Chapter 16: Bared Hearts

Mink's P.O.V:

Every nerve, every cell seemed to buzz to life in that one single kiss. Every sense was on overdrive. I don't know when I was laid on my back on top of the boulder but the coolness of the stone felt like a stark relief in contrast to the heat that was smoldering my every sense. Too long. I'd gone without touch for too long.
The memories of my past flashed before my eyes, snapping me away from the pleasures of the present. Only one person before this had incited such feelings in me, given me hope and comfort only for it to be taken away from me in the cruelest way possible. I didn't want to relive that pain ever again. That's why I had kept my distance. But this kiss, right here, right now, felt too right, too real.
I didn't want to, but my wolf was lonely. I was a strong Alpha who didn’t need a mate’s comfort but sometimes even I couldn’t help but feel that maybe everything would be easier if I had someone by my side. The comfort of having a mate, of being in someone's arms, of returning home to someone.
I broke the kiss and pulled away with all my willpower, found it too easy. He had somehow already guessed that my story wasn’t done, that there was so much more to it that I still had left to tell. His next words confirmed it.
"It's not over, is it? You're here, you survived."
Such confidence in his words, it made me smile.
"Yes," I said finally as both of us steadied our breaths. "I survived. But it came at a cost." A cost that had scared me forever and I'll live with that burden till the day I die; carry their screams with me to my grave.
"I don't know how long I was in that hell hole, but I knew that I had had enough. Especially when my mother...my entire family was burned alive at the pyres, but not before every wolf in that pack had clawed at them and ripped them to a bloody pulp." I'll never forget that day, the sight of my parents being burned alive, the sight of those coldhearted men ripping at my mother’s tender flesh to expose blood and bones. Their skin has been peeled off to expose the raw flesh underneath. And then there were the screams, screams of agony that had torn through their mouths as they were being slowly murdered by their own pack…the same pack that had promised to care for them, nurture them. Pack was family. And yet…
"I'd finally had enough. So one night...when everyone was asleep and intoxicated...I set the entire village on fire and burned all the bastards to hell. Their screams...I’ll never forget those blood curling screams...I’m sure it’s something no one will ever forget. Those weren’t just screams of the guilty, but they were also the screams of the innocent. But you know what surprised me that night? It was the fact that the women kept chanting ‘aazadi’ instead of screaming for help. They said they finally had their freedom. As everyone burned the same way that my mother had been burned, I was smiling at them, that it was finally over. The nightmares were finally going to end. The only thing that I didn’t realize was that so much bloodshed takes its toll eventually and that it was just the beginning of my nightmares."
Rhys didn't interrupt, but I heard his breath catch at the cruelty. It had broken me further to do the act, but I had had no other choice. All the women were broken beyond redemption, their souls shattered, their bodies the only thing that remained. And no man could be allowed to live after what they had done, after the horrifying sins they had committed. I shuddered, the screams still echoed inside my head, kept me awake for several nights.
"I wasn't surprised when Rafael was the only one who came after me. His wolf had been strong enough to burn the alcohol in his veins faster than anyone else’s. He was Alpha after all...but so was I."

Rhys's P.O.V :
For the first time I truly understood the true meaning of her being an Alpha. The only female Alpha to rule a pack in all over Asia.
The scars that she carried in her soul were deep, too deep to heal, but I wish I'll be able to lessen their burn. Her eyes didn't hold tears when she spoke of the unbelievable acts that she had to commit in order to survive, no, they were the eyes of a survivor. And still she continued...
"That night was the first time I transformed into my wolf, at the age of fourteen. My wolf was stronger than both Rafael and I had anticipated. I still remember the red haze that took over me, it was uncontrollable rage and a desire to kill. One moment, I was lying on the ground beneath Rafael’s paws and the next, I was ripping his head off his shoulders. And it was at that time, when I stood over his mutilated body, that I felt relief for the first time in my life. Like a weight had been lifted off of my heavy shoulders." She rubbed at her arms for comfort and I drew her into my arms then because, although I didn't, couldn't comprehend what she had been through, I knew that she needed me now. And whatever she wanted, I would give to her without blinking.
"I roamed all over India for the next hundred years, trying to fit in, to find a place where I truly felt like I belonged but nothing worked until one day, I decided to visit the Himalayas and it just clicked. I remember I just saw this place and I immediately thought of it as home, somewhere I could be who I was. I lived my entire life as a lone wolf and I was fine with it...until I found my first mate...eighteen years ago."
My breath caught. Eighteen years! That most definitely was not me!
I wanted to crush that bastard’s skull with my own hands if I knew it wouldn't hurt Mikalya. But-wait a minute...
Something else came into my mind just then, someone else. Someone with the same exact facial features, same lean built, everything about them the same as Mikalya’s except for the hair and eyes...except, Mink hadn’t mentioned a sibling...she hadn’t mentioned anyone with her as she roamed the Earth as a lone wolf, the time after she had burned her entire village down over a hundred years ago...And then it clicked.
"Aya isn't your sister, is she? She's..." I couldn't say it. The words were stuck in my throat.
"She's my daughter. My first mate's child."
That's when I knew why she said she would’ve killed Zyane for hurting Aya. Why she was so protective about her and why she always had Aya by her side. Hell, I would be a lot worse if anyone tried that with our daughter.
Our. The words felt right. Even after knowing about her past, I still wanted her as my mate. It made me proud that she had survived so many hardships and come out of it sane with her heart and mind intact and a Hell lot stronger than before. I respected her, cared about her even outside the mating bond. But...
"That’s why you're so reluctant to mate with me, isn’t it? You’re mated." I said, knowing that this might very well be the most dreaded moment of my life. Mikalya was mated, she already had someone she loved-
"No." She looked straight into my eyes, the ocean blue of them clear of storms. "Abhay was my pillar. He supported me, made me feel safe, gave me comfort when I was down...made me see that I was an Alpha, worthy of forming a pack. It was then that I stopped being a lone wolf and started gathering wolves into my pack. Females who needed help, who had great spirit and courage hidden inside, but were forced into submission. But it started a war when some of the males couldn't bear the females disobedience and came after me. Abhay died in a fight, a fight to save me and my unborn child, but he remained true to his name till the end, fearless." She sighed, leaning her back against my chest. "Aya is my most precious gift, a gift that a precious person left with me. Yes, I loved Abhay, I loved him with all my heart. From his carefree laugh to the way he had of calming me whenever I was on the edge, I loved everything about him. It was impossible not to. I learned to banish my nightmares with him, but now he’s gone forever and there’s this hole in my heart where he was supposed to be. And I’m afraid that I I’ll never get that part of myself back. I don’t care if it makes me sound weak, but only those who have truly lost their mates will be able to understand what it feels like to lose your mate, to have your heart ripped out of your chest and tossed away like it meant nothing."
I wanted to tell her that she was wrong. That she could love again, find herself again, with me. But I knew that would be selfish of me. Mikalya had lived longer than I have and she has experienced loss more strongly that anyone else, she had fought battles that I couldn’t even comprehend and experienced the true love of mates. I was envious of her mate as well, for having had Mikalya as his mate. I wanted that same experience, I wanted to know how it feels to have a mate, to have Mikalya by my side no matter how selfish.
But before I could answer, howls sounded from far away, almost unnoticeable through the roars of the falling water of Jharna, but it made Mikalya go still beside me. It also made a sense of danger pass through me.
And that's when all Hell broke loose.