CHAPTER 55

Kavi’s POV

"How did the people heal when they were wounded by bright ash liquid last time?" 

Aadhira stared at me with wide eyes. I blinked and realized she was shocked to talk about the past all of a sudden.

"Aadhira, I got Layla’s memory. Now tell me what happened last time when I teleported them here?" My voice raised, and she flinched and bowed her head down.

"We couldn't save them, Goddess. The people struggled to heal the wound, but the venom had spread eventually, and one by one, they died. Their body and soul had disappeared into dust."

My heart skipped a beat to know my people had died. I was so irresponsible. So, Aadhira didn’t know the solution for this.

Why did this have to happen to me?

I could understand I was Layla, the Goddess of darkness in my previous birth. But I killed myself, not wanting to live anymore. There is still a missing part in my story explaining why I was reborn. My creator can only answer that. But I don’t have time for that. I have to save Maayan. My Maayan!

I could feel all his pain, and he never did hope to see me again. The past had revealed his love for me and also his innocence. We both had fallen for the trap set in the name ‘Love.’ Maybe that love is what forced me to born again and brought us together. But why destiny was taking him away from me before even I could embrace anything. Maayan knew that these were bright ashes, yet still, he consumed them to bring my power and memories back.

Wait! A Yaazhi had given him the bright ashes. Yaazhis didn't exist on the earth. I could name only one person who was so fond of creatures and has a huge sanctuary for them.

“Goddess, the Sun God has been waiting outside our realm, and he is demanding to meet you!” A Guard informed me, interrupting my thoughts.

Speak of the devil! The darkness flared outside my skin, symbolizing my blood was boiling inside.

“Let him wait there!” I commanded him.

I want to rip apart everyone who deceived me in the past. My wolf might be silent, but I have the same aggression in me. But the faint heartbeat of the man in my hand was my first priority. I closed my eyes and let my mind think of a solution.

Jasmine! (A witch)

She was good at making healing potions. She had her house at the Blood Warriors pack's border, and Vijayan had set up an herbal tonics shop for her there. She was a good witch, and she is the only person I can trust. I freed myself from Maayan’s hold, promising to come back soon. I teleported to her house and found her playing with her son. She sensed some presence and turned sharply with the wand in her hand.

“Calm down, Jas. I need your help now. I want you to come with me.”

She looked confused to see me, but she understood the emergency from my voice and nodded her head.

“Have you ever teleported?” I asked her urgently as I don’t have time to wait for her to awaken.

“Yes. A few times…” 

I didn’t wait for her to complete the sentence and teleported instantly to my room along with her son.

“Don’t ask me anything now, Jas. He had consumed two vials of bright ashes. His heartbeat was getting low. Do something. I can’t afford to lose him.”

Her eyes widened at my panicked voice.

“Bright ash is the most powerful venom used to kill vampires! 

It was very so rare venom. There was no antidote found to that. But I was taught to slow down its effects. I need some quartz, clear coal, and some medicinal herbs. Close the curtain of this room and keep the room as dark as possible. Darkness always reduced the effects of the venom.”

I used my powers to bring the thing she asked outside the room. She looked at them in wonder, and I let my darkness guard his room. I could see everything very clear in darkness, and I knew it wasn’t my wolf power.

“Ask anything you want and do anything to keep him alive. He is the most important person in my life…”

Jasmine held my hand reassuringly, and I could tell she understood who I was on seeing all this.

“You might be the one whom everyone fears of the evilness in your possession. But for me, you are a great person who saved my son’s life. I will do everything I could. Trust me.” She spoke calmly and went to the counter where the things she asked were.

I walked closer to Maayan, held his hand in mine, and whispered to him not to leave me. I hugged him and laid next to him. Jasmine made a potion and made me feed him that. I could feel his heartbeat was gaining strength, but it wasn’t completely normal, and he was still unconscious.

I felt a presence behind me, and Aadhira looked at me with conflicted emotion on her face.

“What?” I barked and felt frustrated at my behavior. I should be very grateful to her for taking care of my realm all these years. But here I am, shouting at her. Still, she bowed her head and spoke to me.

“The Sun God is still waiting for you, Goddess.”

I frowned as I completely forgot about making him wait.

Why was he so persistent in meeting me? After all, he was the one who cursed my man, thinking I wouldn’t come back, and also, he had sent a Yaazhi to poison him. I got up from the bed with a fury.

“Bring him to the meeting chamber, Aadhira. Let’s see what he wants with this weak-hearted woman now.”

She nodded with a frown, not understanding the meaning.

I turned towards Maayan. He was looking like he was in a deep sleep, but the pale face with the bags under his eyes reminded me of his state of sickness. I want to be with him. But I should see if I could get the information of antidote from Aadhavan.

I teleported to Meeting Chamber and waited for him to come there. He dares to visit me after all the cruel things he had done to us. I closed my eyes to calm myself. The scent of flame reached my nostrils, and I opened my eyes to see the man who was in memory. He looked the same, unlike Chandran, who had silver hair now. But Aadhavan eyes had a void. He was speaking to Aadhira with a smile who was replying to him curtly. His face snapped in my direction, his eyes lit up, and tears pooled there. My heart was instantly conflicted whether he was really Aadhavan, the Sun God who had been like a stone back then.

“Layla!” He uttered my name with quivering lips. He was like a lost baby seeing his mother after a long time which was doing something to my heart.

“Kavithanjali.” I corrected him.

He smiled and blinked his eyes, letting the tears fall, and a small flame lit up there, but it went off within a second. He approached me, but I could sense the difference in his majestic walking stance. He looked like he was tired—of what? I don’t know yet!

“It’s great to see you back. The name may change, but you can’t deny the fact you are the Goddess of Darkness.” He spoke with a big smile in the voice I recognized as the friendly tone that I was once used to.

“I don’t feel the same. You have no idea how much I am struggling to keep myself controlled from ripping you into pieces. And I haven’t denied the fact of my identity.” I replied to him, freely expressing my hatred for him. He sucked in a deep breath but chuckled gracefully when I said the ‘ripping’ part.

“Why did you send the Yaazhi? Haven’t you done enough damage already? Maayan had been painfully stuck inside a block of rock because of your curse. He didn’t deserve such punishment… You haven’t stopped me before dying, even after knowing Chandran’s cruelty. I have been with you from the day one you have formed here. I have been playful and pranked you a few times. I thought we share a wonderful friendship between us. But… you let Chandran break me.”

The darkness within me was fuming with rage at my recollection of the past events.

“I can’t do anything for the things I have done in the past. But I deeply regret everything I had done and… I am so sorry, Layla. The ego and the lies so blinded me. I had believed you had conceived a baby that held cruelty within it. Still, I shouldn’t have let you kill yourself. And I had the intuition you would come back. That’s why I cursed him instead of fighting him. He was so powerful with the dark powers, and his anger would have destroyed this solar system within a blink. And I thought he deserved a second chance to be with you.

Your absence and time taught me enough… The woman I fall in love with repelled me and started a life with another male—they lived and died happily. She was born thrice again, and she never accepted me even after knowing my power. It was like nature and destiny had cursed me like that. The pain of love punished me for all the sins I have committed to you, Layla. I want you to forgive me.”

I can’t even decide whether to believe him or not. But my intuition is telling me his words are true.

“I don’t know whether to trust you or not, Aadhavan. I need time to think… I have just got my memories back. But the man I love was in his death bed already. Where is the second chance here? You are the reason why he was in that state now. Why? Do you know what to do to reverse the effects of bright ashes? Help me get him back.” I asked him desperately. All I wanted is to see my Maayan come back to me. I have made him wait for almost seven millennia.

“Layla, you should gain your power back because a part of ‘you’ was bound to Chandran – Your wolf. He trickily made the race of werewolves to give the entire control over them to protect them in return. Now he would hurt your wolf to weaken you. I shouldn’t allow history to repeat. I don’t find any other way to transfer the powers back to you. That’s why I sent my Yaazhi and Maayan knew what it was when he touched it. He understood the importance of the problem and willed to sacrifice his life. I always envy the love you two share. And he was proving his love every time by showing his care for you.

I felt the powers getting transmitted to you, and I am well aware that you wouldn’t allow him to consume the balance of bright ashes. But there is nothing we can do now. The bright ash is a thing that came here from outside the solar system. We can’t find the antidote to it here. Let him consume it and get your divine powers back. This solar system needs you. The people in this realm need you. That’s why nature had given birth to you again.”

My head was aching to process everything. Was that the real reason for my rebirth?

“Our creator, she would know a solution to save Maayan. We should contact her.” I muttered to myself but was stopped from running away when Aadhavan smiled sadly.

“She never came back. I don’t know why.” He said sadly. I sucked in a deep breath.

“What do we do now?” I breathed out helplessly.

“I wish I could help you with this. But I really don’t know.” Aadhavan muttered lowly.

“Please think twice before doing anything. And remember you have your old friend who is waiting for your apology and would do anything for you.” He told me sincerely and left the place with a sigh after seeing me not acknowledging his words.

I let his words sink into me when walking back to my room. There should be some solution to reverse the effects of bright ash. Every question has its answers. I should find my answer soon. The answer holds the life of my beloved. 

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

A week of research in the library and visits to various historical places and high-tech space research labs had taken me nowhere. Maayan didn’t wake up. Jasmine was giving her potions to him to keep him alive. I am desperate to meet those beautiful eyes of his, but my yearning was just increasing day by day. It hurts to see him like this.

All of a sudden, I felt my wolf making her presence in me. She was in some panic. I tried to comprehend her feelings, and my mind understood that my pack was under attack. I sent a telepathic message to Aadhira that I was visiting Earth and teleported to the front of my packhouse.

I looked around, and the scene made my wolf scratch at my insides to gain control. The heavy stench of rotten meat and the blood mixed with wolfbane filled my nose. My people were struggling to fight with the wolfbane in their system. The place was literally drenched in wolfbane, and there should be a minimum of 200 rogues here. Vijayan and Ashwin were trying to fight a group of rogues with their bodies bleeding, and Nakul was trying to send the people inside the packhouse. Janani and Subha were also fighting to save the children who were in the clutches of the rogues. I recognized the familiar tattoo on everyone. I should have investigated more and wiped the Dark vipers completely.

I let out a loud growl drawing the attention of everyone there. My pack members breathed in a sigh of relief, but a few had a look of fear on their faces. The rogues started fighting more ferociously upon my arrival, sensing the alpha vibes. I used my new powers to push all the rogues a few feet away from my pack and created a shield of darkness over the packhouse. I pressed my palm over the shield and sent the healing energy inside the shield. A group of rogues ran toward the shield but stopped when the first person turned into ash. I walked out of the shield and let out a warning growl.

“Go away before I behead every single person here. You have already made a great mistake by touching my people. Run before I start my chase.” I warned them in a loud voice. They were silently looking at the face of each other then all of them started laughing loudly.

“We were offered the opportunity to become a direct servant of Moon if we kill the pack and bring the head of the Alpha of this pack. How could we deny such an offer? You are the Alpha, right? Don’t worry. We will make your death quick.” A rogue announced proudly.

A collective gasp reached my ears when the innocent werewolves behind me learned the true color of the person they had been worshipping all their life. I smiled brightly at the rogue challenged me. These wolves didn’t know about my identity yet. My divine powers weren’t completely with me; else, I could make them submit. I wasn’t in the mood to kill, but I would do anything to save my people.

A bucket of wolfbane was poured on me all of a sudden. My wolf panicked, but the little power I had and the darkness within me formed a shied, reflecting the venom on the person who threw it. He gasped and fell to the ground, coughing. They looked at each other again and marched towards me in unison with a loud howl of determination. The swords and silver bullets have come in my direction, which I dodged with my wolf speed. It feels like an eternity since I fought. But I am so eager and ready to fight. I saw Nakul and Ashwin coming my way to help me. But a warning glare from my blazing purple eyes made them halt in their place.

The rogues formed circles around me and started fighting me with the well-practiced simultaneous moves. My tired wolf couldn’t help me, but the darkness within me could help. A force of darkness covered my forearm, turning into a dark forearm blade. I dipped to my knees, blocking the attack aimed for my head with my left hand while my right hand slashed the stomach of the first circle of people with a rotation of my foot. They pulled back with a groan.

A sudden realization hit me. I am not just an Alpha wolf but a Goddess too. I should treat everyone equally. These wolves were just misled souls by Chandran. Layla’s memories and the darkness had merged with me. But I haven’t completely accepted myself as Layla. It might take time for that. I combined my wolf power with my darkness and drained their energy. Everyone fell unconscious. I used my powers to teleport them to the Dungeon and ordered the healed warriors to chain them down. I walked inside the shield. This shield would be required for my pack until I bring Chandran down. He had already started the War.

My people looked at me with pride and gratitude. My wolf was contented that her pack wasn’t affected. Everyone was almost healed, and a few warriors who had bone misplacement would heal eventually.

“Ashwin!” I called for him loudly.

“Yes, Alpha.” He rushed to me and bowed his head. I smiled at him. I knew I was doing the right thing.

“I, Kavithanjali, Alpha of the Blood Warriors pack, declare you, Ashwin, to be the new Alpha of the pack, and Nakul will step up as Beta. The head warrior Bharathi will take the position of Third in Command.”

I announced and felt a thread of dominance, leaving my body and entering Ashwin. He shifted into his wolf instantly, and his wolf howled in pain when his body shifted to an Alpha wolf. The same happened to the others, and they howled their gratitude once they had completed the transformation. All the wolves shifted, and they showed their submission to their new Alpha.

“I can’t fuse my blood with you, Ashwin. It might affect you. But you have become an Alpha now. And I trust you completely. Take care of the pack. I am leaving the shield active.”

He gave me a determined look, making me feel satisfied with my choice. I turned my attention to the people.

“I lived here for just a few months. But this pack is my home, and I love you guys. I will not let any harm come to the pack. I want you people to stay inside the shield until I clear off the danger waiting outside for you. The shield won’t affect you, but no one should go out. All the things you want will be given to you by my people. Understand?”

They howled their agreement, and I sighed with relief. But a tug at my heart and the sudden emergence of my wolf made my body go still.

My mate... Akhilan is coming here!