforce'' anyone to be a part of theirnd. Not directly though."
She snorted with her head hung low as if she remembered something unpleasant. "He wants the high
ranks to join him so that he would always have an upper hand on their respective packs. The elders of
the pack are a treasured lot due to their knowledge and experience and without them most of the packs
would copse."
She plucked some flowers and deposited them in her basket. She stepped ahead of a beautiful violet
rose and closed her eyes smelling the divine essence of the flower. "When it came to the blue moon
pack, Ragnar''s father and Umberto''s father, the then Alpha and beta were martyrs for theirnd as they
died saving all of the pack. Both Ragnar and Umberto had to take the responsibility of being an Alpha
and Beta at a very tender age. Thankfully he did not change the positions of the other ranks for quite a
time until which he mastered himself on all ounts through administration and warfare."
She looked at her grandchild and smiled weakly. "The King was getting impatient because there were
no representations from the blue moon pack as Ragnar refused to appoint new people as the
sessors of the respective jobs. The King deemed it as defiance to hisws and started creating
problems for Ragnar. He forced other packs to revoke their treaties. The blue moon pack was
disbanded from attending the royal pce. Means of livelihood and trade were disrupted systematically
while the King refused any help to the pack in case of adversity."
She moved one step further and caressed the cheeks of Can with admiration and love. She lowered
her gaze, turned her back to pick out some more fresh flowers. "Ragnar was brave enough to
ovee all the difficulties without any outside assistance. He sessfully created a strong army and
with the help of his shedim spirit he never lost any battle. He created job opportunities for his men in
the pack itself. The pack was self sufficient and prosperous all on its own. It was strong enough to face
any army; even the King''s!"
Can huffed and asked "Then why are you still here?"
The olddy sighed, she paused for a bit and then said "Zelda was pregnant for the very first time.
Everyone was excited for the arrival of the baby; the future Alpha; the heir to Ragnar''s throne." She
closed her eyes and a tiny drop escaped her eye.
"What happened?" Can asked worriedly at the disheartened look of his grandmother. She slowly
opened her eyes and gathered her strength with a deep breath.
"Zelda''s pregnancy news spread like wildfire everywhere and with that followed a systematic attack
routine of the ferals and some rival packs alternately. It was like everyone of them wanted to eliminate
Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.
Ragnar''s child. And that is what happened eventually!"
Can stopped in his tracks when he heard the sentence. "W-What do you mean?"
"In one such battle... Zelda lost her first child."
Can gasped in shock and pictured a distraught and shattered Luna Zelda. This meant that Einar was
not the first child of the Alpha couple.
"The entire pack was devastated, especially Ragnar. That was the beginning of the series of
misfortunes the pack had to endure."
"You mean there were more people who died! Who?"
The olddy weakly nodded "The loss of the child brought bad luck to the pack. There were no new
mate pairs as not a single pack allowed their members to associate with us. The hunting grounds
became limited due to encroachers as also the water source was almost depleting. In this great apathy
it was poor Zelda who had suffered the most. After her first child she lost three more children..!"
Can could not believe his ears. His eyes were wide while his mouth remained hung open in shock.
There was only sympathy andpassion within him for the Luna. Unknown to him the weather
around the ce suddenly be cloudy with light showers pouring on thend.
"We elders took a tough decision and decided to ept the offer of the King to reside in hisnd to
save the pack of some misery and bad omen. Ragnar and Zelda revolted against our decision. They
urged us to stay and be united in those adverse times but we had made our minds. It took weeks to
make them see reason but they finally understood our plight and let us go."
The ounts of the King from his grandmother and the people around were quite ironic. While every
other person praised the emperor the Ashtons were not impressed by him it seemed. "You always say
that the King is not to be trusted. In fact you have always warned us to be careful for our every visit. Is
it something to do with what you are telling me?"
"Stanis is a great liar. He wants to create fear among his peers and all the packs around the world.
Every elder knows that this man wants to rule the world and would not shy from going to any lengths to
achieve his dream. He has created hatred among people about a particrmunity and united the
rest of the people. Now he is misguiding them into believing his every lie."
She put her basket on the ground and sat on the ground with her knees folded "For long we suspected
that the King had something to do with the attacks on our pack. In fact there were a few evidences that
Stanis was behind this conspiracy but the other packs refused to believe us. The ones who did were
scared for their own lives. Hence we could do nothing to confront him."
"I never knew that Alpha Ragnar had to suffer through all of this. It must have been terrible for him."
Can sat beside his grandmother a bit sad thinking about the ordeals alpha Ragnar had to go through
as the leader of the pack. "I still don''t understand. Why does he have you here still? I mean the pack
does not possess any danger to him anymore. Then why?"
"You could say that the elders are a provision or a protection against the threats from their respective
packs. As long as we stay in thisnd no respective pack will dare to attack the King."
She sighed and realized that it had been too long since her mate had left for the market. She
connected him through her mind link and requested him to be home as soon as possible.
****
It was difficult to chase Can as he was not a wolf and for some reasons he did not have any scent on
him but this did not deterred Einar from finding his way. He chased the smell of the horse which Can
was riding on his way here. He was led to a small cottage wherein he again got the whiff of the faint but
exhrating smell of his mate. He was happy that he finally found his beloved but his nostrils also
detected presence of another being very close to Can.
It is definitely a female Einar thought but who could she possibly be? He frowned at the thought of
someone being this close to Can It doesn''t matter.. As long as she is after my mate she deserves to
be killed!
He was about to crash the entrance when he was dashed by an elderly man with all the strength he
could muster. This movement caused Einar to step back a little. He saw an elderly man standing in
front of him staring in his eyes.
"I will ask you just once... STAY BACK." The old man warned Einar.
Both the men were standing face to face but one could see that Einar could easily overpower the old
man in every aspect. Still the elderly was not moving and adamant in his stand while his wolf was
forcing him to submit in front of a greater force.
Einar''s wolf saw this as a challenge and he growled. His sound creeped fear into the spine of the old
man and he realized that the man in front should not be messed with.
But it was toote..
Einar grabbed the old man by his cor and thrashed him towards the nearest wall. His hands curled
around the old mans weak jugr.
Can''s grandma sensed her mates pain and she boomingly moaned attracting Can''s attention. He
was near her the very next instant. Her stature was copsing before she weakly pointed her index
finger towards the door. Can panicked and was worried for his grandmother. He followed her
direction and opened the door.
The sight he saw made his eyes wide with disbelief.
"STOP IT! You are killing him! Just stop it...!" Can pressed one of his hands on the chest of Einar and
the other one on the arms of his grandfather trying to separate the old man from the future alpha.
The very touch of Can brought flutters to Einar and he was out of the murderous re immediately.
He blinked his eyes rapidly to gainposure while he rubbed his locket to calm his beasts.
Can''s grandfather sank to the ground and kept his breathing heavy. He was having a hard time
keeping his eyes open but thankfully the old man survived the assault as his veins were still pumping
blood.
The once worried features of Can were now turned into a red hot furious face. He stood up and
turned to look at the culprit. The wind was now zing in haphazard direction like a storm was near.
And indeed it was.
"Are. You. Out. Of. Your. Mind." With every word uttered Can smacked Einar''s chest hard which
pushed him back. Can could not believe how Einar would possibly do what he did. How could he
attack a man of this age? There was nopassion within him.
The very touch of his mate brought excitement and anger to Einar''s wolf. He was about to confront
Can when a small petite hand on Can''s shoulders stopped him from hitting Einar.
"Don''t be angry son."
"But grandpa.." Can protested. This made Einar realize that the special person Can was about to
meet were his grandparents! That the special female was none other than his mates grandmother! All
his anger and jealousy evaporated and were reced with utter shame and regret.
"SShhh....." The old man silenced his youngd.
The olddy was out of her house to see the drama unfold; she recognized Einar by his looks and
recognize his packs future Alpha.
"I am truly sorry son of Ragnar. I could not recognize you. I thought of you as an intruder who came
here to hurt my mate. I''m really sorry for misjudging you."
Can was furious and unapologetic towards the behavior of Einar. It was his grandfather after all.
Moreover Einar should have considered his age before even thinking of attacking him.
The hatred and anger in the eyes of Can made Einar guilty of his deeds while his beasts were
cowering inside of him with shame and disgust. Instead of apologizing he could only utter "It-It is alright
Mr. Ashton" he held his head low "I-I think I should leave." He turned his back and strode hurriedly.
Shame was stinging his soul as he knew that he had hurt his mate with his possessive nature.
All the three of them went inside while the olddy nursed his mate with Can served soup to him.
"Why was he here?" the olddy asked.
"I don''t know."
The old man then embraced his grandson with his admirable strength. "My boy! How have you been?
You look even more handsome with your every visit. Surely the girls must swoon on your every move."
The old man chuckled and pped his shoulder seemingly teasing him. Can could not help his
cheeks changing color.
Can''s blushing smile vanished when his grandfather asked "Have you found your mate yet?"
Can pursed his lips and lowered his eyes while his silence answered the question.
"Don''t worry my child you will find her soon." The olddy consoled the man.
"Or is it a he?" the question took both Can and his grandmother off guard.
"What are you implying?" thedy asked seemingly offended.
"I am just saying that it could be possible that Can''s mate might be a male. There is a possibility for
that and you know it." The old man tried to reason with his mate.
"But I can''t feel anything grandpa. Every sign that people experience I have felt none, neither with any
woman nor with any man." Can almost whispered as he had lost all his hopes for finding a mate.
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden?" Even Can wanted to know why his grandfather was
broaching this subject out of nowhere.
"When I went to the nearby vige today I heard some news about two male wolves iming to be
mates and were presented before the King!"
The olddy gasped with one hand on her chest. She understood what this meant for the poor couple.
"This means..."
"Yes my love." The old couple did not have to use the mind link to understand what the matter was.
Can was confused about the whole thing; he squinted his eyes and asked. "They will be sentenced
to jail. Right?"
The old man shook his head with sadness and negation. "Worse..! They will be hanged tomorrow
morning..."
It took Can several minutes to register what his grandfather just said. He was always told that the
people from same gender were forbidden to enter a partnership. But no one told him why. His father
had always told him that such couples were sentenced to imprisonment for life away from the pack and
the people. He was never satisfied with the treatment meted to these couples just because they were
different. He himself had suffered the pain and trauma of being isted and tyranny of the people
around him and now to hear that these people were actually executed like it was a norm was really
sickening to him.
His heart was pure withpassion and love. He thought that couples like this should be given a
chance to survive, to live, to be happy.
"What are you thinking about son?" his grandmother asked worriedly.
Can was brought out of his chain of thoughts. His curiosity got the better of him and he was eager to
find answers. "Do you think it is bad omen to be in a same sex rtionship?"
"No dear. We do not think so. Though not everyone share the same opinion as we do." His grandfather
snorted.
"Why do they hate these people so much?" Can asked again.
The olddy looked at her mate for a moment and answered "There were these notions many
centuries ago, you could say that it was sort of a prophecy that a same sex couple in the future would
bring havoc to the entire werewolf n and wipe out the entire race!"1
Can was bemused upon hearing this. But found it ridiculous to the tradition of punishing every couple
because of an assumed superstition. "Do you believe this notion?" Can asked both of them.
"We don''t believe them but people do. They are really scared for themselves and their families.
Moreover the King has united all of the people on the pretext of saving the n by making these
couples a target." The old man replied.
"My child, for as long as we have lived there might have been countless couples like these and not
everyone had the courage toe out and im each other but they still lived and did no harm to us."
His grandmother added.
The olddy was now besides her mate and caressing his shoulders. "Moreover punishing them just on
an assumption which holds no ground is morally wrong."
"Have you been in contact with any of such couple?" Can asked.
The old man looked towards the sky as if he was remembering something "There were these two
couples which we sheltered back in our pack who pretended to be husbands and wives. It so happened
that the real couple were actually the pair of the men and the women. For a very long time we kept their
secret but when our Alpha knew about them he ordered them to be sent away."
"That was not a nice thing to do." Can whispered to himself.
The old man defended his Alpha "He was doing so just to protect the pack. In those days invigtion
was very strict. The Enforcers used to pay a surprise visit to check whether any such couple existed
and if found the Alpha and his pack were med and punished by the King for not notifying the matter
to the royal court."
Can did not know what to think. It was not justified and was morally incorrect to punish someone
without their fault. He knew for a fact that even his pack members were of the same opinion that same
sex couples should rot in hell.
He wanted to do something about the wrong happening around him but felt helpless at the same time
for he cannotpete the King and his army neither he could go against his people.
He then just asked his grandmother a question to clear up his mind. "Let''s just say that destiny has
pitied me against a male mate. Will you be epting of the fact that I don''t have a Female as my
mate? That I may not be able to give this family an heir."
The question surprised his grandparents who actually looked at each other for a long time.
His grandmother quietly sat beside Can and caressed his cheeks. "My love. For us you will always
be our grandchild irrespective of your mating to a male or a female. We will always love you no matter
what." She kissed his forehead and said "Yes we do hope to have great grandkids from your side some
day but not at the cost of your happiness! As far as an heir is concerned you don''t have to worry about
that because you have your cousins to do the job. You just live your life to the fullest and be always
happy."
"Remember my child. Whoever your mate may be in the future don''t turn them away. Always cherish
the bond and make your mate happy for this is truly a gift from the Luna. Always love your mate." The
old man patted Can''s shoulder.
This brought tears to Can''s eyes and many of his questions were quenched with satisfying answers.
He excused himself from his grandparents and went on to do what his heart wanted him to do and what
agreed with his conscience.+
But the consequences to his actions could also cost him his life!