Chapter 6: Reality
Mink’s P.O.V
No. NO!
This cannot be happening and especially not now…not here!
Ruksaar chatted on beside me without a care in the world as we both walked briskly back to our hotel. She was blissfully unaware of the torment that was going through my mind as I balled my hands into fists, my claws slicing out to pierce the delicate skin of my palm. The wounds would heal even before they were formed and I wished with all my power that my mind could work the same way.
But his image was now imprinted in my mind and it’ll stay right there until the day I die.
Mate.
The bloody word tasted like poison in my mouth and I tried to suppress the shudder that raked through me, but to no avail. Wide almond shaped eyes the color of topaz, with more gold than brown; they were eyes of a cat. His hair had been a dark shade of brown that appeared almost black. I could picture it in the sun, however, with a brown tint to it. It would be soft to the touch-
I reined back my thoughts with violent self-control. I hadn’t needed a mate for over a hundred years and I certainly didn’t need one now.
All shifters have several potential mates that they meet at varying stages in their lives. We don’t usually find two potential mates at the same time and even if we do, the first person we lay our eyes on will be the one we recognize as our mates, hence nullifying the effect of our second potential mate. Different shifters also have different lifespan. So if a mate dies, the partner will still be able to find another mate for however long they remain alive.
Shifters are usually paired with other shifters, but having a human as a mate isn’t unheard of. And my mate seemed to be just that. Human.
“Jiji! Have you heard a word of what I just said?”
Ruksaar’s irritated voice snapped me out of my trance and I realized that we’d already reached our hotel and were now nearing our room. Dear God! How could I be so preoccupied with some man that I’d completely lost track of my surroundings?
Thankfully, Gujarat no longer hosted any predatory shifter packs, just some non-predatory ones like a herd or two of camels and a few deer packs further down towards the border Gujarat shared with Maharashtra. It meant I could get my guard down once in a while but not to the point where I lose sight of reality.
“Sorry,” I apologized to a grumpy Ruksaar. “What were you saying?”
“I was saying,” she gave me a pointed look before continuing, “that we should just go back to Jharna.”
“No.” The answer was immediate and it was out before I could stop it.
“But what’s there to see, anyway?” Ruksaar argued. “Mouri no longer exists and this place had been rebuilt from scratch. I don’t think you’ll even be able to find ghosts if you stood in the middle of the desert in the dead of night!”
We entered the room and locked the door behind us, before taking off our traditional clothing and changing into sweatpants and t-shirts. Ruksaar turned the air conditioner on full blast and fanned her face with her hands. “And besides,” she gave it one last shot. “It’s hot as hell in here!”
I shook my head at her antics before lying down on the bed beside her. “You were a newborn when I left Gujarat with you; you hardly knew anything of what happened here or how I’d spent the first fourteen years of my life. There might not be ghosts in the desert, Ruksaar but there are several of them inside me that I need to put to rest.”
“Then what about Jharna? What about the house that you’re building brick by brick with your own blood and sweat?” Ruksaar asked. “We aren’t desert wolves, Jiji! I can’t stand the heat for that long. One week is too long a time to be spending in this god forsaken village in the middle of nowhere.”
“Actually Ruksaar, we are desert wolves.” I corrected. “But we’ve been living in the mountains for the past twelve years and we have adapted to the climate. It doesn’t change who we are.”
“But I want to go back home,” Ruksaar said at last, her voice quiet and soft. “Shiwalik with all its snow and bone chattering cold has become home for me than any place could ever have been. And now that our house is almost complete, it feels so much like home that I hate staying away from it.”
“I can understand, Ruksaar. Just bear with me for a week?”
Yes, I could understand what she meant. When we’d moved to Shiwalik in the middle Himalayan mountain range, the place had instantly drawn me in. I’d felt at peace with my wolf, with my demons for the first time in over a century. That’s why I’d started to built a house there, a large one. There were over thirty rooms with ten more under construction. Building that house had meant spending about half of what I’d made my entire life, but damn it, it was worth it.
The house was big enough to be a pack house with its numerous rooms and humongous size. It wasn’t being built skyward but downwards, into the ground, not too far down though, since wolves liked to see the world outside their windows even if all they saw was white. The roofs were sloping so that the snow could fall easily on them and stay there for days. It was a house that I’d one day leave to Ruksaar and her pups…mine too if I ever decided to have any. Some day that house will be filled with people and little pups running around freely…some day.
It wasn’t long before the reality of my thoughts hit me like a slap across the cheek.
Pups?
Was I really just thinking about having pups? I was in no way ready to be a mother and neither did I want a mate! It’s funny how my thoughts have started to change as soon as I had seen his face. I didn’t know the man; he could have a family of his own for God’s sake! How could I even begin to imagine a future with him, let alone have children with him, when I didn’t even know his name?
The Moon Goddess was playing a cruel joke on me. That had to be it.
I would never be rid of my sins, for taking all those innocent lives when I’d burned down my entire village. There had been about two hundred people in that village then; including women and children…and I’d taken everyone’s lives. How could I even begin to think about having children after the blood that had stained my hands?
I turned my head toward Ruksaar to find her dozing off peacefully beside me; her hands were on top of her stomach and her black hair was scattered across the pillows like a halo around her. Ruksaar was only fourteen years younger than me and she was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family. To think that I almost didn’t go back for her…
I turned my head away and rubbed at my eyes with my fingers. Being back here had been hell for me. That fateful day kept playing on repeat over and over in my head, making me restless and anxious.
Why wasn’t I at peace with my past? Why couldn’t I just move on and be rid of all these memories?
My mate’s face came to mind at that instant and I almost laughed at the irony. The same land where I had taken away hundreds of lives, ended several aspirations and dreams, was now giving me a reason to live on.
I’ve lived for over a century, been to thousands of different places, seen a thousand different faces…and yet, it just had to be here that I find my mate, just when I thought I no longer needed one and I’d spend the rest of my life paying for my crimes.
Yeah… the Moon Goddess was indeed playing a cruel game with me.
Chapter 7: Desert Snow Abhay’s P.O.V It was snowing. The ground was completely white. It had snowed overnight and now the tiny yellow blossoms that looked like miniature sunflowers were buried under three feet of fresh snow, their petals crushed under the heavy weight. It was going to be a long, cold year ahead and the snow has only just begun. I looked at the waterfall in front of me, untouched by the winter chill. Jharna, that was what we called it. The literal Hindi translation of a waterfall, but it just sounded right to us. It was freezing outside but I knew it would be nice and warm inside the pack house. It would also be noisy. But I liked that noise. It was welcoming. It was home. Something dropped to the ground then, at my feet. I looked down to see what it was. It was only a speck in the vast sea of snow but it stood out amongst the white. It was in the shape of a tiny drop but the warmth coming from it melted the snow a little, caused a slight dent as it was absorbed i
Chapter 8: Cruel Fate Mink’s P.O.V I watched four men approach us from the other end of the desert. Each one was wearing the traditional Gujarati dhoti-kurta along with the multicolored turbans. Their stance was rigid, their expression harsh. One hundred years later and the world hasn’t changed all that much from since I was a child. Shifters are still a male dominated species, not much different from the patriarchal society that humans live in. I often wonder what it was that made men so special that they thought they could rule every aspect of everyone’s lives. Be it humans or shifters, women were always looked down upon. I could understand the theory behind this discrimination with humans, but shifters? Shifters were strong and that strength didn’t discriminate between male or female. The highest I’ve ever seen a female shifter rise in rank was a beta in a deer shifter pack, which was pretty unconventional considering that most of the deer packs comprise of females with one big
Chapter 9: The Meeting Abhay’s P.O.V Since I had gotten up well before sunrise, I decided to first clean up and then quickly changed into some loose fitting comfort clothes so I wouldn’t boil under the sun like I had yesterday. After I was ready, I packed up my camera so I could head to the desert for some shots of the sunrise. I locked up and caught a motor van ride into the desert along with some other men and women who were heading to Jaipur. I was also able to get a cup of piping hot tea on the way, along with some biscuits that I enjoyed in the cool morning breeze as the motor van left the cemented town road and entered the bumpy desert road. I found a suitable place to get off and waved the other passengers goodbye as I hoisted my backpack over one shoulder and headed toward the desert to find a suitable spot for taking pictures. Once I’d found a spot, I set my backpack down and began taking pictures of the sun as it rose above the d
Chapter 10: Indefinable Attractions Abhay’s P.O.V “There you go!” Ruksaar skidded to a halt as soon as we entered the village perimeters. “We’ve helped you find your way back safe and sound. It was nice meeting you, Abhay! But I guess it’s time to part ways.” “D-do you guys w-want to go for lunch?” The words were out before I could stop myself. “Consider it a thank you gift for getting me here safely.” Ruksaar’s sister gave me an irritated glare from over her shoulders while Ruksaar clapped her hands together in excitement. I’ve never seen a woman as disinterested in me as Ruksaar’s sister, and yet, it felt like there was this invisible rope that was binding us together. The more time I spent near her, the more I felt drawn to her. And that was probably why I felt the need to stay near her longer than I had intended to. And what better way to spend time knowing them than to invite them to lunch? Or was it brunch? “Thank you, Abhay!” Ruksaar skipped over to me and linked her hands
Chapter 11: New Encounters Mikalya’s P.O.V “Mikalya?” Do you sense that? Ruksaar’s mental voice rang loud and clear in my mind. Yes. I told her. It’s definitely a wolf and a strong one. I’m guessing a Luna. But why would a Luna be here in the middle of nowhere? Ruksaar asked. Are you sure there’s no longer any packs living here? In this entire state? If there were, then the falcons wouldn’t be the only pack trying to confront us. I told her. This is another rogue. But with a child? That’s surprising for a Luna to be out and about with the future heir just hanging off her arm. But I don’t sense another wolf, Ruksaar said. How could you sense the child? Are they the thieves that just stole from the kitchen? I think so, I told her. But I can’t be sure. The child’s aura is very mild but I can sense it. I think it’s a submissive. There weren’t any wolves in town before today; I think they arrived just now. Let’s go check. I got up from the chair along with Ruksaar…and halted. Abha
Chapter 12: Follow thy Heart Mikalya’s P.O.V “My name is Kashmira Shaw and I’m from the DawnFrost pack in Jammu.” It was later afternoon, after we had returned to our hotel room with Kashmira and her son and helped dress her wound that she had gotten while trying to cross a fence this morning. The wound wasn’t infected and her healing had already kicked in, so she should be fine in a few hours. We had ordered room service and had our lunch together and it was only after she realized that we weren’t out to hurt her that Kashmira finally decided to tell us about herself. Now, we all sat on our bed in a circle and sipped on some karak chai (strong tea) as she breastfed her baby, whose name we learned was Kushal. She had gotten rid of the clothes she was wearing earlier, since they were torn and dirty, and now she had one of Ruksaar’s ghagras on and her face was uncovered. Now that I could look at her face properly, I could tell that she was very young, too young to be carrying a bab
Chapter 13: Firangi Abhay’s P.O.V It was snowing again. The ground was completely white. This part of the valley didn’t usually get much snow, but it was unusually cold this year. And I knew that it would only get colder, winter only a whisper in the air and yet it howled with a ferocious chill all around me. I looked at the waterfall in front of me, untouched by the winter chill. Jharna, that was what we called it. The literal Hindi translation of a waterfall, but it just sounded right to us. It was freezing outside but I knew it would be nice and warm inside the pack house. It would also be noisy with the new packmates. But I liked that noise. It was welcoming. It was home. And so was she. Something dropped to the ground at my feet, distracting me from the view. A sense of déjà vu threatened to overwhelm me as I looked down to see what it was. It was only a speck in the vast sea of snow but it stood out amongst the white. It was in the shape of a tiny droplet but the warmth comi
Chapter 14: Getting to know you Abhay’s P.O.V I stood in the middle of the market place, admiring a couple who stood in front of a colorful bangle shop. The man wore a white tunic with loose fitting white cotton trousers and a rainbow coloured turban on his head while the woman was wearing a bright yellow and red ghagra choli. Her dupatta was hanging off of her head and that’s how I knew she was unmarried. The man was courting her and he was buying her a set of yellow and green bangles to go with her ghagra. Taking my camera out of my bag silently, I turned the flash off and took a few quick snaps of the couple as the man placed the bangles into his girlfriend’s awaiting hands and she accepted them with a delighted smile. Surrounded by a backdrop of so many colours, they looked magnificent. “Shouldn’t you be asking permission before you take someone’s picture?” I nearly jumped out of my skin at that half-whispered question by my ear and my camera slipped out of my hands. I yelped