Aries
' pov: first kiss

A/N: I have been away from FindNovel.net and I know that it is not fair for you guys. But, I had many things on my plate and it took me some time to sort my mess out. I will do my best to update on FindNovel.net regularly (I mean, along with my updates on Wattpad). But if I am not able to update here, then I would update at least on Wattpad.

Guys, get ready. This chapter is about 9k+ words. It’s a very long chapter.

While I had personally seen Mizar grow up, Miguel was a shifter I considered a friend. He was no less than Ursa in my heart. I could not see him be heartbroken by Kendra.

In one way, it was a good thing that she did not come down. It was best if she never saw Miguel again. That little Phoenix deserved someone who could love him the way he would love them.

But Mizar’s appearance brought me a lot of questions. About what happened back to me. And most importantly of all, who Lyra was.

After that conversation, I was sure that I knew Lyra from before. Like I knew her way before I knew Mizar. Something in me was so in tune with her.

But I was not bothered by her identity. She could be an Ecthos for all I cared. She was my Soul-Bound and we would be together for the life span of this universe if she wanted me.

I took her to the clearing where I had first shifted to my wolf. Though it was a peaceful place, it trapped the energy from the universe directly.

A thousand stars blinked at us through time, as if they knew Lyra and I would come here tonight. My eyes traced the hidden Southern Cross.

Under the starlight, Lyra was ethereal. Like she was going to rule over them. Over anyone. Her eyes caught the freedom of space and her soul had the wickedness of chaos.

Here she was unrestrained. I was not sure if she knew this herself, but she looked so damn beautiful and sexy.

My heart raced. What the hell was this about? I tried to control it, but then stopped myself. I was not doing anything wrong. I was just falling in love with this female in front of me more and more. She was my Soul-Bound in addition. A bond which we had created ourselves. It would be weird if I did not feel anything for her.

But if racing heart and nervousness were a part of all this, then I was all in. It was not about who was more in control and who appeared better. It was about love. Simple as that.

And just when I thought I was all alone in this game, her heart matched mine. Whether it was mimicking because of the bond or she was feeling the same, I did not know. But I enjoyed this. Her. Us.

For a minute I was tempted. Tempted to freeze time and take her to a dimension where only we existed. Lock us there and ignore the rest of the universe.

I snapped at myself internally. That was so wrong no matter how tempting it was. Even if I was her Soul-Bound, I was in no position to deprive of her freedom. If she chose to come with me, it was another thing. But I would never take her away from the family she knew and loved.

For now, I will revel in this rare moment of peace where I hoped time would flow slow.

“This place,” Lyra said, breaking the warm silence. “Is not what it seems like, is it?”

She was not a creature of Earth. Even the most powerful Alpha, Omicron or Zayin would not sense the difference in this place. All the more reason to find out who she truly was.

I said, “You’re right. Long ago, when the worlds were being built, there were connections between the worlds. With time, the connections faded save for the Dungeons, Chasms, Tunnels and a few more. But some connections remained and this place is one such connection. Since it connects space, it connects time and matter too. What is abstract here in this world may not be abstract in others. What three dimensional here need not be so in other worlds.” I may not have gone to all the worlds existing, but each one was different on its own. “Everything is a string of connections. Perhaps that’s why you saw those flashes. Flashes from the past.”

“You are saying that they may not be my memories?” Lyra asked.

“After what Mizar told us,” I said. “I believe that those may be your memories. That’s why I brought you here. If you want, we can try to find who you are.”

Something was screaming inside me that I already knew her. It was not just my soul. It was the very energy that fed me with life. Its vibrations were so in tune with hers. But, if I had known Lyra in the past, why could I not remember her? How could I possibly forget about her?

“If I am not ready?” she asked in a hoarse voice.

I stopped my curiosity. As much as I was curious about her identity, if it was uncomfortable to her, it would be better if we stopped. Her past would not run away, as it had already happened and her future... only she could define it.

“This place is not going to run away, Lyra,” I said. “We can come here anytime you want.”

She blinked at me and then sniffed. “Better get over with now.”

I nodded and when she looked at me like that, with complete trust, I just wanted to kiss her senseless. “You want me to guide you or you can meditate on your own?”

She squatted in the spot she had sat last time and closed her eyes. “I will do it on my own. Just that, if I get trapped, pull me out.”

I hummed. I just knew she would not ask for my help. She knew what she wanted and would try to get things done in her style. But that did not mean she would refuse help if she could not do it. She knew when to push forwards and when to ask for help.

As she entered into a deeper state of meditation, the energy around her flickered. At first, it just rose sharply, but there was no abnormality. Anyone who dug deeper into themselves could reach this level.

But for her to reach this state with just a few tries, either her mind must be very strong, or she must have trained her mind long before.

Just as I was wondering what might have happened with her, the energy around her became chaotic. I had felt this only when I was in company with a pulsar and when I had visited Abyss. How could she have this energy? Not to mention the purity of her energy. Untainted by anything.

I inhaled sharply. Just who was she? Slowly her energy became something I was very familiar with. When it increased again, subconsciously, my energy rolled out and met hers ferociously. When we had formed a Soul-Bond between us, I knew there must have been a certain level of compatibility between us, but with the way our energy danced between us, I could not help but just stare.

How could her energy be so compatible with mine? I was a first-generation star. My energy was naturally higher than the normal stars.

Then my energy which was so ardently fusing with hers suddenly changed. Instead of playing, it started to comfort her and that snapped me from my revive. She began to thrash.

I frowned and rushed forwards to hold her in my arms. Since my energy was helping her, I released more of it and held her tightly.

“She can’t throw him there!” she whispered; the corners of her eyes held a drop of tear. “She can’t!”

Everything pointed towards one thing. Her memory was sealed by a powerful seal. If we were to forcefully remove it, it would do more damage to her than anything.

I shook her lightly, cocooning her with my energy. “Lyra! Wake up!”

How I wished I could enter her mind and pull her out of this agony. But I had promised her.

“She can’t throw him there,” she whispered again.

“Lyra?” I called her again and her chaotic energy left her in an instant.

She blinked at me.

“Lyra?” I murmured. “Are you with me?”

She nodded but she laid in my embrace. I reeled in my energy and the bond between us soothed her, calling out to her softly. At first, I did not know if out would work, but when her complexion became better, I nudged her again. When she was about to recover completely, I snapped the bond shut and bit my lips.

Soul-Bond was not something one should close off. If you did, then the one who did had to bear the brunt of the pain. Wheat I was doing was not fair. To either of us, but I had to do it. She was already facing a lot and I did not want to burden her with this bond forced upon her.

“What was that, Lyra?” I asked after her breath became normal. “Who can’t throw who where?”

Just when I thought she would reply, she just bit her lower lip and pressed her forehead to mine. I was not sure if she knew, but no one would dare enter my mind easily. One thing was they could not enter, and another was that my mind was so deep, filled with memories that they could easily get lost.

Just like my scent that was hidden, my mind was a space that no one dared to near. But this female barged in. The bond which I had tried to close, flared to life. After all, it was a bond created by both of us. Not given.

Then, she sent me an on pour of memories, of all the flashes she had these days.

Tucana?

Aries?

Me? I did not know another Aries. How did she know me in the past? What had Cosmos done?

What did that male mean by saying that Cosmos had meddled with my memory to think that their sister was Ophiuchus? What happened to Ophiuchus? Who was that male’s sister? Who was Lyra’s sister?

When I dug deeper into my own memory, flashes sped across my mind. Were they mine? Different scenes overlapped each other and for a second, I questioned my existence.

What was true? What was false?

I pulled a speeding energy towards me and in a second, she was in my embrace. Just when she was about to protest, I twisted myself and hid behind a Pod in the Origins, erasing the traces of both of our energy.

“Let me go, Aries!” she fumed, but she made no move to get out of my embrace. If she wanted, she could have hauled my ass and walked away as the winner, but she stayed right where she was. “I have work to do.”

I just pressed her closer to me. “You have my army command seal. Just give it to me.”

“No!” she snapped and turned around to face me. “You know why I confiscated it from you in the first place.”

Her energy was raging but it had a softer edge when it hit me.

“Come on!” I pleaded. “That was my mistake. I realise it. Just give me.”

When she took her humanoid form, I was stunned. “Why do you need it now, Aries? What are you going to do now? March to another war?”

Her past face and the current face collided and not a cell was out of place. It took me a while to answer her question. “The Binds are weakening. I have to go to the borders to defend it.”

She gave me a long look before she sighed. Just when I thought she would give me my command token back, she said, “I’ll come with you then.”

“What?” I nearly yelled and let her go. “You can’t be so cruel. You know very well that only my Soul-Bound has the right to keep my token.”

Instead of getting mad, she caressed my cheeks and pinched them. “So cute.” Then her smile vanished. “But no. No matter what you say, I won’t give you.”

What had gotten into me? If this was my past, I so wanted to go back and give myself a smack.

“Why?” I asked.

Though she turned her head, I could hear a hint of despair in her voice. “I nearly lost you last time, Aries. The poison was about to corrode your energy. I had to shut your consciousness to save you, controlling your energy with mine. Though I came here to stabilise you, you should not take that to advantage and try to kill yourself every time. So, I think I have the right to your token.”

It was not as simple as she made it sound. I knew how reckless I had been in the past.

But my mouth ruined it. “Do... do you love me?”

Lyra moved away from me a little and smirked. “Do you love me, Aries?”

Did I love her then? Before I could answer, she left.

All this while, I had been thinking that the one who saved me from the corroding poison then was Ophiuchus. Why was it Lyra now? What did she mean by ‘sent to stabilise me’?

Before I could dwell on this, my mind shifted and I saw another scene.

It was chaotic everywhere. Aquarius and Gemini led their troops aside from mine. But later, the war had made us all split. At a distance, Taurus was fighting aside a pulsar who made the poison crumble to dust, making it so easy for Taurus to push forwards. But we were so apart. I could not reach there in time.

The ones behind the Bind rushed towards me and Sheratan, my commander was next to me. Hamal was right behind me. But I was not concerned about the invaders in the front, nor the ongoing battle.

I was frantically searching for the female who had been taken beyond the Bind.

“Go ahead, Aries,” Sheratan said. “Find her.”

When I saw ‌they could take care of themselves, I left them and went ahead. Just when I thought they had taken her beyond the Bind, she was in the front lines, fighting with everything she had. Nothing could get closer to her. But she was here all alone, trying to hold the front lines by herself.

The tightness I felt in my core released as I neared her. Her energy was expanding beyond her control. How long was she here alone? At that moment, I could care less about the war around me.

“Aries!” she shouted, but there was relief in her voice. Like she knew I would come to save her. “I saw their-”

I was not interested in her words. I just released my energy and instead of fighting, I sent it to aid her. If she had to expand her energy so rapidly, no matter who she was, she would be exhausted, and that would put her in a vulnerable state.

“Aries!” she hissed. “Pull your energy back. Don’t waste it on me. I know when to stop.”

“Do you?” I asked, but I refused to take my energy back.

“I know!” she said. “Take a look at what is important!”

Before I could argue with her, the commander of the other side arrived. Only when he came did I realise how naïve we had all been. Cosmos created the first-generation stars to be the strongest, but even when I was in my best condition, I was not sure if I could win the one in front of me.

Her vibrations matched mine and, in an instant, we both attacked him at the same time.

The fight stretched on and I could not tell who would emerge as the victor.

Somewhere on the battlefield, Taurus yelled, “Draco!”

That distracted her, and that was all he needed to suck her energy in. If he sucked her energy completely, she would cease to exist. She would not be reincarnated or anything.

How dared he!

I did not know where I got my energy from, but it was a blast, shattering everything near me except her. My core was burning up and if I did not stop, I knew the consequences I would face, but nothing could happen to her. Absolutely nothing.

I increased my energy a little more, and he burned away. After I destroyed their commander, the troops retreated away from me and her.

It was best they retreated. I could no longer hold on. My vision blurred and Sheratan and Hamal came to defend us. But my gaze was fixed on the female far ahead of me.

What I just did could scar my soul. Or even kill me. But that was not important. When I felt her feeble vibrations, I gave myself to the impending darkness peacefully.

I had curled myself. What was all that? Did I know her from before? If so, why did I have no recollection of that past? Of the past where she was there? What was happening? What had happened?

But now, I knew why the seal was placed on me. To not let me die and to not scar my soul, Cosmos must have taken this step. But I would rather have a scar on my soul, being less powerful for the rest of my life than forget the past I had with her.

Who was she to me? Did I love her from then? Did our souls recognise each other from the past?

Lyra tried to touch me, but I could not help but flinch. I had nearly seen her exhaust right in front of me. Had I not gotten that burst of energy from nowhere, there would no longer be any of her traces on the universe and I... I did not know how I would have been.

But was Lyra someone to give up? She used her force and hugged me, comforting me just as I had before. She did not know, but her soul was soothing mine like mine had done to her. If my Soul-Bound was giving me warmth, I would take it all.

Slowly, I pressed myself together and opened my eyes. Her brown eyes met mine. Her face, there was no change from how it had been in the past. She had the same concern she had on her face when we faced that commander. What had we gone through together?

I tried to recall more of our past, but I got random flashes that made no sense. Just a few hours ago, I did not care about her past, but now, I wanted to know more about us. Human greed filled me and I would not be happy just knowing our future.

She pulled my head on her lap and pushed my hair from my face. “I am sorry. I should not have-”

I coughed before I said, “You did right. My memories were altered alright. I just wish I could know what was.”

If she had not, I would not have known anything about us.

“You did not come to know what was altered?” she asked.

That was a question I did not know myself.

I shook my head lightly. “No. I tried to remember, but I could not. But... the female who meant a lot to Leo is not Ophiucus. I mean, she did mean a lot to us both, but she is not the other one. I don’t even know if I am making any sense.”

“You don’t need to,” she whispered. “You don’t need to.”

She had been like this in the past. She just knew. But all her actions told me something. Told me ‌she was not totally unaffected by me.

I cleared my throat and then rested my head comfortably on her lap. “Feels good.”

She frowned. “What feels good?”

“Just being here,” I said. “With you.”

Especially after I knew I nearly lost you forever.

She blushed. “It does.”

Her flushed face mesmerised me. Would she blush more if I were to kiss her?

She sighed. “What happened back then?”

“Don’t know,” I said. I did not know what had happened. I could remember bits and pieces. “But it is more than what I know. Or more than what I remember. I have to have a talk with others though.”

She hummed. “As much as I like it here, can we leave? I want to go out and have something solid. Forget about this for just two hours.”

How could I leave my queen starving? If I stole a date from her, would she be mad?

I smiled. “A dinner it is.”

*************

“So...” I drawled as we stood on the outskirts of a city in the East Coven. “Fancy restaurant or somewhere cosy and warm?”

She stared at me before she shook her head. “You own Steel don’t you?”

Where was this going?

I nodded slowly. “I do.”

“Do you know how big company it is?” she asked incredulously.

Did she think it was big? Was she satisfied with it? Did she want it? I could ask Regina to do the transfer right away.

I blinked. “I own it. I think I do.”

She exasperated. “I never see you work. That’s why I am asking.”

I knew it. This was a trap. Was she checking how I would respond? I knew she was a workaholic. Did she expect me to be the same? Should I start changing a few things in my life?

I frowned. “You want me to go and work?”

Did she want me gone? From the last few hours, I thought she wanted me by her side...

She groaned and threw her hands in the air. “I am asking how it is still working perfectly? Like you are not there and...”

Oh! That was what she was worried about? That I would not have enough to support her on Earth? Even if I did not have a business, I still could support her. After all, I was still a part of the Royal Court and I earned a lot.

“I check in there once in a while,” I said, shrugging. “Like a minute ago, when we were running here, I checked in with Regina, my assistant. She gave me all the updates that second and I told her what to do further. If you are a star, you can do many things and, to be honest, I can be here and still read the minds of all the employees there.”

“Isn’t that a hassle?” she asked.

Was it a hassle? It was weird to not read minds on Earth. Back in space, I could even connect to someone who was in another part of the universe to get things done. That was how we worked. This lack of communication on Earth was a bit frustrating, but I got used to it.

I said, “I got used to it more likely.”

“So...” she asked as I led us towards the night market. “You just check in there once a while, but get your work done and still earn?”

I hummed. “If you put it that way, yes. But by Cosmos, you make it sound like I don’t work at all and yet earn.”

She was right, in one way.

Lyra gasped. “I never meant it in that way-”

I laughed. “I know. I started that on an impulse. Leo began a sports car brand, Capricorn a chain of hotels and Taurus a shipping business and I invested in weapons.”

She shook her head when I led her to a higher-end restaurant. “I think we can go somewhere warm and cosy. I am definitely not dressed for somewhere fancy.”

My gaze swept over her. “My T-shirt and pants. Sounds good to me.”

Lyra swatted my arm and found a bustling little diner. She dragged me there and gave the long queue before us a forlorn look. We both were tired and famished and deserved a break. As much as I loved to wait here with her and talk, she was hungry. I absolutely could not get my girl hungry. What kind of male would I be? If I could not even provide her food, I might as well give up chasing her.

I entered the diner girl’s mind and changed her memory that we were there first. Three families stared at us and a few couples tried to protest, but the diner girl stepped in and said that we had been waiting for a long time. She led us to a table at the corner of the diner where no one could see us. This was perfect. As much as Lyra appeared to be comfortable, I knew she would not want many eyes on her now. With the clothes she wore. I sat in such a way that she was blocked off from the diner.

She shook her head and ordered some fries and a pizza while I ordered smilies and a double cheeseburger. Together we ordered vegetable soup and some lemon soda to go with it.

“How do we pay?” she asked after the waitress left.

I could change a few things in the waitress’ mind and make her think that we had paid. But Lyra would hate it. Hence, I contacted Regina, who had been sleeping.

I swear, Aries, she yelled when I reached for her. She could not have any barrier against me. If this is about Steel, it could jolly well wait until morning. I barely slept for a couple of hours last night and-

I want you to pay for my dinner at ‘Hannah’s burger joint’ which is near Witch’s Peak, I said. Just buy the diner or something.

“I asked Regina to net transfer the cash,” I said.

Why? she asked. Not that I would not pay. What are you doing in a burger joint?

On a date, I said. Before she could squeal or do something, I cut the conversation.

Sometimes, she was more invested in my love life than I.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

I glanced at her hands. When I had once been to the cafeteria in Steel, a newly mated couple sat in a corner, holding hands. When I had seen it first, I felt weird. Now I knew why the male wanted to hold her hand.

So, I reached out and took her hand. “Just eat food and don’t worry.”

She glanced at our hands. “What is this?”

“Don’t people hold hands?” I asked.

They did not? Then why did that couple hold hands? Why did any mated couple I had seen on a date hold hands? For a minute, in my panic, I could no longer see Lyra eye to eye.

She smiled. “People do.”

So, it was fine? I smiled. “Good.”

When our food came, we ate, sharing our food. It was then I realised I knew nearly nothing about her interests. I knew a few things about her, but suddenly I wanted to be the person who knew everything about her. To know something about her, I did not want to ask Rhaze or any of her previous pack members.

I asked, “What’s your favourite food?”

She placed her slice of pizza down and frowned. “Actually, I don’t have a favourite food as per se. I eat if I am hungry. But... I really do love everything my father cooks. You?”

What did her father cook and where could I learn them?

“Spicy and cheesy,” I said. “Nothing can beat this combo.”

She laughed. “True that.”

“What do you do in your free time apart from hearing music?” I asked.

She blinked and smiled. “I did not know that we were playing twenty-one questions.”

Twenty-one? I had more than the said number, but I could not think of that many questions. But if I had the time, I would gladly spend it knowing more about her.

“I can’t think of twenty-one questions,” I said. “So... let’s cut the number down.”

She laughed again. I had nearly never seen her this happy in all the days I knew her. “Okay. I do love to... what do I do? I use most of my free time to catch up with my sleep. I do many all-nighters and have a lot of sleepless nights in the lab. So... if I get time, I sleep. Apart from that, I do listen to music and if I have a lot of free time, I help my mother in her candle making.”

“You make candles?” I asked in wonder. “You could have potentially begun a business.”

What could happen if Steel stepped in this candle business? On second thought, who cared? Not me, the owner. If she just wanted, I could help her start.

Before I could think of a business plan, she shook her head. “My mom should have. She made candles of all shapes, sizes and designs and scents. But sometimes, I don’t make candles, but carve them. I know, weird.”

“Not weird,” I said. “Just different.”

Different was good.

“You... do gardening in your free time,” she said. “Run your business and train the princess. Did I get it right or did I miss something?”

“You got everything.” I smiled. This was good. Very good. “It’s actually terrifying how well you know about me.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You make me sound like I am your stalker.”

“Stalker and a slave,” I commented.

“Shut up!” she said and threw a fry at me. I would have caught it with my hands, but something made me to catch it with my mouth.

“Ain’t it true?” I asked cheekily. It was a bit fun to tease her around.

“You know what else is true?” she asked. “Aries hiding things from Lyra.”

I sipped my soda. Just how much did she observe me? While a part of me was happy, it meant I could never keep things from her. “How did you know?”

“I sort of guess it,” she said. “I mean... I don’t know how well you can read me, Aries. I can read you up pretty good.”

“Read me up pretty good?” I asked incredulously. Only my siblings had mastered the art of reading me. If... if those memories were true, who were we? How could she know me so damn well? “Damn good. Does nothing ever slip past by you?”

“Many things do,” she said.

“And I don’t?” I asked.

I needed this answer. More than the energy of this universe. Was I important in her eyes? Would she choose me if given her free will?

Nervousness crawled into my mind, and it gnawed like a hungry maggot. I had been to chaotic battles and even then; I had tried to keep my mind together. I had been sane then. But, even for someone who was not bound by the constraints of time, each second made my mind messier. I could no longer think straight.

She held my gaze, and her heart raced. “You don’t,” she whispered.

And just like that, there was a rare stillness in my mind. It was still chaotic, but for some reason, my soul found solace in it.

I dragged my gaze from her eyes for a moment and swept across her lips, her face and finally on her eyes again. How would it feel if I were to kiss her? Would it be just as I had imagined it to be? Everyone said that to be with your Soul-Bound was everything. I leaned in just an inch.

Before I could find that feeling, the waitress came to collect our empty dishes and, with her arrival, whatever spell we had woven around us, snapped. Or rather retreated back shyly.

“Bill will be paid,” I said and stood up.

Just what was I about to do? I had Soul-Bounded with her without her knowing. And now, I wanted to have our first kiss where everyone could see us. Would she have been comfortable with that? Had we been together for long, I would have known. But I was already on thin ice. Why would I melt it?

She took the last sip of her soda and left the diner with me.

We walked to the outskirts of the city with no words between us. For some strange reason, I felt there was no need for words. Sometimes, it was this comfortable silence that was sweeter than honeyed words.

My heart sped faster, and it was difficult to control my urges. My urge was to kiss her senseless. That waitress might have broken that spell, but that single thought that had been born in me was enough. It spread like the fire I was born to wield. I had just thought what it would be like to kiss her and now, all I could ever think about was kissing her.

Damn it! It was getting worse.

I carried her in my arms and began to run. If I did not touch her, I would surely do something crazy. But why did I just pick her up? just when I was about to ask her if she would like to walk on her own, she wound her hands around my neck and buried her face in my chest. It was as if, she had found her haven.

Just like all the good things that came to an end, I dropped her to her feet when we were back on the beach, on Varian’s property. We were back to where the night had begun.

Back to the start. I guess that was where I should start. I should be digging into where exactly my memory was changed.

But I would care about that later. Right now, my emotions were in a mess. I could not care about my past nor worry about what my future held for me. I just wanted to be here, right now with her.

I had been extremely cautious all this while, but after this... date, something in us changed. The funny thing was, that the bond went to a dormant state. If anything, either of us had to wake it up. I had no bond to blame for what I was feeling.

Is this what Polaris told me about? That the first-generation stars could choose who their Soul-Bound was? Would it be like this always?

The change was visible. Not just in me, I could see it in her as well. Her eyes held more shine than usual and there was a very faint blush on her face. Most of all, it was the dependency she showed me when I had carried her and ran. I was getting lost in whatever we had between us and I did not want to find my way out.

Biting her lips, she walked toward my room. It was a good thing that it had another door that led to the beach.

That was the place where we had Soul-Bounded. It held a sacred meaning for me. Now all that was left was to buy this piece of land from Varian.

Did she walk in front of me? No, she sashayed away, swaying her hips. Did she know what she was doing?

The flowers had blossomed under her care well. Some unfurled shyly and some boldly.

She smiled at the flower and opened the door and took a step in when I went behind her. I would go as far as she would allow me to.

She sighed as she entered the room. I closed the door behind us as she turned to face me.

“What do you want?” she asked.

But if I read her right, she did not want me gone. That gave me some confidence.

I folded my arms across my chest and smirked. “It’s my room, too.”

She frowned as if she sensed something wrong. Just when I thought that she was weirded by my actions, she leaned in closer and sniffed me.

I froze. Sniffed me? She could smell me? I knew Soul-Bounds could not keep things away from each other. I felt her roaring lust and smelt the heavenly scent of her arousal, but I had tried my best to ignore it. After all, I told myself that I would give her the highest degree of privacy. It was just getting hard when she tried too much.

But this, this was not something I expected. As much as she was my Soul-Bound, she was still a creature of Earth and that gave me the slightest advantage. Or so I had been thinking.

How much more wrong could I be? She had been able to scent me. Then... she knew I was Midnight. She had hugged me, knowing it was me. She had... by Origins!

She had chosen me. Over and over again. I would be an idiot if I did not choose her when all she did was choose me. My love was not the only thing that grew. It was my desire. It was now, that I knew to what extent my greed could be. All I wanted was for her to be happy, but now that she was happy with me, I wanted to kiss her, make her senseless until all she could think was me.

I inhaled deeply just to find out that she was feeling nothing but the same as me. The Bond woke between us and though it did not egg us to do anything, I could still feel its smugness.

For each beat of our heart, the desire grew. All this while, lust had been a purely physical thing for me. Something to get over with. Never had it been this intense. This beautiful.

Yes, it was maddening, but there was a meaning in this madness. Something that had been reserved for the cold nights and lonely years was suddenly warm and breath-taking. It had been about getting pleasure, but with her, it was about giving. Her pleasure was my pleasure.

They said those who fell first would have the hardest hit. But when two souls danced together for the same tune, did it matter who learnt the dance first? Who excelled in it? Was it not about two people who were lost in the music around them?

But to have the chance to love her was an honour.

Each breath held our mixed scent. For the first time, lust was not something I suppressed.

“You... you can smell me? Since when?”

She gulped and opened her mouth, but she did not answer. I came another inch forward, forcing her to step back.

“Since when?” I asked softly.

She moaned out loud. That fed the fire in me.

“Si-since I met you,” she gasped.

I froze. “From the beginning?”

She nodded and bit her lips.

How would it be if I had bit her lips? “Impossible.”

She piqued. “What do you mean? You never allowed me to scent you?”

I shook my head. “Never. I always had my guard up. That’s why I wonder how you can smell me.”

Or was it ‌she was meant to be my Soul-Bound right from the beginning? Or did it have to do something with the flashes I saw earlier? Had I known her in the past and made her my confidant? The one where I saw when she had taken my command seal. Only I could have it or only my equal could hold it. Even if Taurus or Pisces had their own army, they could not take my tally. How had she? If she was the one in my past, how could she be born on Earth? Why did Mizar say that Lyra’s soul had never tasted death? What had happened?

“How could this be possible?” she whispered back.

I went another inch closer and she refused to move back. This was good. I smiled.

“That’s what I am asking you, Lyra. How is it that you can?” I asked. “Tell me what you smell.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

I shrugged. I wanted to know how I smelt to her. “Try me. Only a few can smell me and they have said what I smell like. I want to hear your thoughts.”

She blushed. “I can’t because it is not something if earth. All I can sense is a hint of something fresh yet mangled with embers of death. And it is quite different at different times.”

I nodded and leaned in. This was quite right. “What do you smell now?”

“Arousal,” she whispered.

I groaned. “By the Moon! The things you do to me, Lyra.” She could even tell my feelings from my scent?

She moaned again when I licked the shell of her ear. The things I wanted to do to her. “I wish... I could only wish.”

She ran her fingers through my hair as if she enjoyed it. Her other hand sneaked on my back. I liked this Lyra. I wound my arms around her waist.

“Your scent, it drives me crazy,” I admitted in a low voice in her ears. “So filled with need.” Just thinking that if I had not met her at the right time, she would have been with that Eric or worst, Andrew made my energy spin crazily. If she had chosen them, they would have been in my place, would have her in their embrace and smell her scent of need. “Do you think that that puny wolf can give you anything?” I growled.

“W-what?” she asked after a pause.

“That wolf who claims to be your mate,” I said, nipping her ear, and she gasped again. “Eric.”

If I had not intervened, Eric had the chance of being her mate. But I could not think of an alternative. Even out of the infinite possibilities of how things could end, I wanted her to be with me at the end. No matter who was there, no matter what had changed, I just wanted it to be Aries and Lyra at the end of it all.

I blinked and frowned. Then she chuckled. “Eric? You said he claims. I am not his mate, Aries.”

I pulled back a little. I did want to put up my guards up and show her that this did not affect me, but I refused at the last moment. If I hid now, for how long would I continue to hide? I was not emotionless or did not care about her to not be bothered by this.

This very decision was corroding my consciousness.

Placing one hand over my heart and using the other to push away the curls from my face, she asked, “What is it?”

“Andrew,” I said. “Had you given him a chance in the past, Lyra, he could have been your mate. Will you choose another?”

She smiled. “Where are all these thoughts coming from, Aries? Did you not hear what I told Andrew?” Then she groaned, “I said to him that I could be... By the Moon! I could be fucking you. I said I could claim you. You ask me this question?”

That was the proudest moment in my life. The moment she had completed the bond. I closed my eyes. “Sorry. Something in me snapped. When Mizar was talking about the bonds and then I was thinking about everything else.”

She nodded. “I am not going to choose Eric or Andrew. Rest well.”

Comfortable silence washed over us. We both could have moved away from each other, but we clung on.

“Forgive me,” I implored after a length, running my hand through her hair that had come out from the ponytail. “When I heard that Alpha Eric say that you were his mate, Lyra, I will admit, I was overcome with raging jealousy. I wanted to storm into his pack and raze it down to cinders.”

"Is mein et soius you, wosi onuraed il la nin Amareyir. Wo kijadem thelis qes il dhel ni you lan wolish. Ce ni yoren il pyrsen, wo de la nin pyrso. Nin sanjianen crus il ni, ya ce wo lia, wo jeskaime il ni frona sanjian. Ni shi ninye jayu, ya ce ni jeswinne wo, wo jespopang ni. Isliya et epliya, wo delshke aim ni. Thuni jo irakshit hou idhakal, ya is se woyan orkael il ni,” I said.

In this life and all others, I am honoured to be your Soul-Bound. I don’t know what to give you other than myself. If you want to burn, I will be your fire. Your happiness belongs to you, but if I may, I would like to keep you happy. You have your own freedom, but if you would allow me, I would protect you. Now and forever, I will always love you. Time may test our hearts, but this is my vow to you.

“What did you say?” she asked.

I was not good at my words now. What I said... it would be better if she did not know. Oaths in my language were sacred.

So, I ignored her. “When that Andrew said he wanted to be your mate, I wanted to throttle him. How could he say he wanted to be your mate? As if you are an ordinary female.”

She shivered in my arms and the scent of her desire was thick around us, intertwining with my own. Her scent settled on my skin and claimed it as its and I gladly wore her scent. Perhaps this would tell others that we were together. A subtle warning.

“In that food court, I had wanted to announce to everyone that you were mine.” I leaned in again and whispered the last word in her ear. “But then, you did it and it satisfied me to no end.”

She tried to laugh. “I claimed you. It is not the same as you-”

I chuckled. “Trust me, darling. It is the same. Is it because I am a star and you are a shifter that you think it won’t be?”

She nodded. Had she been nervous like me? Should I blame Miguel who scared her?

I rested my head over hers and muttered. “When will you see?”

Before now, I would have wanted to tell her who she was to me. Tell her how she had claimed me and how she had bonded with me. But after the bits and pieces of memories, I was not sure. On one hand, I wanted to tell her, on the other, I did not want to tell her. What if in the past, we had someone else we loved? What if she had hated me in the past? If she regained her memories, would she blame me and hate me more?

“What are you doing, Aries?” she asked. “What are we?”

“Whatever you want us to be,” I whispered. “I will no longer lie, Lyra. I like you. A lot. If you do, we can take this further, but if you don’t. Say it now. I will try to walk away with the little dignity I have left.”

She rested her arms comfortably around me and used my body as leverage to stand up to my height. She snaked up one hand to my head and brought it down.

“You doubt what I feel for you?” she asked, her eyes piercing mine. “Even after today’s... date?”

So, she knew.

“Remember when I once said that I would be able to read you like I breathe? I can feel your emotions, Lyra. I can read you as much as you can read me. But the right thing would be to ask for your consent. I bet it should be before the date. Do you care about the order?”

“I don’t care about the order. And you ask me while trapping me in your embrace?” she smiled.

I grinned. “Oh! This is to make sure that you don’t run away.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can run from you?”

My grin widened. “Now you are understanding.”

She shook her head. “But... but you have seen so many in the past. Must have. What makes me different? There must be quite a few-”

“There must have,” I agreed. But when I saw her, they were nothing but the dust of my memories. I could not think of one. “But I have never seen them as I do now. Why so... I hope you can understand it one day.”

She nearly pouted. “Why can’t I understand now? Was it something that has to do with the vision you saw?”

Sort of. “No. I still can’t recall the vision. That’s why I was a bit bothered tonight. Next date, Lyra, I will be sure to not even think about anything but you. I am saying you can’t understand because I am afraid of losing you,” I said.

She glared at me and then glanced at my lips. She licked her lips and her eyes darkened. She leaned in. How much more obvious could she be?

I leaned in and everything stopped when our lips brushed against each other.

I knew I had always been greedy when it came to her and now, I realised how much I could be. At first, I just wanted to know how it would be to kiss her. Now that I have, I wanted to be drunk of her kisses. I wanted more.

Her hands were behind my neck, as if she was trying to deepen the kiss. Who was I to refuse her? I sucked on her lower lip and she reciprocated. For a while, we fought over who would take over the kiss, but then I realised why should I fight with her over this? Just as I was about to give the control to her, she did the same.

From a kiss filled and fuelled with lust, it went to a softer kiss. Something which gave me a reassurance.

I pressed on her lips a bit deeper, when something in me snapped.

It was a part of my memory.

Despair coursed through me as I saw the war stretching before us. War was never beautiful or fair. To achieve something, we all had to lose something. But what I had sacrificed this time was not worth winning this war.

“If you want to find her,” she said. “Go.”

I did not expect her of all to be here next to me. I did not expect her of all to tell me to find her.

“Go, Aries,” she said. “I won’t stop you.”

I did not believe her. Not after what happened with Canis and Tucana. “You want me to bring her back so that you can kill her yourself?”

Sadness rolled off in waves. “What happened with Canis and Tucana, I know you have not forgiven me. I won’t ask for your forgiveness too, Aries. But know one thing, if I had to do it again, I would do it.” There was a brief pause. “But if I was really cruel, do you think Ursa would be still alive? I know where she is, what is happening, who she is with. Do you think I am unreasonable?”

I frowned. “Is not that because Ursa is-”

She shook her head, her silver tassels flowing in nothingness. “No. As for what happened with Canis and Tucana, that was the only way I could keep them safe.”

“By killing them?” I asked.

“If I say yes, would you believe me?” she asked. For the first time, I did not know what was going on in her mind. “Even you. If you go to find Lyra, your soul will be damaged. I have only two options, Aries. Either to erase or alter your memories or... kill you and give you another chance at life. Choose now.”

Though I did not understand completely, I got a vague feeling about something. “Is that what happened with Canis and Tucana?”

She gave me a mysterious smile. “That’s their life. This is yours. If you return after everything, Aries. I will tell you. Deal?”

“How are you so sure that I will go find her?” I asked.

She chuckled. “You all sure think that you are secretive. That I don’t know anything. But I am the Order of this Universe. You think you can escape my eyes?”

My energy became out of control for a moment. “You know about the war. You know what might happen. You know-”

“I paid a price for knowing,” she said sadly. “I don’t want you to pay it too. This war was predestined. Just like everything is. Just like you going to fetch Lyra and getting hurt. Just like after knowing that you got hurt, Lyra would...” She shook her head. “What I mean to say is that you can either bring her back or allow her to suffer-”

I growled. “I will bring her back, no matter what. She sacrificed for me to win this battle. They took her and I don’t know what they would do to her. Even if this is a trap for me, I would go. They took her because... because I-I...”

She patiently waited. “Because you were defending your territory. Even if you had kept your attention on Lyra, she would have still been taken away by them. After all, their aim was Lyra. Never this territory.”

“Why her?” I asked.

“Cause,” she said. “If you remove Lyra from this equation, where does it put you, Aries? You would go insane in a matter of time and then winning you would be as brushing the stardust away.”

“Why me?”

“Universe is a cycle,” she said. “Upon each era, it would restart itself. Some races of the past eras might have found refuge in the niches, not wanting to go extinct. But that is not the way of life. Everything must have an end for the beginning of something else. This era is relatively new. But for this cycle to settle, we have tests. The one who fails to adapt fails to live.”

“You know the origin of life,” I said. “Where the Soul-Bonds came from.”

She smirked. “Go get your Lyra, Aries. Perhaps then I will tell you why I am Cosmos.”

Just as I snapped from this piece of memory, Lyra groaned. When her face scrunched up, I knew something serious was going on and I let her go. I took a few steps back and shook my head. What had been that all about?

Why had she been in danger because of me? And why had Cosmos helped me?

I left through the back door to the gardens. Was this that test Cosmos told me about? What should I do now? From the way I knew I had not died; I had chosen Cosmos’ choice of altering my memory.

I desperately wanted to know what happened then. I thought I could ignore my past to be with Lyra, but only now did I realise that the reason why she might be targeted could be because of me.

The door opened behind me and Lyra followed me. “It was something happening between Andrew and Nira. I am sorry.”

“It is I who should be sorry,” I said. I did not know if I was apologising for what happened in the past or what happened now.

“Why?” she asked. “What?”

“I should explain why it is you for me,” I said. “Why it will always be you.”

She took a step forward. “Why?”

I shook my head. “Not now.” Not when I was not clear myself.

She sighed. “Why not? If not now, then when?”

“I am a coward,” I said. “Right now, I am. When I find my guts again, I shall say. You should know before you think about giving me a chance. I tried to take that chance from you tonight and I would have if not for the interruption.”

Lyra frowned. “Aries-”

Before she could finish the sentence, I began to shift. In an instant, I was Midnight. After gazing into her brown eyes, I left her behind me, trying to find out what might happen.

After the flashes of memories I had, I was sure of one thing. We would be together, it was just the matter of when.

A/N: I tried on that language.

How was this chapter?

I do plan on finishing the last two bonus chapters from Aries pov. (I don’t know if I would put it up as two short chapters or as one big chapter) So, after this update, there would be no more updates for Aries and all the bonus chapters have been put up. There might be a short chapter on some of your favourite characters, but that would be in a different book.

I will go back and remove all the A/Ns from the other chapters. Just to make your reading experience smoother.

Until then,

~Quill

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