Aries
Chapter 20

A/N: I think I might be having an update schedule from now on. When my schedule is stabilised, I will let you guys know

Since the princess asked and I did not know how to resist those eyes, I gave in. After paying for the chocolate and the frappe, we left the cafe.

Espoir was crowded and seeing that it was the season where the leather was sold cheap, I could understand. So many were fawning over the products that said ‘buy two get one free’.

I sighed. Aurelia would have loved it here. That girl loved shoes and leather. Said leather jacket made her look badass. As if she needed something to prove it.

Biting my lips, I followed an excited Miguel and Ant and Brent followed me. While Ant veered and went straight ahead for leather jackets, Miguel and Brent went towards belts. And seeing the crowd, I knew it would take a while.

I looked around and found a chair near a rack of boots. The rack which Aspen was seeing. Could it be true? Could she have killed her mate?

If I was going to judge her for the rumours about her, what would people judge about me? The runaway mate. That was what they called me now.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way to the racks. But before I could sit, Aspen asked, “You’re into boots? I never pegged you for that, Alpha.”

I shrugged and sat down. “I am here for the chair.”

Aspen picked a pair of black boots that reached till the knees and examined it. “Like this?”

This model was the kind of thing Aurelia would prefer. By the Moon! It was a wrong idea to come here.

“Would be better with higher heels,” I replied.

She hummed. “So... what are you doing here?”

I leant against the chair. “Ant wanted to come here. So here we are.”

She chuckled. “I asked your true reason to come today.”

I gave her a sideways glance. “Honestly? I want your brother to stop pursuing me. It is irking me.”

She shook her head. “Irking you? Have even shifted to your wolf, Alpha? I truly wonder how your packmates agreed to you as their Alpha when you haven’t even shifted once.”

This was a strong blow to my gut. All the while, Varian, Miguel, Aislynn, hell, even Aries had warned me never to force a shift. But on what basis was I worthy of being their Alpha?

What if I never shifted?

What if I was not a Shifter?

Was I different because I was a Shifter? But it did not seem too colourful now.

“Cat got your tongue?” Aspen asked, examining another pair of boots, with heels this time.

I cleared my throat and swallowed my pride. If there was one person who might have the chance to know what I was going through, it might be Aspen. She had been an Alpha, had she not?

“You are right,” I admitted. “I have never shifted. I do wonder why my pack chose me.”

She gave me a queer look. Then she checked the shoe size and asked a salesgirl, boots for size six. My size. Looking down at her feet, I knew her size was larger. Then why was she buying it?

I shrugged, it could be for Mina.

“You are one weird girl, Lyra,” Aspen said suddenly. “I know what you are going through. Rumours that the winds carry. Whispers about you whenever you step out. The world will believe the one who opened their mouth first. The one with more power, more money. It is the law of this world.”

I blinked. So she knew the rumours about her?

When the salesgirl gave her the shoes in the size she asked for, Aspen, removed the cover and gave the shoes to me.

“Wear it, Lyra,” she said. “Let’s see if it fits.”

What was she going on with this?

Nevertheless, I removed my sneakers and tried the boots. Just as Aurelia would have chosen, this was a perfect fit. Then I stood up and walked in it. This heels did not give me much height, and this was a style I would prefer.

When Aspen saw this, she nodded to the salesgirl. “We will take it.”

I removed the boots and gave it back to the salesgirl.

Then I wore my sneakers. “What was that about?”

“Checking if you could wear a new shoe,” Aspen said as she let her eyes wander over another rack. “Seems like you can.”

What just happened here?

Then she caressed the shoes next to the one she was seeing and left.

Confused, I ran to catch up with her. When I ran past Ant who was asking a salesboy about a jacket, she gave me a frown. I shook my head at her and followed that burnt wood scent of a certain ex-Alpha.

She was standing at the end of a long queue, texting someone. I stood behind her and swept my eyes over the shop.

If someone had told me that this shop was a high-end brand, I would have laughed at them. In this crowd, I tried my best to sense the two members of my pack and I saw them laughing at something Beta of Alpha Eric’s pack said.

“That’s Jed,” Aspen said. “He is the Beta of our pack.”

I nodded then I asked, “What did you do?”

She frowned and then pointed a finger to herself. “Me? I am just buying shoes.”

I opened my mouth and then closed. Then I tried again. “No. what did you mean?”

“All in good time,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I bet one day you will do this to a female.”

I stared at her.

“To test her worth,” Aspen said and moved forward with the line. “To see if she is what she is, not what she is portrayed to be.”

I was further lost. I had prided myself in understanding the complex theorems and mechanisms science had to offer. Yet, I could not understand a single word what she was trying to tell me.

Before I could reply, familiar scents invaded me and Miguel grinned. “Amazing, Ly. I knew I could count on you. See! Saving a spot for us.”

I glared at him. “I am not here for you.”

Aspen snorted. “And I was under the illusion that I could be at peace.”

Miguel then saw her and widened his eyes. “You are here? Your presence is so small that I could even sense you! Not even scent you. My bad.”

She glowered at him. “Don’t go apologising now. We both know that you don’t mean it.”

Jed shifted on his feet uncomfortably while Brent looked at the belt he had with renewed interest.

“Such harsh words!” Miguel commented. “I do mean it.”

Then Ant sneaked on us. “The day Miguel apologises is the day Earth will die. Seeing that there are no symptoms of that, I know you don’t mean it.”

Aspen smirked. “Even your pack member agrees with you, you overgrown pup.”

He froze then began to laugh. “You think that I am a wolf?”

He laughed so hard that he fell down and cried. This was not good. People were watching us.

Miguel! I hissed. Behave!

Oh my! Alpha, don’t say you don’t find that funny, he continued to laugh.

Haha, I said. That was so funny. Now get up and patch yourself.

Surprisingly, he listened and set himself straight.

Aspen gave him a perplexed look. “Was it that funny?”

Smirking, he leant as if he was going to kiss her. Then he whispered in her ears. “I am a Shifter, girl. Not a mere werewolf.”

Jed gave him a curious look, perhaps wondering why this idiot was behaving so unruly with an Alpha. If I had been Jed, I would have pulled Miguel back, so that my Alpha would not hurt him.

Alphas hated to be challenged. Irking an Alpha would result in two things. Death or banishment. It was not advisable to get on the bad side of the Alpha.

From the look on his face, I knew he had not heard what Miguel had whispered to Aspen. I should have pulled Miguel back by now, but I was not in the right mind.

This was a Phoenix shifter. He could beat the shit out of any Alphas these days within a matter few minutes. No, I was not worried about him, I was worried whether this female could be trusted with our secret. And by the look on her face, I could not tell whether I could trust her or not.

What possessed Miguel to confess to her?

“Impossible,” she whispered after length.

Miguel then wound his hands around her and gave her a lazy grin. Proving to me that he had left his brains back at home, he pulled her closer. And what surprised me was that she allowed him.

What was happening?

I tried reaching out to him, but he was blocking me. Damn this idiot.

Then Aspen’s breath grew shallow and she began to pant. “Wha-”

Alpha? Brent called. What is Miguel doing?

I wish I knew, I replied.

Only then I realised how much years older Miguel was to me.

Ant pulled Brent, Jed and me and we moved ahead in line, leaving the two behind. Before Aspen could say something, he released her and wriggled his eyebrows.

“What about that?” he asked. “Can a werewolf do that?”

I tried to hear her response, but all I heard was Ant’s squeal. “I love them!”

I looked at her and sniffed. Did she take something while I was not there to become high?

What was with people and doing crazy things today? Had they planned it and forgotten to tell me?

Jed blanched. “W-w-what?”

She grinned. “Aspen and Miguel! They make a cute pair, no?”

“No,” Brent said without a beat. When Ant glared at him, he gulped. “Yes. I mean yes.”

“Ant,” I began and looked behind us to see them bickering again. “In which angle does that sound cute?”

Especially when they were swearing at each other loud and colourful.

The princess bumped her shoulder against mine. “You don’t understand, Alpha. I have travelled so much and I have seen so many things. If they don’t end up together, I will change my name.”

I shook my head. “Better start searching for a name.”

Ant gave me a smirk. “Let’s wait and see, shall we?”

Jed coughed. “Al-Aspen... she won’t mate.”

Brent then gave that werewolf look. “Are the rumours true?”

Jed licked his lips and his brown eyes showed genuine fear. “About?”

What had this poor wolf gone through?

“The Widow Alpha,” Brent said.

That time, Aspen cut the line ahead of us and paid for the shoes and a leather handbag she bought.

“It is,” Aspen said curtly. “I did kill my mate.”

With that, she gave me the box with shoes and left, holding her head high.

I gave Brent a disbelieving look. He should have known better. He knew Aspen could hear him.

Before I could say anything, Miguel said, He is nothing but a child. He does not understand the rejection or the pain of losing a mate. It is wise to let it go now.

Nodding, I swallowed my snarl. This was the last time. If he was going to do something insensitive like this again, claws or no claws, my hands would find his neck and perhaps give it a slight squeeze to remind him.

“What was that all about?” I snarled lowly at Miguel.

“What was?”

Acting innocent now, were we?

“That possessive hold on Aspen,” I snapped. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Oh!” he drawled. “That.”

“Yes,” I said, as the cashier was billing our items. “That.”

Ant had chosen an onyx black leather jacket and Miguel had selected a black belt.

“I had to prove,” Miguel said. “That I was not lying.”

“That would be five hundred nyota," the cashier interrupted me.

“What about you, Brent?” I asked as I took out my card.

“Nothing,” he said. “I need nothing from here.”

I gave the cashier my card and looked at my pack member. “What else do you need?”

“About hundred nyota,” he said. “Andrew and I have to buy supplies.”

I nodded. “I will ask Rhaze to credit some into your account.”

The cashier smiled at me as she gave our things in a bag.

“Why tell?” I asked. “And what did you do?”

He sighed. “I will admit I did not know what possessed me to tell her, but I do not regret it. I have a strong feeling that she won’t betray us.”

At this Jed gave us a frown. Then he and Brent fell behind us, talking about something. Ant walked to my right.

“And?” I probed.

He gulped and took my hand. I rose my eyebrows but said nothing else. My skin where he touched, burned. He was showing me how hot his fire could be.

But then, something else happened. My body absorbed that fire and quelled the flames running in his system. The burn I felt momentarily disappeared and I could feel Miguel trying to increase its intensity. But he was failing to burn me.

Was it because he acknowledged me as his Alpha that this was not working on me?

He released me. “What was that, Lyra?”

I shrugged. “I hoped you would tell me.”

He blinked. “Never have I felt anything like that before. No one had quelled my fire.”

Something hit me. “If you could have shown this through a handshake, why that hug?”

He gave me a lazy grin. “And pass an opportunity to rile Aspen?”

I shook my head. If Aspen wanted to kill him, I would not stand between them. He had brought it all on himself.

Then through the crowd, we managed to make out of Espoir. Now, we had to find Nash.

Jed cleared his throat. “Well, it was nice meeting you. If there is a chance again, I hope to meet you all.”

With that, Jed walked down the stairs.

Seeing that no one was there for us to wait for, I began to walk as I connected Nash.

Nash? I called. Where are you?

The reply came late. At the food court. With Mina.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he would be with her.

The food court on the ground floor or the one on the fifth floor?

Ground, he said.

Cutting the connection, I stood before the lift, my companions behind me.

“Where is Andrew?” I asked. I turned to see a fidgeting Brent. “You said he would come later, did you not?”

He nodded. “But he is not here. I don’t know why.”

I snorted as I got into a surprisingly empty lift. “Call him.”

Mumbling a feeble yes, he followed my order. Ant ripped open her cover and revealed her jacket, which she slipped on. With her high ponytail, hot pink top and her black ripped jeans, she was rocking that jacket. I gave a thumbs up to her for which she mockingly bowed down.

Miguel grinned. “I have a black belt.”

“In what?” Ant asked.

“From Espoir," Miguel said, his grin widening. “By the Moon! Imagine telling others you have a black belt. When they think you have it because you are awesome for having a black belt from a martial arts, reveal to them, you got it from Espoir."

“Andrew?” Brent called into the phone, ignoring them. “Where are you?”

“At the parking lot,” said a familiar voice through the phone. “I am going to enter the building.”

“Ask him to meet us in the food court on the ground floor,” I said.

Even though Brent knew Andrew must have heard my words through the phone, he said, “Meet us in the food court on the ground floor.”

He cut the call. “Is that all?”

I nodded. “For now.”

I had some questions for Andrew and I needed the answers to them. I deserved some answers.

Ant gasped. “Damn it! Lyra can we go to Espoir again? I need to buy a black belt too!”

I glared at Miguel and stepped out at our stop. “Look what you’ve done, Miguel.”

He shrugged. “All for a good cause.”

“Good cause, my ass,” I commented as I made my way to the food court.

The food court was buzzing with life. The scent of various foodstuffs made me salivate. From one corner, a food dripping blue, had the sweetest flavour while the shop right next was roasting a chicken and even from where I stood, I could taste the spice in it.

It was not just about the food though. It was the laughter, the banter, the playing that made the life thrive. Some were fighting with their family and friends for food and some were having a long discussion about what to try today.

In this crowd, I let my eyes wander. Vampires, werewolves and magycs alike were enjoying together. If some asked me whether the three races could coexist, I would direct them to this place.

In one corner, a boy with a familiar head was leaning forward to kiss the girl in front on him. But before he could, a dark-haired warrior female came up to them and separated them.

I sighed and made my way to the mates.

At my arrival, Nash pouted. “I am not allowed to see her.”

I looked at her. “Why? What did he do?”

“I said I need some time,” Aspen said, giving her sister a glare as if to remind her something. “I am not ready to trust him.”

Miguel snorted. “I wonder if you can really trust anyone.”

“I trust my pack,” Aspen replied. “Is that not enough?”

Miguel shrugged. “You do have trust issues.”

I was about to lash back at him. Was he not in the same boat as this female was? Did he trust anyone apart from our pack?

Aspen gave him a cold glare. A glare that could freeze the blazing fire that thrived in him.

“Forgive me,” she said. “If I too untrusting. After all, I killed my mate for the same reason.”

When she said that, Mina flinched and immediately stood up.

That one action was enough for me to guess what might have happened. Alphas, by nature, were dominant. It did not matter if they were born into it or they received it as I had, they were dominant by the time they held the title. That made them protect their pack and their family from everyone. Any foreigners was a threat unless proven otherwise. Even if that foreigner was their mate.

Could it be-

I met Aspen’s eyes and then I knew. Fuck.

“Thank you, Mina,” Aspen said, but with a voice that no longer held a certain coldness. “For understanding.”

Mina lowered her gaze. “I am sorry, Aspen.”

Nash frowned. “C-can I meet her again?”

Aspen gave Nash a hard look. And any more she had given, she would have had to fight me.

“How about... three days from now?” Aspen asked. “I will text you the place.”

Nash’s pouted, “Three days?”

Then Mina smiled at him. “Just three. You have my number, don’t you? We will text.”

Nash’s pout deepened but he nodded all the same. Then I met Aspen’s pale green eyes. Even if the mating was accepted, we still had to think over who would join who’s pack.

Since Nash nor his parents held a title in my pack, he was ranked lesser than Mina who was the Alpha’s sister. If someone was going to change, it had to be Nash. And I did not have it in my heart to part with Nash.

Nodding to Aspen, I said, “Three days from now.”

She hummed and then her eyes flashed. When Mina’s eyes glazed, I knew they were mind linking. After their conversation, Mina grumbled, but then, she bent, pulled Nash and kissed him square on his lips.

I gasped, while Ant squealed. Miguel was grinning and Brent looked he would be anywhere but here. Aspen closed her eyes, but her lips did quirk a smile before it vanished.

Releasing him, Mina strode past her sister, probably to wait for her in the car.

“I will look into your family details,” Aspen said. “You look too. Your sibling might be my brother’s mate.”

“My adopted parents are Beta Carter Black and Beta Evelyn Thorne,” I said.

She nodded and left but not before glaring at the shifter next to me.

Miguel said, “You got it bad, boy. That one is Alpha blood. She is going to do that to you a lot. Leave you stunned that is.”

Nash had a dreamy look on his face. “Then let her stun me. I am all hers.”

********

I momentarily wondered about the choice I had made with giving my card to Miguel to buy food. When it came to food, he threatened gluttony for his throne. While the three males left to buy us food as we waited for Andrew to show up, Ant grinned lazily at me.

“What is it?” I drawled.

“People are finding mates, Lyra,” she said.

I frowned and nodded slowly. “Yeah? And?”

She chuckled. “Don’t you get it? So many mates I have met earlier and I have felt that they don’t fit. But the mates who are meeting after they meet you feel just right.”

At this, I gasped. “You can feel the mate bond?”

She shrugged and winked. “How else the Royals were supposed to give a fair verdict regarding the most sacred thing of all times?”

I looked around the second she uttered the word, ‘Royal’ and to our luck, none were paying attention. If they were, I would have been caught and brought back to West Pack. How did I manage to wander this free in the day? Did they stop looking for me or were they thinking of another way?

I sighed. “So you can?”

She closed her eyes and then opened them after a few seconds. “I can feel it if two people have accepted the bond. Even if they feel just an attraction towards their mate, I can feel it.”

I asked, “So you feel it perfect between Varian and Aislynn?”

She smirked. “There has not been a mating any more perfect than theirs. It was the first bond in ages that felt right to me. Perhaps it has to do something with the fact that I am the descendant of Luna.”

“And?”

“With Nash and Mina?” she asked. “It is a cute pairing. But when I heard about you and Ethan, or Rhaze and her mate and Kaina and hers, I never felt a warmth I should have felt. If someone was talking about their mate with me, I feel a certain warmth in me. Like I just know that they are talking about their mate. Not to mention, Luna never makes a mistake. Never. That means Mates can’t cheat on one another. There weren’t rapes and abuse back then. It has all spouted now. So... I am truly happy at the pairings I am seeing now.”

Then Andrew’s scent invaded my nose. But instead of coming towards us, he walked towards Miguel, Brent and Nash, who were still standing in the line.

Had he been in my pack, I would not have tolerated the disrespect. But since he was still a part of West Pack, harming him would alert Ethan.

“Have you seen Aries?” Ant asked casually. “I have not seen him for like two days. And he rarely leaves me.”

I resisted the urge to snort for the last time I saw him was definitely not two days ago. Unless my nose had lied to me that is. I said, “How would I know? He is not someone who tells people what he is going to do.”

“Oh!” she said. “But I had assumed he would tell you.”

I huffed. “And why is that?”

“Dunno,” she shrugged. “Cause you are an Alpha?”

I squinted at her to see a glint. “What are you getting at?”

Her uncaring demeanour broke. A huge smile came up. No, not a smile. A freaking grin.

“What do you feel for Aries?” Ant asked.

I blinked. How the hell could she possibly know?

What did I feel for Aries? I felt the apricity in the middle of winter. He was the flame that burned brightly against the darkness that swirled in me.

So many times during our training session, I had broken down. Completely. My anxiety took over and I cried and shivered. All the while, he just held me and whispered words that calmed me. My personal, customised therapist. The one who somehow made me trust him.

Had it not been for him those times, I did not know what I would be doing.

My heart flipped at his sight. My mind unknown searched for him everywhere. His scent was something that I had weaved with my soul. I could recognise his faintest scent even in a crowded area like this.

And his eyes! Those silver that knew time and space like its sibling. The silver that sometimes mimicked the quicksilver my lab had. His eyes showed me that even silver could be a colour of wrath when I had allowed him to see that humiliating day, the day I was banished. That silver could be a silent shade of fire.

I shivered just imagining the intensity with which he usually saw me nowadays. It was not a shiver of fear. It was far from it. As much as it should have shaken me, I felt safe, warm, content, myself in his gaze.

What I felt for him was not what a friend would feel for another, that much I knew.

What stunned me was that even Ethan could not get my body reacting to him as much as Aries had.

And I knew by now that I did not have a crush on him. It was something more than that.

“He... is a good companion,” I lied.

At this, Ant began to laugh. “Bullshit. Utter bullshit.”

I blinked. Was it possible that this girl was a mind-reader?

“I have seen that look in your face when you see him thinking no one is seeing you,” she said, her lips stretching to one big grin.

I had no answer to this. As much I had teased my friends back at West Pack, no one had teased me with anyone. So when she suggested this, I could not fight back the blush that was raised to my cheeks.

Why should we blush? It was an indicator of embarrassment. And Ant’s eyes did not skip that little colour.

“What look?” I finally asked, unable to keep with this silence.

“A dreamy look,” she said, her voice full of happiness. “A look of adoration. It is like an emoji with heart eyes.”

I growled lowly. Was it that obvious?

“It is obvious if you were wondering,” Ant said. “And no, no one had noticed that, because they were caught in their own past and commitments.”

I licked my lips. Would those four males not come sooner?

“Not even Aries have noticed this, I assure you,” Ant went on. “If he had, I swear it would be worth paying the front row ticket to watch it all.”

More blood began to pool in my cheeks. What was she suggesting?

“If he had not been caught up with his own emotions, I swear, he would have noticed this,” Ant babbled. “Literally next to nothing escapes his eyes.”

I tried to glare at her and failed. I knew how I must be looking: a face full of bright blush with a weak glare. Who would believe that I am an Alpha now?

“Caught up in his emotions?” I managed to ask.

“Is that all you heard from my speech?” she grinned.

I glowered.

She laughed. “Yes. I have said you that Aries is someone who locks his emotions, right? When you possess that key, Lyra, those emotions threaten spill and he does not know what to do.”

I blinked again.

“Confused?” she said. When I nodded, she sighed, “Look, for some reason, the Twelve Warrior of Moons refused to take any consort. Leo had once, but no one knew what happened to his consort. I am betting it has something to with Ursa, the Thirteenth Warrior of Moon. So... in their course of life, they quite became jaded. He did not expect someone to come along and wreck the monotonous life he was leading. He did not expect someone to break down his walls and make his heart beat faster. He did not believe that he might have a chance in love. He certainly did not expect that someone might be you, to make him retrace his path, to make him see that love had been existing way before even he was born.”

Well... when she put it that way...

And what did she mean by no one knew what happened with Leo’s consort? Aries said something about his sister being very close to Leo. Even I knew this.

Then I frowned. He did tell that to me alone?

“Why do think Aries is not here?” Ant asked. “You know he is not someone who would shun his duty.”

Please, Miguel. Brent. Anybody, just come here now.

“He did not understand what he was feeling,” Ant said, relentlessly. “So when Taurus said he had a minor problem, Aries just left to help him. Mind you, there were many times Taurus had begged him to help and he had never left because of his duties that were far less important than me. The poor male is confused, Lyra. So... if you feel the same, give him one bloody signal.”

“Signal?” I nearly shrieked.

What was she getting at?

“Lyra,” she sighed. “If Aries had been a normal shifter, Luna would have broken the bond between you and Ethan and given one between Aries and you. So, tell me what you feel for him. If you don’t feel anything, please let him know. I can’t see him heartbroken. And do know, if it ever came between choosing you or him, as much as I love you, I would choose him.”

I could not escape from this, could I?

It was that hope in her eyes that killed me. Everyone I had loved, were either tortured or killed. Was I worth it?

“I...” I began softly, just in case I would hear it myself. “I do like him.”

She gave me a blank stare.

“Fine,” I relented. “I feel something more than just like, but it is not love. I... don’t know what I am feeling! I like him. Sometimes I want to kiss him, sometimes I want to hit him, sometimes I don’t want to do anything but stare at his eyes. I get this... heaviness in my chest when I am away from him. Damn me! My eyes are searching for him even here! When he is close,” I close my eyes, reliving a moment. “I feel alive. Complete. Safe. Is that enough?” I opened my eyes and gave her a glare.

Antlia grinned. “Even if you kept on going, you would not have seen me complain.”

I glared further at her.

Then she gave me a soft smile. “I understand when you say that you don’t love him yet. Given what you have gone through, I wonder how you even trust him so much. You have so much courage, Lyra. And you are so worth it. I won’t ask you to love him immediately. As someone who wants both of you to be happy, can I ask you to give this a shot?”

I licked my lips. Surprisingly, after my confession, I felt lighter. Better. Like I did not have a secret to harbour anymore.

“More than anything,” I mumbled.

Ant grinned. “Was it the reason why you were so sure Alpha Eric was not your mate?”

I gulped. This one before me would make a damn fine queen. “Yes.”

“I am glad,” she said as the males arrived with our food.

Three plates of pasta, six burgers, three bowls of noodles and a bowl of poha and Pho. Setting the food before us, Nash distributed the bowls and Miguel began filling our bowls with pho, after giving me my card.

As we began to eat, Miguel asked, “What were you both talking about? Lyra’s all red.”

Ant smirked. “This and that.”

“This and that can make a girl blush?” Nash mused as he helped himself with a glass of water.

Andrew quietly sat and ate.

Ant shrugged. “I see no girls here apart from Lyra and myself. So, I am not going to share any secrets.”

“No?” Miguel pouted. “Damn it! I wished you would tell me-”

As they began to talk, the conversation I had with Ant began to gnaw me. Could I give it a try? Did Aries feel the same for me? I knew from one conversation I had with those stars had Soul-Bound, something similar to mates. Unlike us, to whom Luna had to show who our mates were, stars could sometimes choose them and feel them with no one telling who their other half was.

While our bonds could be broken by Luna, the bonds stars had was for life.

What if he had a Soul-Chosen? A mate?

Even if he did not, what was to say that he would choose me?

My bowl of pho became cold by the time I snapped from my reverie.

You worry too much, Lyra, Ant’s cool voice resonated in my mind. Before you feel surprised, know this. I am doing this mind connection for the first time and I am freaking out more than you.

But she did not appear to be. In fact, she was fighting with Nash for noodles.

As I said, you worry too much, Ant said. Because remember? I said that I could feel a certain warmth when Varian or Aislynn spoke about each other? A warmth I could feel when Nash spoke about Mina? I felt that warmth when you spoke about Aries.

A/N: Any comments?

Anyone ships Miguel and Aspen?

P.S. if Ant lost the bet and have to change her name, it would be Mipen ;)

And... I know. Aries did not appear in this chapter. I had said he would and again, the chapter was getting longer than I intended. It is already 5.5k words.

Anyone enjoyed the squirming conversation between Lyra and Ant about ‘this and that’?

Until next update,

~Quill

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