Chapter 66: A Step Closer


    "The entire pack!"


    The king was stunned and so was the entire hall. The soldiers that reported back from the Tarakan


    pack silently nodded their head.


    "Yes my lord." One of the soldiers said "No one was spared. The warriors and the weak were all


    mercilessly ughtered."


    "How can a single man be able to do that!" Wace could not believe what he heard. In fact no one


    could believe that the carnage that followed after the beasts arrival in Tarakan pack was even possible.


    "We have lost one great ally in Donovan." Frederick mourned the death of his good friend. Thus a long


    slew of conversation erupted about the events that took ce a few days back. The entire hall was


    discussing the mayhem and the setback the king had suffered. The hulk of a man was unbeatable up


    till now. He was the most treasured warrior for Stanis. Perhaps his death was a great mishap for the


    kingdom.


    "This confirms our assumptions." Stanis said all of a sudden "Indeed he is back." his eyes were wide


    in fear.


    The entire hall stood in silence as they waited for their supreme leader to respond. In contrast Stanis


    was at a loss of words. His worst fear hade to life. He for once knew that the beast would soon


    enough glorify his dominance by dethroning him.


    After a long wait it was Bernard who garnered courage to stand in front of the king "What are we up


    against father? I cannot digest the fact that a wolf could be this powerful! Who is he?"


    "Someone who will kill us all my dear." Stanis smiled with a dejected but fearful face "He wont stop


    until he gets my throne."


    "How do we kill him?" Wace asked.


    "You cannot."


    The random unheard voice caught everyone''s attention and the entire hall looked at the door at once.


    Standing near therge wooden entrance was a man with a strange crimson and grey robe. His attire


    caught attention of the entire hall. Moreover his peculiar appearance raised curiosity among the


    onlookers.


    "And who are you?" Frederick asked in caution.


    "He is Nevart." Stanis replied and gestured Nevart to step forward "He has been an old friend." The


    king then diverted his attention to the man "Speak freely. What do you suggest?"


    Nevart nodded and cautiously stepped forward "Killing the beast is out of question but what we need to


    do is find his weak moment. Render him helpless so that he mourns in his own apathy."


    "And how do we do that?"


    "It is easy." he smiled menacingly "Everything rted to his mate will make him weak. From your


    conversations we have understood the fact that Can is perhaps the mate we are looking for."


    "This is insane!" Frederick retorted in fear "Hurting his mate has caused annihtion of an entire pack! I


    don''t really want to imagine our fate when we kill that human."


    "We wont kill him. Just separate the two."


    "How?" the king intervened with curiosity "We don''t even know who this wolf could be."


    "Is it so hard to know my dear Stanis...?" The man chuckled "Don''t you think that the wolf would''ve


    taken the human away from every prying eyes up until now if he were from any other pack." Nevart


    clicked his tongue "He did not.. which means that the wolf is from the blue moon pack itself. Now I


    wonder who could be that strong?" he tapped his chin "Only two names I could think of. Ragnar and


    Einar." Everyone around was puzzled by the words of the stranger.


    "Of course Ragnar could not be the man cause he is older and already has a mate."


    "Einar has a mate as well."


    "That''s the fun part." he smirked "Of all the times you have nned an attack the human survived.


    Don''t you find this strange?"


    The question seemed to baffle Stanis as he got thinking for what Nevart was trying to imply. On the


    contrary the smug look of the man said it all. It was clear that he had figured it all out. He had solved


    the mystery "The human survived because Einar was always there to save him. His true beloved!"


    The entire hall erupted in murmurs. Shock was written all over the faces of the elites. However it was


    the king and his sons who were the most affected by this information. Stanis did had suspicion over


    Einar but he kept his silence for Einar had introduced Rosaline to the world. What he failed to


    understand was the fact that this was only a gimmick to hide his real mate from his enemies.


    Stanis started connecting all the dots in his head. He felt ashamed of his stupidity and at the same


    time he was furious to the core. He thumped his fist to the arm of the chair and roared mightily "He


    fooled us all! Distracted us to save that puny human! That rascal."


    He hurriedly stood from his position and ordered his army to take position. His steps however were


    halted when Nevart spoke all of a sudden.


    "Don''t agonize yourself Stanis. Just listen to what I to say." he smiled devilishly.


    ****


    "How are you feeling?"


    "That''s a good question." Can chuckled ufortably as he leaned his body weight to the arms of


    Einar for support "Better than yesterday I guess."


    "Is there anything I can do for you."


    Can could see the dejected eyes of his mate. The muscr man seemed desperate for Can''s


    recovery and at the same time he felt apologetic for his absence in the crucial time of need "Don''t


    drown yourself in guilt. It wasn''t your fault."


    Einar half heartedly smiled at him and they both were silent for a long time, looking at the festive cheer


    in front of them.


    The stage had been set. People from the vige were all dressed up and wore a bright smile to express


    their joy. Long woven gands of white lilies were beautifully decorated on the short path while a


    wooden arch was ced at the center, filled with red roses.


    Can and Einar sat on the farther side of the stage, aloof from every prying eyes. Can was resting


    his body on the shoulders of the muscr man while Einar snaked his arms around his beloved. Since


    the incident a few days back, Einar had been more protective of his mate. He would apany him


    everywhere and look after every of his needs. He devoted his entire time to Can to such an extent


    that he had delinked his connection to the entire pack.


    "What are we doing here when you should be recuperating?"


    Can leaned back and looked at theining face of Einar. "This is a big day for Bradyn. He had


    lost all his hope when his wife died a few years ago. To find love again is really fortunate."


    Einar silently nodded. He resumed his gawking at the center stage when his gaze diverted to a child


    who was by the side of the vige chief. "Who is the small kid ?"


    "His child from the previous marriage."


    "Marriage?"


    "Their union is called a marriage."


    Einar again nodded in understanding. Soon the entire vige looked in a certain direction. Standing at a


    distance were two men holding hands and looking at each other with love. They slowly made their way


    to the center of the stage where each step of theirs was cheered in unison by the entire crowd.


    Can''s smile was the brightest when he looked at the joy at Bradyn''s face. It was a big day for his


    childhood friend. He prayed to the heavens above for Bradyn''s happiness and health and wished for a


    blissful union of the two loving souls.


    His stretched lips however were again back to normal when he noticed the expressions of his mate.


    Einar seemed surprised and perhaps a little scared at the moment.


    "Are you alright?" Can asked out of concern.


    "He is with a man.. " Einar whispered in shock.


    Can bit his lips as he forgot the part to mention about the same gender wedding to his mate. Of


    course it never had been ufortable for Can for he was used to visiting settlements of other


    species. However for Einar it waspletely new. Born and brought up in a traditional wolf pack he


    was taught rules that he believed in deep rooted. Rules that governed their life and their way of thinking


    and which were followed religiously through generations.


    Can sighed and pressed Einar''s hand with his palm "Marred with uncertainty and less probability of


    life than other species, humans have the most simplified rules of them all. They value life for they know


    that they may not have much time to survive. They don''t differentiate when ites to union of two


    souls. Because for them to find love is a blessing and they cheer every union in their settlement."


    Einar hummed and both of them diverted their eyes to the men at the center stage. Bradyn held his


    partners hand and nted a sweet kiss to his cheeks. It was followed by an oath of togetherness as


    they bowed before their deity. The priest then officially announced the union of the men and the entire


    Can looked at them with glee but his smile faded slowly when a random thought came to his mind "I


    feel happy for them but I am sad a little." Can said in a trance.


    Einar was alert at once when he heard the depressed voice of his mate "Why are you sad?"


    "This is something that we may never have in our lives." Can whispered "eptance."


    The words were few but it spoke volumes. It wasn''t something big that Can wished for yet it was


    something too hard for Einar to gift him. Over the years he was always afraid of peoples reaction for


    they would never ept the men together. Moreover he was nervous about letting his parents know for


    he knew that it would be a shame to their pride and honor.


    Einar''s father always taught him that the pack was an extended family. While his personal matters were


    atrge the pack matters always came first. The deep rooted fear in peoples mind was not easy to


    eradicate at once.


    But what was Can''s fault in all of this?


    Can had been nothing but a sacrificing sheep all along. He lost thepany of his parents, his


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    rightful position as the head warrior and even his childhood in this pack. All this while when he should


    have been treated as the king he was treated like a criminal. All he received was hatred and negligence


    from the people. Yet against all odds the human of the pack survived the treatment and held his head


    high.


    Einar was a more or less the main cause for all of Can''s troubles. Had Einar epted the man from


    the start the whole pack would have looked at him differently. Though the wolves would have resented


    the union but they would''ve never dared to mistreat the handsome man for he was the alpha mate.


    Even after years of torture and pain the handsome man still was baring his heart to the one who


    caused all of his misery.


    Einar felt pathetic and disgusted from within.


    He lowered his eyes and sighed for a moment. Gritting his teeth he raised his head above and stared


    into nothingness.


    NO! This shouldn''t be their fate he thought. Can deserved better. He deserved the entire world and


    eptance was a part of it.


    Einar had made up his mind. He was going to confess everything to his parents today. He wasn''t


    bothered about the consequences. He was ready to sacrifice the pack if the need be. This time he


    wasn''t going to let Can down.


    "I am d that you both could make it." Einar''s pensive mind was out of its thoughts when he heard the


    feminine voice of Fayette "How are you feeling?"


    Can smiled and nodded his head. Even before he could utter any more words Einar abruptly stood


    up and took two steps ahead.


    "What is wrong?" Can asked with concern.


    "I have to leave." He turned to the confused lookingdy "I entrust him to you. Please take care of him."


    Without delving any further Einar sped up his feet and transformed into his wolf midway.


    Einar was sure that this was the day when everything would be set in ce. Either he would be


    weed by the pack or he would face the brunt of his people. In either way he wasn''t ready to hide


    his true mate any longer. He wished for Can to be happy and for that he had to be brave.


    He raced ahead of the wind and cleared his thoughts. It had been several days since hest visited his


    home. Since the mayhem that urred a few days back he chose to spend his days well where he


    was needed the most- with Can.


    He opened his mind link when he stepped foot in the pack and soon he was assaulted by the multiple


    voices that were bombarding inside of his head. However he narrowed on a particrly familiar voice


    who seemed tensed.


    Where were you? I have been searching for you for the whole week..


    The worried voice of his best friend rmed Einar. He was sure that something bad had happened in


    his absence. Calm down. I am heading home.


    I told them that you were spending time with the Idris pack. Your parents are at the healers.


    These words halted Einar''s stride What is wrong?


    You should see for yourself.


    With that the beta of the pack was gone from his head. Einar was perturbed. The thoughts of some


    uncertain bad events was making his mind unsettled. He braved his foot ahead and opened the gates


    of his big house. The gardens and the big veranda looked deserted. He hurried his steps further and


    pushed wide open his door. His heart beat now elerating at a higher rate.


    The halls and the kitchen were empty. There was no sign of any wolf. He could sense neither his


    mother nor his father. However a sense of relief flushed his mind when he smelled the familiar scent of


    Rosaline. He rushed ahead skipping a step or two to reach his room in a hurry.


    He was taken by surprise when the room was filled with all of his female servants and somedy


    members from the pack. They smiled and giggled and blushed. All to the annoyance of the muscr


    man. Einar couldn''t understand why thedies were joyous at a moment when his mind was worried


    sick.


    He growled in anger and the entire room went silent "Leave."


    Themand was obeyed at once and a beeline followed, making their way through the door.


    Rosaline looked a little pale and a bit worried. Einar noticed her features and asked cautiously "Are you


    sick?"


    Rosaline moved her lips to speak but couldn''t will herself to utter any word. She tried over and over


    again but her speeding heart was holding her back. Einar was irritated by the long silence and he


    shouted at thedy "Say something!"


    Rosaline pursed her lips and sighed deeply. Einar''s entire world turned upside down when he heard


    Rosaline say "I''m pregnant."


    ********