Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Abhay’s P.O.V

Everything else seemed to fade away as soon as I laid my eyes on my Firangi.

Mikalya wore a black sweater paired with jeans and snow boots, her wild hair blowing back in the chilly mountain winds and her ocean blue eyes wide in surprise. Ruksaar clapped her hands together in joy and pulled Mira away from my side along with her son, but those all felt like afterthoughts, registered in my mind but with only hazy concentration because the centre of my focus was Mikalya. My Firangi.

A smile formed on my lips as I took in her clothing once again. It suited her. Not that she didn’t look gorgeous in traditional Gujarati clothes or wouldn’t look good in any other kind of clothing, but this…this just felt like the real Mikalya. The tomboy with the heart of gold. A woman with icy white hair and blue eyes who seemed completely out of place in India but was very much a woman of this soil.

This was the love of my life, the one woman that Mira had called my mate. And seeing her now…standing amid the snowy mountains…I realized just how much I had missed her this past month. That her sudden disappearance had affected me in ways that I hadn't been able to express.

On this treacherous path to these snowy terrains, I had felt like I had so many questions to ask Mikalya. I had so much to say to her, so much to discuss but now, laying my eyes on her for the first time in a really long while, I realized that I was completely lost for words. Everything seemed to fade in the background and the only thing I could see in front of me was Mikalya who was walking towards me with slow measured steps, looking just as astounded as I felt.

“She is a sight to behold,” I sighed, whispering the words into the wind.

I had never seen anyone as beautiful and serene as she was. It just felt like she had gotten out of a fairytale book, someone who wasn’t even supposed to be real, and yet, here she was, standing before me in the flesh.

“Abhay, what are you doing here?” she asked, stuttering a bit as she came to stand in front of me.

I didn’t even know how to begin or what to say. So I held my tongue, taking the time to admire her to my fill. The shape of her lips, the color of her skin, the way her hair felt under my fingertips.

Strangely enough, I no longer recalled the blood and the carnage from that day. All I could remember was making love to her, feeling her skin under mine, and the taste of her lips on my tongue.

“How did you even get here?” she added, frowning when I didn’t immediately reply to her.

“I… I received a letter about a week ago with no name b-but only this address and…so, I decided to follow it.” I stammered, still just as nervous to be in her presence as I was before. “I traveled the rest of the path on my own since I felt this…pull towards you and I knew that if I followed this pull, I would be following my heart and eventually, it led me to you.”

And then, I took a deep breath, before confessing what I had felt in my heart.

“And I can't deny it any longer, you are my mate Mikalya.”

She stared at me speechless, her eyes wide as she tried to digest what I just told her. It must have been one hell of something to get a woman like Mikalya speechless, but for some reason, I felt oddly proud.

I had never been as bold as in confessing my feelings the way I did to Mikalya and just telling her that, telling her how I really felt was so very refreshing. There were times during the course of our journey here, when I had felt like we were following a false trail, a false hope, and it had made every moment seem very painstrikenly slow. But now, standing in front of her, I felt stubborn hope blossom in my heart once again.

However, I was still unsure if she would accept me for who I was. After all, I was human, and Mira had told me that wolves, or any shifter for that matter, didn’t like to have human mates. And now it made me realize that it just might have been the reason why Mikalya had left me in the first place.

Surprise etched on her face as soon as I said the word ‘mate’. No doubt, she hadn’t yet thought about the fact that I could’ve found out the tit-bits of the supernatural world while she was away. And that too not directly from her.

“Did the letter tell you about mates too?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“No. It was Kashmira that told me about mates,” I admitted sheepishly. “After you left…she came to find me in Pune. She travelled all alone with her child because she couldn’t find you and so, she came to search for me instead. And that’s when she told me all about werewolves. Well…I guess not all. I’m pretty sure I have plenty to learn yet.”

I walked towards her, taking her hands in mine as I gave it a gentle squeeze. I wanted to assure her that everything was going to be alright and that I wasn’t going anywhere now that I had found her.

Mikalya looked at our clasped hands, appearing to be deep in thought, before she looked up at me, a raw vulnerability in her eyes that I had never seen before.

“Do you regret it? I mean, do you regret meeting me and knowing all about my world?” she asked, her voice almost inaudible.

I knew this was a test and I wasn't about to mess this up. I needed to think long and hard about my answer because I had a feeling that this would actually determine my relationship with her. She wasn’t a fool and if she wanted to be with a human like me, she needed to know what she was getting into. And so did I.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a bit, calming my heart even as I thought about how I was going to arrange my words.

“At first, when I saw you become a wolf, I was surprised, horrified even, but something in my heart had always told me that you are a wolf.” I smiled, recalling the night before when we had set up a bonfire and had this same conversation. “Remember the night before? How I told you that I always thought about you as a wolf? Maybe that was my conscious telling me what I was getting myself into…preparing me for the future.”

She smiled then, radiant and beautiful. And just looking at her smile alone was enough to light up my day. I was still trying to understand how someone could be this beautiful, yet serene. There were so many things that didn’t make sense to me at all but I knew it was a step by step process. I didn’t intend to rush. After all, good things took time and I was going to savor this moment with her for as long as I lived.

“I won’t lie to you Mikalya, I was a bit scared when I saw you transform into the wolf, I mean I thought I was going to die.”

She laughed then, the sound a melody to my ears. But it also gave me the courage to step closer to her until our faces were just inches apart.

“But when you were gone, leaving me confused, scared and feeling so many things that I had never felt before…” I took a deep breath, before telling her exactly what I felt. “The most prominent emotions I felt were loss…and loneliness. When days went by without seeing you, I realized just how much I missed you. Just how much you truly meant to me.”

My lips trembled, both from emotions and the cold, but I stayed strong for us. “I know our connection didn’t last long…I know we met only for a few days, but…I also know that what I feel for you in my heart is very, very real.”

“I’m sorry I just ran off like that. Truth was, I didn't even know what to do at that point because I didn't want you to look at me like I was some kind of a monster,” she sighed, lowering her head. “I’ve seen strong men crumble under the weight of the truth, Abhay. But you’re different, you are my mate. And no matter how strong I am…knowing that my mate loathes me…it would’ve hurt…a lot.”

Something told me that this confession that I got from here…it was a raw moment of vulnerability that not many got to see. And I was incredibly honored that Mikalya decided to show me this side of her.

“No matter what happens Mikalya, I want to assure you that from now on, I will always be with you. Nothing and absolutely nothing will take me away from you.” I grinned when she finally looked up at me. “I guess we’re stuck together now,”

“Good,” she grinned back, the tension finally fading from her body. “Because I absolutely love it here, and I’m not planning on moving.”

“I knew that already. I always knew that the girl I met in Gujarat wasn’t the real you.” I told her with a smile. “Now this? Yes, this is exactly who you are.”

“You prefer me like this? Just the way I am?” She asked, her voice coming out breathless. “Even after knowing that I’m not human?”

“Firangi, I think I’ve known the real you right from the moment I set eyes on you.”

We stayed in comfortable silence for a while, each with our own thoughts. We didn’t even mind that it was snowing like crazy. But the most beautiful part of it was that together, I felt warm in her company, a warmth that came from deep within the soul.

“How is she? Kashmira.” She asked suddenly, as if only now remembering that I didn’t come alone.

By now, they were nowhere in sight, neither the duo or Ruksaar. So my best guess was that Ruksaar has already taken her to someplace safe.

“Oh she’s fine. Gave me quite a scare at first but we’re good now. I’ll tell you all about it soon but first, I just need to feel you for a while. I missed you so much,” I sighed.

“I missed you too and I'm so glad that you are here with me.” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me closer.

I closed the rest of the distance between us, and wrapped her in my arms, taking in the familiar scent of her into my lungs, as she did the same.

Playfully, she kissed the exposed skin of my neck, before leaving a ting bite, making a shiver of pleasure run down my spine.

“Still sure you’re not scared of me?” she chuckled against my skin.

I laughed too because this was the most amazing feeling in the world. “Why would I be scared? I always knew you were a wolf?”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, pulling away from me slightly.

“Well…I have been having these recurring dreams ever since I met you and in these dreams, I see a white wolf in a snow covered terrain just like this.” I confessed, but only part of the truth. “And now, standing here…looking at you…I know that this had been my destiny all along. You are my destiny, Mikalya.”

She didn’t say anything, because she didn’t need to. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my nape and hauled me in for a kiss that sent shockwaves through my body and had my toes curling in my boots.

If my dreams were really premonitions of my death, then I won’t let them taint the moments I had with Mikalya. Those omens didn’t come with a time frame and there was no point hoping that it might happen a hundred years from now. I came all the way here to be with the woman who was my mate, mine. And I won’t let some silly dream come in the way of my happiness.