Aries

A/N: With tears in my eyes, I finally hit the complete button. This epilogue may contain major spoilers... but if you want to know the end of the characters of this book, you can read.

Other minor characters who appeared in Aries will have their end shown in other books. I know, Harper’s fate, Rionach’s fate, Antlia’s future and everything is not explained. I hope you will read the next part (Author’s note on why this was done)

Anyway, the word count: 2547. Total word count as of now: 16,428.

Enjoy the last part!

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Aries POV

In spite of the childish competition they had between them, the human hands he took for living on earth found hers. The second he intertwined their fingers, he felt her giggle next to him.

And by Cosmos, her laugh was everything. It was worth everything. After all, they had been through in the past years, this unbridled laughter of hers was music to his ears. Even the original tune sung at the birth of the universe could not hold a light to this melody.

When Leo had met them, he kept teasing how he was whipped for her, but who could say anything? Lyra was his everything. Not like Leo was faring any better himself.

Simultaneously, they landed on the land of West Pack. Although the war that took place here ten years ago changed everyone’s lives, the land remained the same. The grass still grew and the flowers still bloomed, but even nature took five years to recover.

He searched her face. There was not a hint of sadness in them. In fact, her golden eyes glowed brightly like it was the sun itself. Seeing that honeyed warmth, he sighed. What had he been doing in his life before he met her?

Her lush lips curled to a smile and those tiny crinkles near her eyes told him how ecstatic she was. He lived for this. To see that shine in her face.

“Aries?” Lyra called him. “Ready?”

He nodded. They had gotten amazing news from Antlia and Lyra begged Ant for her to be the one to call them to the palace. And so, they were here.

Just as expected, the Alpha pair came to greet them. Cain’s green eyes met his and Lyra’s brother nodded at him. Cain came to know who he was. Apparently, after he knew, his memories of his past life returned and he told them the reason he fell.

Cain claimed he was happy being an Alpha and that he would take his position as a star, not a Warrior after his time on earth was over. And his mate said she would do the same.

Liv smirked at Lyra and that glint on the female Alpha’s eyes was not something he would trust. But Lyra returned that same evil grin and pulled her sister-in-law away.

Cain judged him. “Lyra is still with you.”

“Expected her to break up with me?” Aries inquired, folding his arms across his chest. “We are Soul-Bounds, Cain. You can’t do anything.”

“Whatever,” Cain mumbled but then led him to the packhouse.

The aroma of different spices used in a perfect blend reached his nose and Aries frowned. Who was cooking?

When Rhaze came out of the kitchen, he took a step back. Rhaze was family and everything, but her cooking could kill even a star.

Rhaze rolled her eyes. “You think I was cooking? Kaina was.”

With that, Rhaze munched on a burrito and plopped herself on a seat at the dining table.

“Eating before lunch, Rhaze?” Cain commented as he took his seat. “Make sure to have space in that stomach of yours for lunch.”

Rhaze rolled her eyes at her brother and continued to eat. He shook his head and took a seat.

Slowly, Kaina came out of the kitchen with a huge bowl of soup and placed it in the centre of the table. Seeing her, all the three got up and helped the Huntress of Chandra.

Only after the table was set, Liv and Lyra came down. Seeing the teasing smile on his Soul-Bound’s face and that blush on Liv’s face, Aries could guess what they could have talked about.

With Liv’s scent changing, it would be idiotic of him not to guess. How did this slip Cain?

Liv took her seat next to Cain while Lyra sat next to him. Under the table, she held his hands and squeezed it. No matter what, he would always be loving her more with each second.

Liv is with a- he began and Lyra bit her lips.

You sure are perceptive, she said as she helped herself with a bowl of soup.

He chuckled. Cain has no clue, does he?

Well, Lyra dragged. He refused to be a star. So he’s got to pay.

Aries shook his head.

Liv then raised her voice. “Raoul!”

Seconds later, a male voice in the distant answered, “Yes, mom?”

“Come to lunch!” Liv shouted.

“Coming!” he replied. “Just a minute!”

Liv’s calm face changed. “Just a minute? Come down now!”

“Mom!” Raoul protested, but there were a shuffling sound and a chair scraping against the marble.

Cain blinked at his mate. “What’s wrong? You never shout at him like that.”

Liv huffed. “Exactly. It is because I don’t shout at him, he is taking advantage! Yesterday you saw how many times I had to call him to dinner.”

Cain exasperated. “Liv! Raoul’s sixteen. A teenager. How else did you expect him to be?”

Lyra smirked and Aries could not help returning it.

Liv glared at Cain, but Raoul came down just in time to save his father.

The boy had received his brown hair from his mother and those green eyes from his father. Raoul was quite a different boy from many other Aries had seen. Sixteen-year-old soon to be alpha was calm, firm in his decisions, silent and very observant. It was not a weakness, that silence. After all, Raoul was a half-pulsar and a half-star in his own right.

It gave him a clear mind to think. And unlike many young Alphas, he was an introvert who preferred books and family nights over parties. A rare trait, but a best trait nonetheless. As much as socialising was important for an Alpha, being true to themselves was important too. And Aries was glad he was there when Raoul first shifted. Much to his father’s shock, he was a tiger. What could he expect from Canis’ son?

“I came, mom,” Raoul sighed and sat next to Liv. “Happy?”

Liv nodded curtly. “Yes.”

The father and the son exchanged glances but they helped themselves in silence.

Slowly, people trickled in. Reece and Mike came in with their unruly eight-year-old boy. Brian was a wild child but had the best intentions at heart. While not many may agree with him, Aries could care less. It could be due to the fact that he had spoilt that kid. Reece had scolded him a lot of times for that, but he simply could not bring himself to say no.

Lyra had always laughed at him for that.

Immediately, Brian ran up to him and gave him his toothy grin. “Aries!”

“Brian!” he greeted as the child struggled again.

Sighing, he pulled Brian over his lap and the kid began to eat his food.

Reece chose her seat and sent him a grateful glance. “Thank you.”

Aries shrugged.

Mike snorted and sat next to Reece. “If you love kids so much, Aries, why not have one with Lyra?”

Lyra gave him a rotten eye. “You think we don’t want one?”

Cain gasped dramatically. “Don’t tell me that you are planning to have a child!”

Lyra gave her brother a dead-panned look. “At least two, if Cosmos and Chaos decide to grace us. Why should I not have a child?”

Cain pouted. “I... hate the fact that you have grown up.”

“I can’t believe that you haven’t grown up,” Rhaze commented.

Next came the Gamma pair. Varian literally cleared the way for Aislynn. With her pregnant belly, it looked hard to move. A male was much more protective over his mate when she was with a child. With Aislynn carrying twins, Varian was very much over-protective. Too much, but he could not complain.

Asilynn sat down on the chair Varian pulled for her and he took the chair next to her.

Last was the Delta pair to arrive with Evelyn Throne and Charles Verir.

Aspen blushed as Miguel whispered something in her ear. She gave them a grin and sat next to Aislynn. Miguel smirked at him and took his seat next to his mate.

The last two out of four chairs were occupied by Evelyn and Charles.

While Evelyn was a hard female who found strength among her remaining family, Charles took the worst blow. The only reason why he survived was to help Cain as Alpha and to an extent Brian.

Evelyn’s pillar had been Raoul who gave his grandmother a soft smile.

“Aspen!” Lyra gasped. “Since when?”

The female Delta bit her lips and shared a smile with her mate. “I found out today.”

Liv gasped and placed a hand over her belly. “You too?”

“You too what?” Cain asked suspiciously.

Kaina choked and got up. “Guess we won’t be opening any wine.”

Rhaze pulled her mate down. “Did you make popcorns? I want to watch this drama.”

Kaina hit Rhaze lightly on her head. “Drama?”

Cain gulped. “Guys? What is going on?”

Miguel seemed to have got the gist. “So... Raoul is having a brother or a sister?”

Cain slowly turned to his mate. He blinked at her and then at Miguel.

“Tell me he is bluffing,” Cain said to Liv.

Liv nodded slowly. “I am, Cain. I... we are going to have another baby.”

Raoul gaped at his mother. “A... sibling?”

Liv blushed. “That’s why...”

Lyra smirked. “That’s why you called me in the first place.”

Liv nodded. “I wanted to confirm.”

Aspen chuckled as she helped herself with pasta. “Well, seems like our dues dates would be close by. I mean, I may be just a week more than you.”

Cain was still in shock. “We are having another kid?”

Aries sighed as he saw the kid on his lap eat without a worry in the world. Cain would see this chance to know how his another child would grow. He had missed many years of Raoul’s life. Thankfully, Raoul understood it and it never once strained the relation the father-son duo had.

The female Alpha nodded shyly. “We are.”

Reece cleared her throat. “How is it that three ranking females are pregnant so... close by? I mean it is not a bad thing... but conception is rare in our kind. How is it that suddenly many females are becoming pregnant?”

Lyra shared a secretive smile with him. Aries returned the smile and began to feed the boy beans. Brian never took beans unless he fed him.

Lyra cleared her throat. “Got to do something with Antlia and the news i come bearing.”

Kaina spluttered. “Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me! She is a kid!”

Lyra gave her a long look. “Antlia is twenty-seven. Why can’t she be?”

Kaina placed a hand over her heart. “I could not even take her coronation a year ago. Now you are telling me this? Are you even sure?”

Lyra yawned. “Well, Ara, Megrez and I checked. You may doubt me. You doubt Ara and Megrez too?”

Kaina shook her head. “Nope. I don’t. I can even digest what Liv told us. But... what you say of Antlia... I cannot.”

“Takes time,” Aries said. “I could not believe it myself when Lyra told me.”

Varian frowned. “What are you talking about? Cain, can you understand?”

Cain shook his head. “Dude, I can’t even believe that I am going to have another kid. I certainly can’t understand what these ladies are talking about.”

Varian looked at Raoul who was eating his starters, talking with his grandmother. “Raoul? Can you?”

Evelyn then glared at the Gamma. “Is it so important for you to know?”

Varian shook his head fast. “Not at all.”

His mate laughed and gave him a loving glance. “I will tell you later, love.”

Miguel muttered colourfully under his breath.

Rhaze laughed. “So... did you meet Silver and Mina?”

Lyra nodded. “Yes. Their daughter is doing well.”

Kaina gasped. “But... Aiko-”

Aries intervened. “Aiko... their relationship is complicated.”

“Not as complicated as Dubhe, Epione and Nira, I hope,” Cain mumbled.

“No,” Lyra said. “Those three have the most complicated relationship I have ever seen. I mean, Nira found her mate and she is planning to start her life with him.”

The food disappeared along with the conversation.

“Nira found her mate?” Reece asked. “How is he? Does he know?”

Lyra bit her lips while Aries gulped. “He... happened to be Seren’s godson.”

Mike coughed and drank water. “As in... Nira’s mate is a pulsar?”

“Pulsar who is a quasar too,” Cain supplied. “Seren is a quasar. She is Qamar’s sister.”

“Right, right, right,” Mike agreed.

“What of... Epione and Dubhe?” Kaina asked. “After what happened with Corvus... I never saw them again.”

“I don’t know what is going on with them,” Lyra said. “But... Dubhe rejected her Soul-Bound. So... I don’t know what they would do.”

“What of Epione?” Liv asked.

Aries shrugged. “We don’t know. But as of now... she is one of the few hundreds in the entire universe who can control aether. And she is missing.”

“Kage?” Aislynn asked.

“Megrez has him under her custody,” Lyra said.

“Wow,” Mike commented. “So many things have happened.”

“So many indeed,” Aries agreed and put on more food so that Brian would eat too.

A moment of silence fell over them and only the noise of the metal spoons and forks chatting with the porcelain plate was heard. Occasionally, Lyra fed Brian from her plate, which he ate happily.

Miguel coughed breaking the stillness. Glancing at his female Alpha, he asked, “So... a boy or a girl?”

Liv snorted and fired right away. “What are you having?”

Aspen looked away. “A boy.”

Liv groaned. “That’s it. My child will die of overprotective males.”

“Huh?” Cain blinked.

“A girl?” Aspen asked, smiling widely.

Liv nodded. “Cain and Raoul are not enough to drive the potential mates from her apparently. Brian, Aislynn’s twins and now your boy. How many boys will she ever have in her life?”

Raoul snapped from the conversation he was having with Evelyn. “Sister?”

“Don’t, Raoul,” Liv warned, using a spoon as a dagger. “If you ever get over-protective over your sister like Cain was over Lyra, I am ditching you all.”

Cain opened his mouth to protest, but one glare from his female shut him up.

Raoul shrugged. “I won’t. I will just teach her how to fight and kiss ass that she can take care of herself. I trust her, ma. Trying to lock your daughter, my sister, won’t work.”

Cain glared at his son as though he betrayed him.

“Drop it, dad,” Raoul said. “She is the daughter of Canis, past Warrior. What could hurt her?”

Rhaze wiped her fake tears. “You grew your boy up right, Liv.”

Liv gave her son a proud look.

Aspen chuckled. “Decided on names?”

Liv shook her head. “I confirmed only today. You?”

“Thinking,” Aspen said. When Miguel opened his mouth, Aspen glared at him. “I won’t name our son after food, Miguel.”

Laughter rang around the table.

Aislynn took her soup. “Well...speaking of names,” She shared a look with her mate who nodded at her. “We have decided the names for my boys”

“What is it?” Lyra asked with that excited glint in her face.

Aislynn sighed. “After long contemplation, we decided to name our twins, Neo and Nash.”

Aries smiled and looked at his Soul-Bound who knew what he knew. That was... would be the best name choice.

A/N: Congratulations! You have read 203300 words. Aries are damn long.

What do you think of this chapter?

Would you continue to read Taurus?

What do you think happened to Antlia?

Any guesses on what happened in the past ten years?

Anyway... only a few bonus chapters and a log entry is left. Each log entry will be written at the end of each book of this series and these entries will tell the story of Ursa and how she fell.

Hope you read that next Author’s note!

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~Quill