Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Mink’s P.O.V

For seventeen years, I had lived my life alone, waiting…hoping, that by some miracle, Abhay had survived the fall, that I hadn't been ripped away from my first love, my mate, and the father of my daughter, by some twisted turn of fate.

But when a decade had passed by without any news, I had ventured all over the country once again, hoping to find some semblance of peace in my restless heart.

I had gone to Abhay’s parent’s house, disguised as a salesgirl, and I had found his picture on a wall, adorned with flowers, a symbol that the person was deceased. The picture had been so real, so jolly, that I had almost apologized for everything.

His mother had been a kind soul, offering me water and sweets even though she didn’t buy anything. When I had asked her about the picture, she had told me that her son, Abhay, had gone missing and never came back. So it was mandatory to assume they were dead after a decade of waiting.

I had left with a heavy heart, but left behind gifts even though I knew they wouldn’t compensate for anything.

After the twelfth year, I had given up hope entirely, knowing that it was time to move on.

I had my Aya, my beautiful daughter who was a living, breathing shadow of Abhay, and in her, I saw my reason to live on. I was happy. My pack was prospering and was now one of the largest in Asia, even though I kept a low profile and my wolves were spread all over India, some earning and providing for the pack while others studying and growing up beautifully.

And then during the seventeenth year, I found Rhys…my second chance mate. And that bond solidified my belief that Abhay was no more, with no chance of ever returning.

However, I had no idea of the curveball the Moon Goddess was about to throw at me in that moment.

*

Because of Rhys’s enmity with two Alphas’ from China, I was yet again entangled in another war, coming out victorious once again, but no war is without casualties. As we had been able to take down Alphas Devon and Aiden, we now needed to head to the All Asia Summit, to determine the fate of the packs who were now left without an Alpha.

The All Asia Werewolf Summit this year was being held in the Gobi Desert of China, far away from prying eyes. This area belonged to the late Alpha Aiden’s pack, the DesertWarriors, while Devon’s pack, the MountainHunters, was located a few miles off of Lhasa in China’s part of the Himalayas.

All pack members, however, had been requested to be present at this summit so we could hear their side of the story and have them decide which pack they would like to join. But the biggest surprise for me had been the warm welcome I had received without the slightest bit of rude comments or chauvinistic challenges. Which, of course, I had to thank Rhys for.

However, for some reason, my wolf felt extremely restless ever since I landed in the Gobi Desert. I tried to find the reason for the restlessness but I couldn’t come up with anything. It was like a constant hum in the back of my mind. A kind of foreboding that I couldn’t quite understand.

“Oh! Would you look at that?” Alpha Salim greeted us with a huge smile and two goblets of palm wine. “The Alpha pair is here!”

“Thank you, Alpha Salim.” I smiled graciously as he handed me the goblet of chilled wine.

“Oh, please, call me Salim.” He said as a woman joined him for a drink. “May I present to you, my beautiful mate, Noor Jahaan.”

“It’s a pleasure, Alpha Mikalya.” The woman with long, curly black hair and skin of dark honey spoke for the first time. “I must say, all the females here are very excited to hear about a female Alpha. They are very eager to meet you! I would request you to please join us at the ladies tent this evening for dining. It’ll be a pleasure to have you there.”

I considered the options. Like I’d said before, I hated shifter politics and shifter politics relied heavily on power play. If I accepted the invitation and went with the women for dinner, I would never be able to make a mark as an Alpha.

All Alpha’s would be dinning at the main tent tonight, going over pack details and I needed to be a part of that little power play. But I also could not disappoint the women. I was their beacon of hope, a hero in their eyes. Disappointing them would crush that delicate hope, the faith they had in me.

“I’ll be attending the meeting with the other Alpha’s tonight, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it.” I told her truthfully. “But I’m sure I can make time tomorrow morning, for breakfast maybe?”

“Oh! That would be lovely!” Noor Jahaan clapped her hands together in excitement. “Excuse me while I go tell the others.”

“Of course, love.” Salim bid audie to his mate and led us to the refreshment table for our meals. But it wasn’t long before everyone started clearing out of the tent and move towards the back of the tent formations where most of the pack’s high ranking wolves stood in a formation to discuss their plans with the rest of the Alpha’s.

“Are there any candidates who want to take over as Alphas in Aiden and Devon’s place?” I asked Rhys as we walked together to where everyone was headed.

The sun had gone down mere seconds ago the temperature was already dropping. Several bonfires had been lit in the desert and I could already see the groups that had been formed around each bonfire. I was certain that each group will be making an unanimous decision, but whether that decision will be to join another pack or to form their own, was still unknown.

But one thing kept bothering me still. Why was my wolf getting even more restless the closer I got to the group?

“There are about seven candidates from MountainHunters,” Rhys spoke then, breaking me out of my thoughts. “And four from DesertWarriors. I think the betas will be the most suitable for taking over the Alpha position, especially since they already have the knowledge of how to run a pack and have the trust of the pack members. What do you think? Mikalya? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” I spoke through gritted teeth.

The uneasiness that I had been feeling had suddenly morphed into a stabbing pain in my chest. My wolf was scratching against my skin, begging to be set free and the pain in my chest was suffocating me.

“The hell you are!” Rhys snapped, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Listen, we can just go inside and tell the others to continue this tomorrow. There’s no nee-“

“And let everyone believe that I’m a weakling? Just like they had imagined?” I grit out. “There’s no way I’m risking that, Rhys. I’ll be fine in a minute. Just…keep walking.”

“I don’t like this one bit; you’re being stubborn and egoistic!” Rhys said as he tightened his hold on me.

“This entire Summit is stubborn and egoistic.” I snapped. “I said I’ll be fine so keep walking with me.”

“Fine.” Rhys grit out, but he walked with me towards the group nonetheless.

Surprisingly, the pain did lessen as I stopped in front of the group who were now without an Alpha. Rhys steadied me and removed his arm from around my waist as we stood in line with the rest of the Alphas, but he was close by, I could feel the warmth of his skin at my back and the comforting presence of his wolf nearby.

A scent of lemon and herbs.

I gasped in a sharp breath. That scent! I knew this scent!

No! It’s impossible. How can it be…?

A drizzle of lemon over fresh herbs.

There it was again! I wasn’t mistaking! The scent was really there!

I took another whiff of the scent, filling my lungs with it, filling my soul.

But the scent was still there and it filled my lungs with that long forgotten perfume with every breath I took. It was a scent I could never forget, it was etched so deep in to my memory. A scent that was as familiar to me as my own. A scent that I haven’t smelled in over seventeen years.

It took me a while to notice that the scent was getting stronger by each passing second. Involuntarily, I took a step forward towards the group and broke the line.

“Mikalya?” Rhys’s surprised voice came from behind me, but for me, it could have come from a thousand miles away. Nothing else mattered to me at this moment; nothing but finding out the source of the scent.

I took another step forward, then another. The scent was strong here and it felt like with every step I took closer to the scent, the more the pain in my chest eased away. The crowd of wolves in front of me parted as I walked closer to them, out of fear or respect, I wouldn’t know, because the only thing I could focus on was the scent.

The crowd parted further as I took another step.

Everyone moved back a step, away from my path, until there was an open space in the centre of the crowd and I was the only one standing in the middle of it. No…I wasn’t the only one, was I? Someone else was waiting for me in the centre.

Everyone had moved back from the centre, everyone except for one man. And it was a shocking realization to look at him, to find out that he had been here the whole time, after everything that I had been through.

And he still looked the same. He was wearing a loose fitting light green shirt with blue wash jeans with a jean jacket of the same color hung over his shoulders. His hair was shorter though, but just as dark and silky as I remembered. But the most prominent feature about him was his eyes. Those same unique eyes.

And just like being woken up from a never-ending nightmare, I saw him, after seventeen whole years of waiting without hope and searching endlessly through lands unknown…I’d finally found him. The man who bore the scent of herbs and lime, my most favorite scent in the whole world. My mate.

“Abhay.”

“Firangi.”

To be continued in The Supreme Alpha…

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It was a good journey folks, see you in the next book, which won't be posted on Novelnow. So please check out other apps such as Goodnovel, Alphanovel, Radish and Bravonovel, for the next books in the series and any other new and exciting books that I will have on the apps.

Till then, happy reading and stay blessed!