Chapter 23: Nightmare


    Everyone stood at the front of the funeral with their heads down. Can held Aurora''s shaky hand the


    entire time. Elder Odulf was a mentor and like a father to her. His death broke herpletely. People


    said their prayers to the Luna and the body was buried ording to the rituals. They paid respect to


    thest rites of the man as he was the head of the elders.


    Einar on the other hand kept a factitious face of despair and ache for the entirety of the funeral. He


    really wanted to feel bad for the elder but deep inside he felt nothing. The elder knew what wasing


    for him. Whatever the reason, Einar was aware that killing the man only brought fear to his fellow pack


    members. This wasn''t how he thought his reign as the new Alpha would begin.


    To make matters worse, his mate was constantly dangling between Aurora and Vi. Either he was


    busy consoling the witch by giving her a shoulder to cry or he kept fondling his lover''s face as an act of


    his affection. Can was paying attention to everyone around but he never spared a nce for the


    Alpha. This infuriated Einar even more. He drew up various scenarios in his head to kill everyone who


    was dear to him. This way Einar would be the only person who he sees, who he cares about.


    Garrick was quite worried for his friend. He could not apprehend what Einar had became. He knew that


    the Alpha was creating a fa?ade only to please his pack members but deep inside he seemed relived to


    have killed the elder. This wasn''t the Einar he knew. His friend would never harm anyone intentionally,


    killing was a different game altogether. Though it was not as if he had never killed before but he always


    felt remorse where it mattered. This man right in front of him was different. Einar was mostly


    uninterested in interacting with the people in position. He had shut his mind link while he stole nces


    at Can. On asions his nostrils would re and he fisted his hands. Since Garrick had experienced


    the same vehemence, he knew what his emotions signified.


    ****


    It had been one whole week since the funeral. In the absence of elder Odulf, Aurora was handled the


    responsibility to be the head healer of the pack. Both Can and Vi had resumed their pack duties


    and managed their together time with great efforts. On the other hand Garrick and Einar had been


    drafting schedules for the uing trials and preparing the lists for the nominees. Einar was


    overwhelmed by the work and duties as the new Alpha. The first entire week he visited the viges and


    their chiefs and surveyed his pack area.


    But Einar''s mind had been distracted..


    The newly crowned alpha always used to think what his mate was doing and then his train of thoughts


    went to his lover Vi. Just the thought of them together made his blood boil. He also came to know


    that Can had requested an audience with him but he thought the probable reason for this meeting


    would be to discuss the unfortunate incident at his ce.


    Can on the other hand had been sleepless for most of his nights since the blue moon. The constant


    nightmares had deprived him of his slumber. Moreover the passing of his horses had saddened him


    deeply. The one good thing about it all was his constantpanion- the raven. Since the full moon the


    raven seemed to be more attached to Can. He was at his side for the most of his time.


    He decided to visit Aurora to find a cure for his nightmares.


    He entered her cottage and shouted her name trying to locate her. After repeatedly calling her he


    concluded that she was not present in the premises. He decided to wait for her until she came. He sat


    on a nearby chair with his eyes glued to the entrance. He was finding it difficult to kill time and so he


    decided to explore the ce. A door near arge table caught his attention. It had been a long time


    since he had visited the room so he decided to spend some time there until Aurora came back. He


    enthusiastically went forward and entered the room.


    The ce had been the same since Canst visited. Arge tree stood in the middle of the room


    whose branches were trimmed to the roof whereas itsrge trunk had some intricate designs carved


    out beautifully in the middle. One side of the room contained an open almirah where books of various


    kinds were stashed while the other side contained all her utensils and appliances used to make


    different kinds of decoction.


    However, Can''s eyes zoomed to the wall where five pots of different colors were lined up andy


    hanging in the air without any support. What made him curious though was that the five pots were


    colored in the same way his bracelet reflected. Blue, Brown, Yellow, White and ck.


    Was it just a coincidence?


    The man decided to delve further. Out of curiosity he slowly marched to the pots to discern the contents


    in it. With each step he took the colors of the pots sparkled. It was like watching dazzling stars on a


    new moon night. The glittering and sparkling of the pots fascinated Can''s mood more and more.


    When he was about to close the gap he heard distinct footsteps and he knew for once that Aurora had


    arrived. He stepped back and hid behind the entrance door of the room, he watched a shadow appear


    through the door. As soon as thedy entered her foot in the room Can appeared out of nowhere and


    screamed in his loud voice taking the poordy by surprise. Aurora was startled with the sudden


    onught and she screamed in fear, the bags in her hand fell while she closed her eyes and covered


    her ears.


    Fat tears rolled down Can''s cheeks as heughed his heart out. Hisughter was so free, so childish


    despite his adult years. On the other hand Aurora''s heart beats increased, her rhythmic palpitations


    elerated and she put hear hands to her chest probably making sure if she was still alive.


    She angrily smacked him "How many times have I told you not to ambush me in such a way. Goodness


    Luna the heart of a poordy!"


    "I-I am sorry. Its always fun with you." Can said between his hystericalughs.


    She gave him his own sweet little time toe out of his guffaw. She collected her bags and looked up


    to him. "So, what brings you here?"


    "Can''t I juste to visit an old friend of mine." He narrowed his eyes and pouted like a kid.


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    "Yes you can." She sighed and started emptying the contents of the bag. "But I can assure you, you are


    not here to just meet me. Are you?" She put her bags to a nearby table.


    "Well you are right on that ount."


    "So get going with it."


    "Well.." Can continuously ticked his forefingers "I don''t know how to tell you but I am having these


    strange dreamstely."


    This caught Auroras attention and she asked curiously "What kind of dreams?"


    "Its actually just a single dream, more of a nightmare i''ll say but it has kept me awake all nights since


    the blue moon."


    Aurora knew that Can''s dreams were no longer a coincidence. She knew that the dreams signified


    something. Either it could be the urrence of the past or the visions of the future. So it was necessary


    for her to know what was transpiring in that mysterious mind of Can. "Full moon day you say.."


    Can nodded. Aurora grasped his arm and took him near the trunk of the tree in the middle of the


    room. She closed her eyes and muttered some verse. When she touched the tree trunk it opened its


    chest and a book engulfed by thick green vines appeared from it. It slowly released it leafy creepers


    and the book opened itself. Can remembered the thing as he had seen it before.


    "It is the book of the ancients." He raised a brow.


    "Very good Can. Now just stand ahead and try to remember what you saw."


    Can did as he was told. The book pped its pages until settling for a random one. It glowed a light in


    the air and a white cloud was formed vertically upwards of the book. The clouds slowly became


    transparent and images started appearing out of nowhere. Can was confused by the trickery of the


    book but soon he realised that the book was picturising the events from his dream.


    And then he saw it.


    It looked like the skies were angry. There were thunderstorms and the ground beneath was shaking.


    The gravels from the earth were uplifting themselves and vigorously rotating. All of a sudden these fine


    particles were moving in a particr direction like they were attacking someone. A loud roar could be


    heard as a ck wolf made its appearance piercing the thick fog. He looked angry and ready to kill a


    person who was standing a few distances away. He glued his bloody red eyes to his perpetrator and


    growled in anger. The wolf thenunched itself in the direction of the person but was held midway and


    thrashed to the ground by an unknown force. He tried to stand on his four legs but was unable to do so.


    The wolf struggled before finally transforming into his human.


    It was Einar.


    The person in front of Einar took slow measured steps towards him. Blood decorated his face as


    wounds and bruises covered his entire body. He limped slowly but painfully towards Einar as the once


    forceful winds now werepletely calm. Einar looked to his tormentor with a stoic face maintaining a


    brave exterior. He snarled when the person was close enough indicating him to stand back, to warn


    him. The bruised person stopped in his tracks and narrowed his swollen eyes. He slowly lifted his right


    hand fingers to circle it. As he did the motion, Einar''s face became red, the veins in his body bulged


    and it appeared to make its way by tearing the flesh. He was breathless as he tried to soothe his neck


    by rubbing his hands frantically up and down. He felt strangted like the air was leaving his body. He


    was struggling to survive..


    The clouds puffed and disappeared all of a sudden leaving the images in a blur before clearing out.


    Can was amazed by how vivid the pictures were. It was exactly what he had been dreaming. He


    closed the book and looked at a distraught Aurora. Her face mirrored horror while her eyes could not


    stop the beads which soaked her cheeks. Her mouthy hung open while her body was trembling with


    fear. She could not believe what she just saw.


    Can was about to kill Einar!


    This is not what was supposed to happen! Einar and Can were the two most powerful entities in the


    entire world. This sh of titans would only result in a catastrophic destruction! They would kill an


    entire pack. But why would they end up fighting? Weren''t they supposed toplete each other? The


    Luna paired them for a reason so what could let them going for each others throat? Nobody knew what


    the future holds but if Can was seeing this than things were serious.


    "Is this what you see in your dreams?" Aurora cautiously asked him.


    Can looked intently at his friend "Yes. The same for the past several days."


    "Have you told anyone about it?"


    "Archer." Can nervously smiled at Aurora. She sighed and lowered her head "What''s wrong? Was I


    not to tell him?"


    She shook her head. Letting people know about this dream was a bad idea. It may cause greater


    consequences. But right know she wanted to know the reason why this fight urred in the first ce.


    "Tell me Can when you see yourself killing Einar, what do you feel? I mean what were you going


    through?


    "What kind of a question is that!"


    Though she was being absurd but it was necessary to know Can''s emotional state at that moment.


    This way she could try to understand the situation better. "Please Can, it is important for me to


    know." She pleaded.


    Can narrowed his eyes and looked to the ceiling "I don''t know. I wasn''t happy; but I wasn''t sad


    either." He looked at her and almost whispered "Like him living or dead just means nothing to me."


    "Any remorse." Aurora almost choked.


    Can thought over it for a moment before saying "No actually." His reaction was not well taken by


    Aurora who was now fidgeting her fingers while her face was an anxious mess. "But why are you so


    bothered by it. It is just a dream. How can a person like me ever stand up to a person as powerful as


    Einar." He raised a brow and shrugged.


    Aurora was skeptical to reveal Cans true identity to him. She wanted to badly tell him how wrong he


    was to undermine himself. Can saw the worried look on her face and tried to ease her tension. "I


    don''t want to die young." he chuckled. But this act made the witch even more nervous "Rx! The


    dream has no significance." he tried to assure his friend.


    Aurora caught hold of herself as she knew she had to present a brave front or else Can would be


    suspicious "You are right. Just wait here."


    She quickly went to her cupboard to collect some of her decoctions and handed it over to Can "Take


    these before you sleep." She then took out an intricately designed hollow triangr bar to give to him


    "And put this besides your bed. It will keep the bad dreams away."


    By the looks of it Can knew that Aurora was stressing herself too much so to divert her attention he


    thought about shifting her focus to something else. "By the way this bracelet of yours is behaving very


    strange these days." He pointed to the ornament in his arm.


    Aurora gave him confused look "Strange as in.."


    "Blossoming flowers, chilly winds and some times even thunders. Just about yesterday the gravels on


    my way moved aside to make a clear path for me. I know it is supposed to help me but this is too


    much.. Just imagine if someone sees it. It would be hard to exin."


    She nodded "Indeed it would be hard to exin." hard to exin that the bracelet had no part to y in


    these strange happenings at all. She knew a situation such as this would arise sooner orter. "Well I


    have something prepared for you in the meantime." she took out another wristlet from her bag. The


    ends of the knot had eagle faces carved out of gold while the metal seemed heavy from the previous


    ones. "Take this."


    Can was fascinated by the metal piece but was in dubious mind whether or not he should ept it.


    The past few days have been really strange for him. Something had changed in him. He felt like a


    different person, like a sudden surge of power has emanated from his very core. It made him uneasy. "I


    think I should not wear it anymore. No offense but these bracelets are making me uneasy nowadays."


    Aurora smiled "Consider it as a present for your uing birthday."


    Can could not refuse it. He returned the old bracelet and wore the new one with a smile. He


    remembered his ns to mate Vi on his birthday and an innocent blush flushed his cheeks "Oh I am


    going to give myself a really good present this birthday." his eyes widened all of a sudden and he


    pursed his lips "Oh my goodness!" He eximed in panic "I totally forgot. I had to visit the Alpha


    chambers for the meeting. I''ll see youter Aurora." He tookrge strides and made his way out of her


    house leaving a bewildered Aurora behind.


    ****


    Einar was sitting in his desk attending to the various duties he was allotted. He had been very busy of


    of being an Alpha. Since the trials were yet to happen he was left with no option but to work with the


    people serving the previous Alpha- Ragnar. On the other side Ragnar, Peter, Justus and the others


    were trying to help the new Alpha get through.


    Einar submerged himself in heaps of papers which mainly belonged to the treaties, transfers and


    various other orders requiring urgent attention from the Alpha. His look of helplessness and boredom


    amused Garrick and he chuckled "Its different to see you this way."


    "Tired and sulking?" Einar scoffed.


    "Yes that." Garrick snickered "And taking responsibility. Its refreshing to see you this way."


    "Don''t worry. Your going to join me soon in this misery. You know I have been..." he left his words


    hanging mid sentence when the faint sweet aroma of a certain person fragranced the room. He


    nced at the door and saw Can talking to his father. He had worn a light blue shirt today while his


    sleeves outlined his muscles. His hair wasbed perfectly while his smile brought fluttering to Einar''s


    stomach. And then there were those green eyes! Those orbs were the most beautiful features of


    Can''s beauty. Einar could never take his eyes off him.


    But he remembered what Can had done.


    Einar huffed and quickly rposed his features. He was happy that his wolf had been eerily quite


    even when Can was near. He got tensed when he saw that the father-son duo were looking in his


    direction and approaching him but he could not fathom the emotions of his mate. He looked somewhat


    tensed and furious or maybe he was a bit disappointed.


    "Greetings alpha." Einar was so mesmerised by Can that he did not notice when his mate showed up


    in front of him. He just kept staring at him with an unknown expression. Garrick realised his friends


    unresponsiveness and tapped his shoulder.


    "Uh.. what?" Einar was startled.


    "Can is here for the meeting." Garrick replied.


    "Oh y-yes.. Go ahead."


    Can scrunched his nose and heaved. For some reason he was so angry with the man in front of him


    that he wanted to punch him in his perfect face. His breathings were levelled when his father rested his


    hand on his back to mollify him.


    Can sighed and said. "Alpha I request your time and patience to discuss two matters which are close


    to my heart."


    Einar dipped his head to the papers on the table and resumed his work. He uninterestingly replied. "I


    already have a lot on my te Ashton. I suppose you can handle your bullying issues on your own. You


    are not a child anymore."


    This only fuelled Can''s anger. Firstly, he always handled his bullies and neverined about it to


    anyone. Secondly, Einar seemed to take no interest in what he had to say..


    "I am not here to rattle out anyone. I havee to discuss something rting to me alone." Can''s


    anger was soaring.


    "Can''t it wait?" Einar scoffed.


    "No it can''t alpha." Can gritted his teeth seemingly unhappy with Einar''s behaviour. He just stared at


    the Alpha and refused to back down. He was so pissed at him that he almost forgot that this could ire


    the wolf and he could see it as a challenge. Einar on the other hand was hanging his patience on a


    loose thread. He did not wanted to harm Can but he could not ept behaviour of this kind mate or


    not.


    Ragnar saw this predicament and interjected "Son, Can is a part of the pack. He requested this


    meeting five days ago. He even gave a prior intimation about it. This must be something serious he


    wants to talk about, just listen to him."


    His fathers words calmed him a bit and he heaved a sigh "Continue.."


    Can took some pages from his hand and quietly kept them on the Alphas desk.


    "What are these?" Einar huffed in ignorance.


    "This is the list of nominees for the trials."


    "So?" Einar picked those papers and tossed them to his trash bin.


    The rude behaviour of the Alpha was not going down too well with Can but he knew that Einar was


    incharge and he had the power to do whatever he wanted. Can took a few breaths before saying


    "So. Why am I not named in this? There is no mention about Can Justus Ashton. Why?" he asked


    usingly.


    Einar was getting all worked up with the disrespectful tone of Can. His wolf was not having it. He


    wanted out and show him his ce. He snarled and before he could do anything else Garrick


    squeezed his shoulder and interjected. "You know how the trials work, right Ashton? There are


    hundreds of candidates eager to face to you in the open field. Not everyone likes you."


    "Oh I know that." Can chuckled "But that still doesn''t mean that I should notpete."


    "Do you know how many people have listed for the head warriors post. It is one hundred and three!


    Even a wolf cannotpete with so many people, you are just a human." Garrick tried to reason while


    Einar supported him "You wontst after the fifth match."


    "I wont back down from a fight even if it means I lose my life." Can said with finality.


    This bold confidence of Can was irritating Einar even more. Who did he think he was? Einar knew


    that his mate would notst after a few matches and he could get injured but he also knew how


    stubborn he was. Can would die fighting for his pride but wont back down. This was foolishness. "Not


    going to happen Ashton. No arguments."


    "It is my right Alpha." Can thumped his hands to the table. "And what do you have to lose. either I


    disy my proficiency as a fighter or I die as a fallen warrior."


    The rising tension between his son and the Alpha propelled Justus to intervene "If I may intrude Alpha


    Einar. I know you are worried about my son but it has been the tradition of the pack for generations.


    After me, the responsibly of the post falls directly on the shoulders of my heir. He has the first im."


    "He is right Einar. You cannot deny what rightfully is his. Let him fight and defend his position. If he wins


    he will prove his mettle to the entire pack which I''m sure of. However if he loses, than you can do what


    you deem fit." Ragnar added.


    Einar knew that every argument that was made was justified but how was he supposed to tell them that


    he cannot see Can in a battlefield! That he does not want him to get hurt or worse kill himself! That


    his own life depended on how long Can lives! He knew he was cornered and there was no more


    counter arguments, otherwise they would get suspicious and ask him his reasons for not letting Can


    participate. He ran his fingers through his head in frustration and sighed. "Alright then. He may have his


    chance but I will not be responsible for what happens in the battle field." He gestured his hands for


    Can to leave. "If you are done here you can leave at once Ashton."


    Can was happy that he finally got eptance to participate. Since he was at it, he thought of getting


    another permission. "I just have one more request Alpha."


    Einar threw his pen in irritation and crossed his arms leaning back to the chair. "Now what?"


    "The next full moon is..."


    "Is my birthday. What about it?"


    Can gritted his teeth. How self conceited and selfish one could be! How was he suppose to respect


    him as his Alpha when all Einar thought was only about his big ego. However Can knew that he had


    to please this thoughtless and inconsiderate being in front of him to get things done. He calmed himself


    and said "Yes Alpha but what I was saying was that I have decided to aplish an important life


    event which affects me deeply."


    "Just say it Ashton." Einar hissed through his teeth.


    Can looked to his father who nodded in approval before meeting the eyes of his Alpha "I want a


    ceremony on the full moon day to announce Vi as my chosen mate."


    ********


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