CHAPTER 66

Kavi’s POV:

I woke up startled by a loud growl behind me. My sore body reminded me of the ravishingly delightful evening we had. I sleepily looked behind me and found my mate in the middle of his shift. Bells rang in my mind that my mark was transforming him into an alpha wolf. My wolf emerged to the surface, and she made me touch our howling mate. His fur was drenched in sweat, and his body recognized my touch, and he leaned into me with a whimper as his bones reformed. I couldn't heal him, but I could try to ease him. I shifted to a wolf and teleported us to an open space near the river. He fell to the ground and howled with pain. I sat rubbing my fur on him and stroked his head with my paw, nuzzling closer to him.

His body shook vigorously, and I felt his pain through the bond and the connection between our souls. It took a few minutes for his bones to grow bigger, and finally, he transformed into an Alpha wolf. He was now bigger than me and looked sexier in his ferocious stance. I walked to him and sat with awe in my eyes and admired his transformed, and deliciously sexy wolf. His maw had a sharp edge, and the moon shone on his golden fur. He glowed so beautifully in the darkness. I was grinning widely on seeing my deliciously handsome mate.

He looked down at me. His ruby eyes were outlined with gold as his eyes looked over me. His aura expressed love and desire for me. My wolf nuzzled his neck and displayed her mark, showing our love and loyalty for him. He licked my maw, and a sudden growl escaped him, startling me. I looked at his ruby eyes, which were now displaying a little playfulness and a lot of lust. I sat down under him with a wolfy smirk, knowing that my wolf form was also going to experience our mating. I took the first step by aiming at his throat to make him submit to me. But he anticipated that and moved, casually avoiding my attack, and stood up shaking his gorgeous fur readying for the play. The rock bed of the riverbank filled with our play, but my mate won the game, pinning me beneath him with his canines gently digging into the back of my neck as he claimed me as his for the third time that night.

The sweet chirping of the birds woke my senses. I stared into his ruby eyes as he adored me. Our very naked bodies entangled together without any gap between us. At some point, we might have shifted back to human form while we had been sleeping, and he must have carried me back to the cottage. I blushed under his intense stare as the memories of our wild night flashed before my eyes. His fingers carefully caressed my cheek, and he inched his face closer to me, placing his forehead on mine.

"I couldn't get a chance to tell this to you yesterday..." His sleepy deep voice paused and kissed the tip of my nose. I smiled widely, expecting a compliment of my beauty, and internally awed at this wonderful man being mine.

"I think you got a little chubby...more to fondle and hold!" That cheeky rascal told, and his hand massaged the flesh near my hip.

He looked at my surprised reaction, untangled from me, and stood up from the bed gloriously bare, stretching his limbs. His wolf's change was clearly reflected in his human form as he had grown big in all areas. His eyes caught me staring, and he smirked, walking to my side of the bed.

"All yours, cupcake! And this is all mine!" He pulled my comforter off me and claimed me with his eyes.

I slowly sat up with slight hisses. His Alpha aura and new confidence were turning me on more despite the soreness between my thighs. His ruby eyes bore into mine, reading my mind, but his eyes softened, displaying his love for me.

"I love you, my Alpha!"

I hugged him and placed my head over his shoulder. My palm caressed the tattoo of my symbol on his shoulder that formed last night. His fingers stroked my hair, and his other hand hugged me.

"I love you too, cupcake."

His lips kissed the top of my head as we got lost in the embrace.

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

A week passed, and still, every night felt new with my lovable, handsome mate. I was simply walking through the hallway and found Aadhira standing near a window with a frown, talking to herself.

"Hi, Aadhira."

She was staring out the window without even recognizing my presence. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she jerked out of her thoughts and bowed when she saw me.

"Goddess! Sorry…I have been thinking about something."

I nodded my head with an internal smile knowing the plan was working as I expected. I heard footsteps, and Aadhira quickly snapped her head in that direction but sighed with a slight disappointment when a guard appeared around the corner. He bowed at us and passed to start his duty.

"Aadhira, are you waiting for someone?" I asked her casually, but her face paled, and she let out a forced chuckle.

"No, Goddess. Who would I be waiting for? I should go review the training. Let me know if you need anything, Goddess."

She bowed and slowly walked away.

***

Aadhira’s POV:

The days have been too busy with the Goddess's work to create teams to work on the sins. A team of ten people was allocated to each department of sins, and the work had started to flow. They were given the west wing of the castle. Since I had been too busy with this, I couldn't visit the purification pit. But Kathir was supervising for me, and he visited all the vampires' cults personally and regularized his old routines. He routed his work through the Council of Supernaturals.

Things were hectic as the council had a five-year goal for the 'Better Earth' project. At the end of this month, they would discuss the details in the meeting with the Divines. And I should be prepared with the data of the sins and provide them with the solution to reduce the sins. As Goddess always kept our realm updated with earth, we needed to stay updated, despite her absence for a long period. I had enough knowledge of modern-day technology, but we used them with our spiritual powers rather than polluting the place with invisible harmful waves in the air. When I received the data from each team, I summarized them and prepared the necessary reports.

I had everything under my control except my heart.

It has been exactly seven days since I have seen that irritating face. I don't know why I was itching to see him. Maybe I was too used to him tailing me everywhere. I really meant it when I said I didn't need a partner in my life. And he wasn't an immortal. Mukilan! I just hated him. It's just been three weeks since I met him. But he was the first one to deeply care about me other than Goddess and Kathir. Despite the numerous times, I pushed him away, he came back to me just to be beaten up again.

I didn't have any feelings, or that's what I thought about him until he disappeared. There was something tugging at my heart. Maybe that was the mate bond they had been talking about. I heard Kathir talking about how he felt attracted to his first mate despite being human and how things turned up because of his little attraction towards Goddess. But I was very happy that he found his love in Vibha. She was a sweet woman who could make my brother happy, and I really loved her. Everything was going well. The Goddess also reconciled with Akhilan. The only problem was that these couples were too loud in bed, making for some miserable nights.

The day before his disappearance, that man had the guts to sneak into my room. It was too embarrassing as I had curled up in his embrace in my sleep, and it really provided me with warmth. I vaguely remembered him muttering something to my sleepy form. But the comfort was too leisurely for my lone heart to focus on his words. He wasn't there when I woke up. I never felt a need to be with someone in the seven thousand five hundred years of my life in the realm of darkness.

In the initial stage, the playful competition with my twin had boosted us to climb the hierarchy ladder in a short time. That was the time I was fully focused on the improvements in our realm. Goddess supported us, and when she gave me the top position, I was so grateful and had been giving it my all and still improving for the better. In the older days, she always wanted us to find the right person to travel with. Unfortunately, no one grabbed my interest, and most men maintained their distance due to my position. The new souls would sometimes hit on me, but no one asked me twice.

The fourteen days of torture to get a chance to prove himself worthy was the longest pursuit that had happened to me so far. Was that the reason for this disturbing feeling in my heart? My body felt exhausted without his presence. Sleep was far away as my body yearned for the warmth I experienced after that night. I had been overworking at night to shrug off those feelings. Meditation helped me restore energy, but my partial focus wasn't helping. I managed to keep my work clear without these feelings affecting me, and work was the only solution to keep me sane. And I hated him more for spoiling my peaceful life.

Had he given up like I always asked him to? He was a handsome man, and he could easily get any woman he liked. That was better for both of us.

I closed my eyes, clearing his thoughts away, and took a few deep breaths in. I should now visit the new souls and allocate them to the best position in the realm. It was always interesting work to select people. With the growing population on earth, our realm was also becoming overpopulated, but it was inevitable. And not many people would like to serve here as they had no memories of the Goddess of Darkness, and also, humans were now focused on their new life. Mostly the souls of supernaturals and animals only chose to serve her, so they needed training from scratch.

I entered the room filled with about fifty people and went straight to the table with their personal details. The afterlife manager, who had collected their details, opened their files on the magical screen, and he organized them from the best to worst. He handed me a piece of parchment that had a black ribbon on it. That means a high priority. Upon touching the parchment, the symbol of the goddess glowed. I carefully opened it as this was a special case under her order.

The image of the person who was haunting me appeared on the blank parchment, followed by words. His abilities had been described in detail, and he had become immortal while being a werewolf carrying two souls within him. He had gone through purification and healing for the past week under the Goddess of darkness's direct orders. There were instructions to test whether he would fit in second-level warrior or use him in the technology department. Also, there was a disclosure of his special ability to be the best tracker of the region where he had lived.

Goddess asked me about myself and the image of waiting for someone flashed before me. I didn't doubt her actions. The mate bond was her blessing, and he was her best friend. I would do as she instructed. I looked up at the crowd and found him in the third row sitting with his arms crossed and looking at me with the same eyes that were desperately trying to convey his feelings for me. A sense of relief washed over me.

I put the parchment aside, looked at the magical screen, and called the people listed there to put them in optimal use to serve the realm. I looked at Mukilan.

"Welcome to the realm. Goddess instructed me to test your abilities. You should prove your strength or smartness by competing with the existing members in the second level of the realm management. You shall claim the place of a defeated person if you win. Else your abilities will be tested with the Third level or be let you free to train yourself to claim the position you missed. You can consult about it with Goddess afterward. Let me lead you to the training ground. You can use your werewolf abilities too."

He smiled widely and nodded his head like a lost puppy. I pursed my lips and walked towards the door. I sent a telepathic message to the three people who had claimed their place by proving their strength.

Mukilan got a few cuts and bruises, which made me uncomfortable. But I put on a blank face and watched them fight for their position. A few minutes were enough for them. He fought well and managed to beat two warriors despite their use of weapons, but the third warrior was an experienced, top warrior in the realm. He trained the new souls, so he calculated Mukilan's move and made him submit. As the head executive of the realm, I was very impressed that he put up such a fight against the trained people here.

He explained his familiarity with computers and managed to give a reasonable solution for the managerial problems. Being new to the realm was a disadvantage, but he strove to learn, and I decided to place him as the technology head after a month of training to get used to the gadgets here. He could handle this, and my old technology head was reluctant to learn new things. If he continued this behavior, I would be sending him off to the afterlife soon. I left Mukilan there and went to my room as I needed a quick minute to sort out my feelings.

Why hadn't he spoken to me? If he had turned immortal for me, why was he just acknowledging my words? He used to change even a serious topic into a romantic one. What was his intention? Whatever it was, I couldn't let myself be distracted like this.

I ran into Akhilan as I was too deep in my thoughts. I bowed to him with a smile and moved away out of the way.

"Aadhira, I know this is your personal matter. But I feel obliged to ask you this because Mukilan is a very important person in my life. Anjali told me what you have said about the relationship. Are you sure? You don't want any ties with Mukilan, right?"

I was confused, and it was frustrating. I just nodded my head, affirming my intention for the relationship.

"That's good. A female warrior, Meera, seemed to be interested in him because she had seen him fighting in the training grounds a few hours ago. Maybe they will fit together. She looks great too,” he mumbled more to himself and walked away with a nod.

I knew every single person in this realm, and as he said, that woman had great looks and a lovely nature. A part of me was numb, but my heart ached a little imagining him with another woman. But I had already made my decision, and it wasn't good for a warrior to retreat in the middle of a war.

I changed my mind about going to my room and decided to resume my work. Kathir sensed my disturbance and tried to talk to me. But I kept myself closed off and behaved as my usual self. Hours turned into days, but that man didn't come to see me. We crossed paths as we lived under the same roof, but he would just nod at me while walking. The traces of his memories filled the realm as if he followed me wherever I went. The morning training would ease my nerves when I saw him training there. Day by day, the ache within me increased, and I continued to blame it on the mate bond.

Mukilan attended the fortnight meeting but kept it professional. I convinced my mind that things were happening for the best. My work regarding the data on sins was almost over. I should finish dinner earlier and summarize it tonight. Goddess had invited the second-level families to dinner. I already made an arrangement for dinner and asked two people to overlook it. I stretched my hands and shoulders and made my way to the dining hall.

Everyone seemed to be present there already, and nothing seemed off. I noticed Mukilan sitting with Kathir, and they were having fun. I walked to the right side of the table where I usually sat and took my place. The head chairs were occupied by Goddess and Akhilan, who seemed to be lost in their own world. I smiled at the cute couple and saw my sister-in-law sitting on my brother's lap. I blinked and looked away as I often forget that werewolves didn't mind displaying their affection in public.

I spoke with the other people and casually looked next to my brother. What was Meera doing here? She wasn't any second-level warrior and didn’t belong to anyone’s family. She walked with a big, dreamy smile towards Mukilan, leaned her slender figure on his chair, and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and smiled at her.

Were they already together?

I looked away, not wanting to make a fool of myself, and picked up my grape juice and took a sip. The conversation I started with the person next to me was abandoned long ago as I had been looking at the man who claimed me as his mate. I hated to admit it, but my nerves were boiling with jealousy. She was stroking his hair, and he was casually conversing with her as if nothing was wrong. Couldn't they keep this in their room? I was looking at my plate, but I could the happy couple being very touchy through my peripheral vision. She was cleaning the crumbs off the corner of his mouth. The glass in my hand broke with the pressure I applied, and silence filled the room. I looked up at my brother, who was looking at me with wide eyes.

"Can't you wait till dinner is over? Keep all this inside your bedroom. Behave with dignity in this hall!" My voice sounded louder with the complete silence, and I was flustered when I noticed the embarrassed look on the Goddess's face. And other females seemed to be in the same state. I cursed myself under my breath.

"I apologize to everyone! Please continue dinner." I teleported to my room and sighed with frustration before plopping onto the bed.

What had gotten into me? How was I going to face Kathir and Vibha? Above all, how was I going to see the Goddess's face? I had insulted every couple there. It wasn't even a formal dinner meeting. It was a casual one. My behavior was so wrong! Goddess! Please forgive me.

I heard a knock at my door but ignored it and continued to stare at the wall. The door swung open, and the man who made me lose my mind walked into the room as if he owned it. He picked up my left hand and cringed with a hiss. I looked down and found two pieces of glass stuck in my palm and bleeding. I didn't even notice it. He carefully pulled the glass out, threw them in the dustbin under my bed, and led me to the bathroom while pressing his kerchief over my bleeding palm. He washed my hand and blew air over it. My palm was already healing, and the pain was nothing compared to the weight of something pushing on my heart, making it hurt more.

"Why are you so careless? If you had left it like that, your palm would have healed over the glass," he scolded me in a soft voice that was filled with concern.

"Why do you care?" I asked with a heavy tone as my feelings had been taunting me.

His eyes raised from my palm to meet my eyes. He smiled widely. The smile I missed for a few days. He tucked my hair behind my ear and softly caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. My heartbeat rose, and the ache in my heart multiplied tenfold.

"My jealous mate is so much hotter than the brutal woman who beat me up whenever I touched her."

I realized I had been letting him touch me. I swatted his hand away from my cheek.

This man!

"Why should I be jealous? If anything, your girlfriend must be worried about you being gone for so long. I don't want any rumors about you coming to my room at night. Get out! Right now!" I composed myself and spoke to him like I usually did. But he smiled widely and inched closer to me. I blinked and caught the edge of the counter.

"You know, it is much easier to open up your heart than to keep your feelings locked inside. If you can't find the courage to open up, don't worry. I will take care of you. You can't resist me. We are created to love each other with all our hearts. It is destiny." He cupped my cheeks and spoke to me slowly as if teaching a toddler.

I was processing his words, and still, a part of me doubted whether I needed a man in my life. Seeing my silence, he took in a deep breath with narrowed eyes before capturing my lips in between his. The shield of my resistance broke as my body started to feel alive. My cheeks and lips tingled as he continued nibbling my lips. My heart was beating with a new rhythm as the so-called bond made its appearance within me. He swept his tongue over my lips, but I was too occupied trying to comprehend the magic happening around me.

He pulled away with a sad face since I didn't respond to him. My eyes now saw him in a new light. Every beautiful feature about him was enticing, and it amused me. He left my cheeks and sighed, turning away. But my mind was crystal clear. I pulled his collar and caught his lips in mine. A growl escaped him at the roughness of the kiss. His hands hugged me to his body as he reflected my desire.

"You are right. I can't be at peace without you, and I can't give you to another woman." I broke the kiss, confessed my feelings, and pulled him towards the bed. The sudden urge and desire clouded my mind, and my carnal desires were strong and needed to be sated.

"That's right, baby. MINE!"

A ring of gold formed on his pupils and with a deep growl, he slammed me onto the bed.

He cleared my confusion and insecurity with kisses on every inch of my body as he claimed me as his female all through the night. I had walked alone all my, and the very long wait had come to an end with this male who injected his essence into my skin, mind, and heart.

So, this was the happy ending written by destiny for me. I hugged him at dawn as we exhausted ourselves all night with the play of passion. I knew nobody would disturb me until I woke up as my moans at night probably conveyed my state to them. I fell asleep with a contented heart in his arms.