The Chosen Alpha (Prequel to The Female Alpha)

Chapter 13: Firangi Abhay's P.O.V It was snowing again. The ground was completely white.

This part of the valley didn’t usually get much snow, but it was unusually cold this year. And I knew that it would only get colder, winter only a whisper in the air and yet it howled with ferocious chill all around me.

I looked at the waterfall in front of me, untouched by the winter chill. Jnarna, that was what we called it. The literal Hindi translation of a waterfall, but it just sounded right to us. It was freezing outside but I knew it would be nice and warm inside the pack house. It would also be noisy with the new packmates. But I liked that noise. It was welcoming. It was home. And so was she.

Something dropped to the ground in front of my feet. distracting me from the view. A sense of déja vu threatened to overwhelm me as I looked down to see what it was. It was only a speck in the vast sea of snow but it stood out amongst the white. It was in the shape of a tiny droplet but the warmth coming from it melted the snow a little, caused a slight dent as it was absorbed into the cold earth. Blood. It was a drop of blood.

The temperature suddenly dropped by at least ten degrees as another drop of blood fell on the ground to join the other droplet. Then another. And another. The drops weren’t coming from the sky and this time, I didn't need to look down to know that the blood was actually dripping down my fingertips.

I raised my hands in front of my face to inspect the blood and saw that there was blood everywhere. It was running down my arm as it colored my sleeves. Confusion swarm in my head as I tried to register why I was bleeding again. The only thing I felt was cold, there was no pain. I looked down at the ground and watched in shock as the ground beneath me turned completely red. It was like I was standing in a river of blood. It flowed freely in the snow, heading towards the slope before taking the plunge downward to meet the waters of the Jharna, turning it a dark pink it color. But I didn't see the end of the waterfall.

I felt something trickle down my forehead and I raised my bloody hands to wipe it away, only to come up with more blood. I felt a sad smile form on my lips. This was it then, this was how it all ends.

My vision blurred, black spots danced in front of my eyes and I knew I didn’t have my time left. I only wished I could hold her once again. Just this one last time before I was gone. Our time together had been so short. Too short for her to remember me through eternity.

I turned back to look at the vast fields of snow that were now drenched in blood. And there she was, in her white fur and soulful blue eyes. There was blood in her coat but that didn't diminish her beauty; she would always be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, no matter what form she took. She was running towards me with all her might but she was too far. It was of no use. It was already too late

I raised my hand towards her as if to say goodbye, but my vision blurred further, the dark spots increased...and then I was falling back, into the turbulent waters of Jharna. This was it.

A mournful howl filled the air a split second later...and my vision went blank. I gasped awake in my bed, cold sweat drenching my body and my lungs hungry for air.

It was that dream again, the same one I had seen when I had first laid eyes on the woman with white blonde hair and blue eyes, the woman who. reminded me of a wolf.

Instinctively, I turned to look at the window at my back and saw, as I'd expected, the sun barely rising on the horizon. Another early morning dream predicting my future death. This isn’t making any sense and even though I don't believe in superstitions, thought it more my mother’s domain than mine, I couldn't help but feel a shiver running up my spine at the thought of all the blood.

After having caught my breath, I brought my hands up in front of my face just to make sure there wasn’t any blood on them and then questioned myself for being ridiculous. I wasn't scared of early morning dreams that had a chance of coming true. It couldn’t be a foreshadowing of my death, that idea was just absurd! I was a young, healthy man whe had decades to live!

But this was the second time I was seeing this dream and that too so close to the first one. What was happening to me? And what was this snow covered place that felt like home? Even now, I felt the hum of it in my bones.

The more I thought about the snow covered mountains, the waterfall called Jharna, I felt a deep sense of rightness in my soul. As if that place was calling to me. If I was being honest to myself, I thought that Firangi would be more at home in those snow capped lands than me.

A smile tilted up my lips as I thought about the woman with the snow white hair again. Yes. she would definitely feel at home in those mountains. If fact. the cool energy radiating from her spoke of the snow. Or maybe I needed to shake myself awake from these weird thoughts of white wolves and snow covered mountain tops.

As soon as the thought came to my mind, my phone began to ring with an all too familiar ringtone. Grabbing my Nokia from the bedside table, I flipped it open and put it to my ears. “Good morning, Maa.”

“Good morning, beta!” (Son) Came my mother’s familiar voice from the other side of the line. “I'm so sorry to call you this early in the morning, but I just couldn't help myself! Why didn't you call me yesterday?”

Yup! I knew this was going to happen. Whenever I missed out on calling her atnight, before her bedtime, ry mom would wake me~ up early hext morning just so she> couldbe sure that I wasn't being kidnapped or assaulted by people forthe oddest of reasons, Honestly, Tight think that it’s justa ‘my mom thing’, but I'm pretty sure every mom out there thinks the same.

It's okay mom, it’s only five twenty nine in the morning,” I told her sarcastically before getting a warning ‘Abhay’ from her. "It's okay, I was up already and sorry for not calling you sooner, I had a few things on my mind

“Oh, really?” She asked, sounding really suspicious. “And what's this ‘thing’s' name?"

“What are you talking about?” I asked, professing innocence.

“The girl's name.” She asked directly. “Because if you missed calling your mother then it definitely has to be for a girl.”

Damnit! How does she know that I missed calling her because I was obsessing over my white haired Firangi? Does she have spies over here too?

“Oh, don't worry; I’m not spying on you.” She said casually. “I’m your mother; I know what goes through your mind all the time.”

My jaw literally hit the floor in shock. “MOM!”

Her beautiful tinkling laughter floated through the line, making me feel homesick. It was a sad reminder that I haven't been home to my parents for about seven months now and I missed them deeply. But mest of all, I'm missing my mom's home cooked meals the most and the spicy food here isn’t going good for the tummy at all

Sighing. I told her what she actually wanted to hear. “I don’t know her name yet, but she has this beautiful white blonde hair and blue eyes.”

“Oh dear! A foreigner!” My mother gasped. “Of all the beautiful Indian women, why on earth did you have to like a Firangi? Now you're just going to follow her abroad and leave your family just like your Kittu Uncle did!”

“Mom, stop being so dramatic,” I told her exasperated. “And Kittu Mama (uncle) didn’t follow that foreigner to Canada, he got a job there and married a foreigner! There's a difference!Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

“Oh, shut up!” My mom scolded. “Don't contradict me and yes, it is the same thing when the result is the same! He hardly visits us at _< home anymore! You remembenthe last time he visited us? Two years agonhat's when! At least now get to-see you twice or thrice. every year but once you marry this Firangi, I'd hardly see you once in five years!”

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“Mom, travelling via plane takes a lot of money and you know how expensive foreign countries are?” I tried to explain the workings to my mom but knew she'd only twist my words against me anytime now. Like most dadian mother’s she hated being) oven wrong. So I justturned thestopic in another direction...a difection that was sure te.grab her attention. “By the way, the girl ‘I like’ isn't a Firangi. She's Indian. I’m guessing the hair and eyes are because of some genetic mutation, albumins or perhaps a foreign ancestor down the line?”

“Oh!” Mom paused, giving it a thought. "I guess you might be right.” She admitted defeat.. finally. But then, I might just have spoken too soon. Because the next thing she said was:

“Now, tell me all about your Indian Firangi.