Chapter 3

A FEW DAYS LATER

“How long has it been since you sent the message?” Logan asked Caine, while tapping his feet restlessly on the floor as he sat down.

“Over a month now, alpha. I sent physical letters, then emails, but the Lycan King hasn't responded to any. I think it's best to take our eyes off their affairs. The Lycans are extremely powerful.”

Logan placed a finger on his chin. He had already muttered a ‘no’ in his head. He wasn't going to leave the Lycan King alone, until the king admitted that what he was doing was wrong.

He needed to save the king of the mess he had gotten himself. The Lycan territory was disgusting in Logan's eyes. Men openly paired with men, living without shame and consequences.

He had visited there a couple of times, and the sight caused discomfort to settle in the marrow of his bones. He always prayed within himself that the people would turn a new leaf.

If there were a less powerful group, Logan would have picked up a fight with them. But since the Lycan were powerful, he decided to resolve their gay nature peacefully by preaching heterosexuality to them, which was always ignored.

As he sat down, he was already thinking of ways he could solve the issue as the Lycan King kept ignoring him. A war with them wasn't possible. He bit his inner lip in deep thought or rather, anger, until he tasted blood in his mouth.

There was nothing he could do except getting angry at the Lycan King for ignoring him. He buried his face in his palm, and Caine's voice brought him back to reality.

“The preparations for the claiming ceremony are in place. Is there any announcement that you want me to pass?”

Logan tapped his feet rhythmically on the floor and formed that familiar sinister smile. There were a thousand messages to be passed. No bachelor should miss the ritual and on no account should any man accept a man as his mate.

Most times, Logan asked himself if the moon goddess had some screws loose in her head to allow a man and another man to feel the mate bond.

Irritating, demeaning, sacrilege and a grave abomination was what Logan described such fate as.

“Alpha?” Caine called out, after noticing that Logan hadn't given a response.

“Yes. Pass the usual news. No unmated man or woman should miss it and no man should dare claim a man as his mate.”

Caine nodded in response. He had already suspected that that was what Logan would say. As Caine left the room, his heart pounded roughly. He knew something was wrong and perhaps he couldn't hide it anymore.

*******************

THE CLAIMING

The skies dimmed to a deep orange colour as the sun began to set. The fields were set with mats rolled over the bare ground. A few werewolves were already hanging around. Logan had strict laws. Every eligible person should be around before the full moon even appears.

As he walked forward, the chattering among the people subsided and eventually faded out. The men who were talking to each other, despite not being gay disengaged and stood by themselves, fearing that he may kill them at the spot out of suspicion.

His announcement was not different from what he had instructed Caine.

When the sun had set completely and the day metamorphosed into night, the ritual began.

The sky twinkled with the numerous stars embedded in it and the moon shone in all its glory.

The claiming was a mate finding ritual that happened once a year.

Howls and snapping of teeth filled the air, with the wolves becoming feral as they found their mate.

Due to Logan's order, most of the men who got their fellow men as mates, rejected them. However, some of them refused and vowed to keep it a secret. But under Logan's leadership, the secret may not last.

Logan ripped off his shirt as he felt the mate bond tug violently in him. His last mate that he found at 18 had rejected him, and all other efforts to find a mate were in vain. He marked several women and made them pregnant, but none of the pregnancies had been successful. The rogue woman who managed to get pregnant for him, gave him a girl.

The thought of all these made him extremely angry and he brought out his claws and snarled violently in a bid to find his mate.

He would claim her instantly and make sure she gives him a son.

He could already pick up the scent of his mate and he rushed towards her. The pull was getting stronger and closer and he finally met her.

“What!” He screamed in disbelief as he looked at his supposed mate.

The man trembled and fell on his knees, while bowing his head.

“Alpha, I had no hand in these. I didn't know the moon goddess would pair us, but please, let me live.”

Logan was too stunned to speak. What burned in his chest. What pulled him in a way that he couldn't fathom was for a man?

“Truly,” he muttered to himself. “The moon goddess has run mad. Pairing me with a man?” He spat in disgust.

“Stand up and get out of here.” He ordered his mate who was kneeling and the man obeyed. “I reject you and I sever these stupid ties.” He crinkled his nose in disgust as the man hurried away.

The man ran as fast as he could, despite feeling the pain of the broken mate bond. He was afraid that if he stalls for a second longer, Logan might change his mind and kill him at the spot.

“Hold up.” Logan ordered and the man halted in his tracks. “Come back here.”

He trembled and walked towards Logan with reddened eyes as he already guessed the fate that would befall me.

“Forgiveness?” Logan chuckled as he grabbed the man by his hair, causing him to wince. “Mercy is never my ally.”

He mindlinked one of his guards who appeared almost immediately.

“Lock him up in the dungeons. I'll decide what to do later.”

“Please. Please alpha. The bond isn't my fault…I reject it…I…”

His voice trailed off as the guard dragged him away.

A satisfactory smile appeared on Logan's face. He was certain he had done the right thing.

He headed towards his private room in the packhouse. He needed to clear his head and perhaps, call a shaman to purify him of the remnants of the mate bond.

Meanwhile, Caine was facing a dilemma of his own…

“How long do we keep doing this?” Griffin sulked in a low tone. His eyes were filled with worry.

Caine pulled Griffin closer to his chest. “I'd find a way out of this.”

“But that's what you keep saying. What if one day, we get killed like the rest of the men?”

Caine took a deep breath. He knew his lover was right. The two men had managed to keep their secret, but for how long under the tyrannical reign of Logan?

“I'd find a way,” he assured Griffin while stroking his hair and placing a kiss on his forehead.

Griffin sniffed and leaned closer into Caine's chest.

Caine stared at the moon, wondering how long his obedience to Logan would keep him alive.