The Alpha Killed My Husband

19(B)| Mouth Freshner Under Moonlit

The night is an absolute spectacle. A commemorative evening with a crescent moon, twinkling studded stars, and slightly dizzy air.

The rooftop is not the open space that I’d predicted by the name of it. Rather, it’s a makeshift chamber with a private pool, lounge chairs, an enormous bed to the side, and greenery. A lot of them. It’s decorated with laced sheets, tiny led bulbs, candles, and flowers, lavender if I’d be precise.

A perfect setup for a perfect date night for a smitten lover! I would have enjoyed the meal had things been easier and I was with a charming golden prince, not my nemesis.

I sigh, peeping at the inscrutable Alpha.

Rudransh checks the place and nods apprehensively as he unhooks his jacket and takes it off. He throws it on a vacant chair, undoes the top buttons of his crisp turmeric shirt, rolls his cuffs to the elbow, and slumps downs on the first royal blue couch he could spot.

He closes his eyes and leans back.

One, two, three, four…five seconds later, he blinks at the dark sky as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

‘Unbelievably stupid…’ I hear him mumble.

I gawk when he rakes a frustrated hand through his hair, grumbling something under his breath. The perfectly gelled hair tousle mercilessly yet still manage to look just attractive enough to look like it’s supposed to.

The slow violin music playing seducing notes fills in the background. The hotel staff has taken the much-appreciated leave after serving us the first course with champagne that still lays untouched.

‘May I?’ My notes are polite when I ask Rudransh if I should help him with the serving. The motion of his head hardly amounts to tilt. Nonetheless, I take it as permission and help him with some cucumber sandwiches while I pile my plate with turkey curry.

Serves him right! I smirk internally. In the past week, if a single habit has stood out amongst the zillion, it's Rudransh’s fondness for food. He can tolerate every f*****g absurdity but when it comes to food…he is dead serious.

I forward the plate to him with a smile but receive a murderous glare that miraculously doesn’t kill me. I shrug it off and take a vacant chair far away from him.

He opens his mouth to snap some insults when an attendant materializes at the table like a dense and dour-looking ghost in a bad hairpiece and a pyramid hostess hat. Her lips are painted thick red and her sharp heels give me an ankle ache by just the sight of them.

‘Alpha,’ She bows more than necessary, deliberately pushing her cleavage in the sight. I watch her almost eye r****g the wolf who doesn’t spare her regard initially. Later, he licks his lips and grins.

He grins! I resist an urge to fist in the air that’d land on his ridiculously symmetrical jawline and snap it in two.

I snicker at her flustered expression which breaks the trance they were sharing. The she-hoe is taken back for a good minute before she regains her senses and bows at me slightly.

‘Luna, I am Himani, your hostess for the night. May I ask if you’d like to have something?’

‘A perfectly silent evening with no words exchanged, no w***e ogling at my mate openly, and ample privacy will do for now. For the main course, we will ring you shortly.’ I smile sweetly at her, avoiding Rudransh’s amused stare in the process.

The attendant is dumbstruck for a good minute. I feast on the opportunity and chug a huge slurp of turkey curry.

‘You—’ Her voice is almost accusatory.

‘We?’ I challenge her. My breath catches in my throat when the spice assaults my taste buds. I tube my lips and drag air in my mouth, rolling the food over before I pin her under an innately impeccable glare.

‘Are the restrooms paid here?’ I ask incredulously of the innocence of a pup.

The meal is delicious but not splendid. It feels like years since I am sitting across from Alpha Rudransh who still denies breaking the piercing silence. However, he listens to the conversation intently. He is still irritated enough to be a little reckless.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Do you charge on wolves' poop? Is it a scheme to scam the guests? Making them eat unhealthy masala to hamper their digestion and later torture them by not letting them use it. It almost choked me.’ I whistle, waving my palm over my mouth.

Himani visibly turned red. She opens her mouth and closes it again, resembling a fish out of water. Rudransh chuckles at my absurd comment munching on his cucumber sandwich peacefully.

‘Let it be, Himani! Her wit is sucked out of her tit.’ He glances up at the attendant with a small smile, unfazed by my daggers.

‘Won’t you tell her who sucked it out, baby? I am still wearing the hickey as the badge of honor. You’d almost milked me out last night.’ I seeth through gritted teeth.

The attendant shifts weight from leg to leg. She fumbles with the hem of her dress looking flabbergasted. Her cheeks pick up color.

‘How’d I resist when you are all out begging me for a release? Tell her in details, buttercup. Tell her how you always wait for me in our bed every night…in the sheet without a fabric.’

‘Who? I? Why’d you lie through your teeth, Honey? Won’t you tell her how you always pin me against the wall and rub yourself off on me mercilessly like a beast that you are?’

‘I? Beast? You are no less than a cavewoman, Babygirl. Riding till my balls turn—’

‘Psht! Who wanted to be chained and played? I can write volumes on your kink, My Love. Now, I know why you chose me only as your Luna. There is hardly any match around!’ I retaliate with a bitter chuckle, peering straight into his dark eyes.

Rudransh is silent for a second. His fists clenched beside his half-empty plate. He growls lowly that automatically makes Himani flinch but fails to affect me an inch.

‘If you know me so well, why’d you question my choice? It has been eight years, Aary, and yet you doubt it. When you know that I am crazily obsessed with you, that it’s only you who can quench my thirst, it’s in your arms that I will find my solace and that I love you and always will no f*****g matter what…why will you make fun of my emotions with all those question marks? Why can’t you just close your eyes and trust me? Do you not believe me? Or is it because you think I can never take a trustable decision?’

‘I never questioned your decisions, Rudra. I was—’

‘You were my decision, Aaradhya! I chose you. I settled on you because I know none can be ever perfect by my side.’ His voice dramatically falls, and so do his eyelids. An edgy silence follows.

My brain is way too numb to come up with something legitimate. My heart is somersaulting the chest. I have never been appreciated, wanted with such determination and passion.

No one has ever fought with me for me. The feeling is foreign but it’s highly addictive. I want to dive in it, bath in it, stay in it.

In seconds, looking into his eyes almost become impossible. To dodge the intensity, I turn my head to the right. In the isolated space that overlooks almost the whole of Alpha City. Even the biggest towers glimmer like a vertical laser sword.

We are above the world, literally! There are tiny moving lights on the cars and subways. The tiny houses shimmer forming celestial shapes.

‘I am sorry!’ I don’t even know why I am apologizing but it feels like the right thing to do. ‘I was fretting over. I want to change so much in our world…the state of our females, literacy, patriarchal views…We need to get the designation, Rudra. I am terrified. I know I am not good enough. My physical state after the bee-stung…’ My voice trails off in exasperation. A tight knot forms in my throat when I suck in a breath to gulp the tears.

I am overwhelmed.

‘I will take care of everything, Aary. We can only give our best when we are into it, heart and soul. If it isn’t meant to be, it won’t happen. Why ruin something in our hands for something that’s nothing more than an illusion? The worse has already passed, only good can follow. And who told you we need more powers and facilities to bring the said change, it starts right here. We are the change!’ Alpha’s voice is confident. He knows what he is talking about with the certainty of a fortuneteller.

I strongly disagree with some of his statements. Nevertheless, I do not argue. My mind, heart, and soul are at peace. Nagini is dozing off. There are no conflicts.

I nod slowly, beaming at the turkey curry.

‘We sacred the she-wolf away.’ I chuckle, wiping my nose with the back of my hand.

‘You did! The curry cannot be that bad. They are charging 7500 bucks for this one.’ He chuckles too.

My eyes widen at the price. The light chuckle turns into a full bloom of laughter as the rest of the dinner goes smoothly.

******

'Aary, what are you doing?' Rudransh asks, stifling a burst of laughter that threatens to slip through his mouth as he gawks at me.

Ignoring him, I take a handful of sweet fennel seeds and stuff them in the napkin which is already leaking from both sides.

‘Have you given the tip?’ I ask indignantly, wrapping the napkin into round folds. I put the content in my clutch and follow on taking another napkin.

‘I did…a very handsome one. We are gonna be here for the whole night, Aary. They are not going to take it away. Why are you raiding on the poor mouth-freshner?’ Alpha asks eyeing me lazily.

He is full and so I am but not full enough to let the hotel scam us.

‘See…they did not even bring the change. I am just taking what’s rightfully mine.’

‘Why don’t you try the cutlery though? It’s more expensive than the petty mouth-freshner. They’ll only make us do the dishes if they catch us stealing. I can pull some strings to escape the punishment though. How does it sound?’ Rudransh suggests sarcastically, stretching his legs a bit.

He looks over my shoulder at the dimly lit bed that awaits us. It’s getting a bit cold in here. The bed looks tempting but the jar is still half full and we have yet to get our change. I cannot give up.

'Would you like to have some more mouth-freshener, Luna?' Himani strolls in with a tray in which small packets of mouth fresheners are kept.

This is the final trigger for Alpha who almost fell over the table laughing.