Aries
Chapter 22.

A/N: I know I am late with my update, but please understand me, guys. I know that you want an updating schedule and all, I get it.

But relentlessly asking me to update is not going to do the trick. I have said that I am having a lot of exams. I am having another one in another two days. I have to write around my tight schedule.

So, if I am late in my update, it is because of my exams. Please understand.

On a further note, please enjoy this chapter.

I tried my best in this chapter. Hopefully, this chapter can make the wait worth. I took a lot of time to get the feeling right, but if it not, let me know. I will see what I can do.

I have met four stars in my life and Mizar was the first one I wanted to strangle.

I had felt that burning fury eroding my nerves and roaring in my ears only twice in my life. First when Ethan said he killed Aurelia and my father and second when he wanted me to breed for him.

This would be the third time and I doubted whether I would hold myself back.

As if sensing what I was feeling, Aries took my hand in his and squeezed it. He then pushed me by his side and looked at me. Giving me his complete attention. Ignoring everyone else.

“Calm down,” he whispered. “Allow him to explain.”

I did not know whether he had commanded me or it was the softness on his cosmic silver eyes, but whatever it was, I relaxed but remained alert.

“What?” Miguel croaked out, replaceing his voice. “What do you mean?”

I could not bring myself to turn around to see him. I could not bear to see the soul-shattering pain, I knew I could see it carved on his face. I simply could not.

When I had offered him the rank, it was because I was desperate to save him. I did not have much choice to bring him from the pain he thought he hid from me. As much as I wanted to heal him, I knew Miguel would not allow me in. Not even his own Alpha. Ever since I realised that I swore never to bring Kenna’s name. If I could not pull him up, the least I could do was not to push him down.

But when Mizar uttered those words, it had not been only my rage. It was my pack’s fury and their wish to lash out. I could sense how protective they were over each other.

Even Reece and Mike who had no idea what was happening was agitated the second they felt Rhaze’s anger. They did not know the cause, all they felt was a pack member being hurt and they could not stand it. To my surprise, I felt the anger even from Brent. Weird.

Mizar gulped and looked at Aries. “Aries-”

“Don’t pull me in,” he said, his eyes still focused on mine. “It is your tale to tell. I know it, I know what you are about to tell. But I am against this. Kendra should be here to tell this to him. Not you. Even if her name is etched on the Origins, she should have come. Not hid like a coward.”

When he uttered the word Origins, that piece of memory flared in my mind. As I snapped out of that, Aries nodded and said in my mind. That’s the one I am talking about

At Aries’ words, Mizar’s nostrils flared. “Like a coward? She is far from it. She was the one who broke the lock on Rionach’s name. She literally shattered her soul doing so. She is healing.”

Aries gave him a flat look. “I know what happened. Don’t explain it to me.”

Mizar then looked at me. “Alpha? Can we go somewhere private to speak?”

“This place is private enough.” Ant’s voice was sharp and cutting.

Had he been a lesser species, he would have stumbled down to her feet.

He ignored her. “Alpha?”

I rose my eyebrows but made no motion to pry my hands from his. “As she said, this place is private enough. Start speaking.”

******

We sat in a circle. Aries and Rhaze flanked me while Mizar sat opposite to me. Ant took her place between Aries and Miguel, Kaina between Rhaze and Aislynn. Next to Asilynn sat Varian and next to Miguel, Nash.

Mizar cleared his throat. “I am-”

“Wait,” Ant commanded. She then turned to Aries. “What did you mean by you know the story? If you knew why didn’t you tell it before.”

Aries sighed. “I meant I know it before you people. The second Mizar landed, I browsed through his thoughts.”

Mizar protested. “How? My mind is well protected.”

Aries rose an eyebrow. “Is it now? You may be the son of Ursa and Northern Star and maybe Soul-Bound to a star who has made it to the Origins. When we Thirteen were created, we were meant to be equal in every way. Had it been Ursa, I could not have read her mind. We were- we are meant to be the best. You think this can slip past me?”

It was not the words. Nope. Not the words that made the fire of lust racing my veins. It was his bloody voice. It was the way he said it, with the softness of the darkness, the slyness of shadows and the hint of roughness that belonged to chaos could not be ignored.

It began as an ember in my abdomen. And it was flaring my system. What the hell was happening? Why did my hormones decide to dance tonight of all time? One glance at the moon said it was not the time of Heat yet. That was another thing. Apart from the first Heat that hit me, the second Heat that should have hit me during the last Full Moon never did. What was that last time then?

I could feel my skin becoming sensitive even to the blowing winds.

Fuck.

This was getting out of hand.

But the training I had with Aries was worth it all. For he did not only teach me how to fight and have a clear mind, but he also did teach me how to control my scent, reel it in so that no one could sense me.

Thankfully no one noticed my body’s odd behaviour. Not even Aries, for which I was thankful for. Or he did and he ignored it.

“Okay,” Nash commented. “We get how amazing you are, Aries.” He gave Mizar a long glance. “I don’t care if you are a star. I don’t care if you created me, and I certainly don’t care if you can squish me like a big under your feet. If your explanation is going to hurt Miguel here, trust me. I will do crazy things.”

Mizar blinked at the boy. Then a smile graced his features before he chuckled. “Loyalty. One thing we lack nowadays.”

“Get to the point,” I snapped.

The ghost of the smile vanished from his face as seriousness took over the reins. “I am one of the heads of the genetic council. And I take care of this planet along with a few others.”

“What?” Rhaze blinked. “What the hell did you say?”

He sighed. “Exactly what I meant. To be frank, I am someone who meddles with the genes until I get satisfied with the way it turns out. And sometimes Amaris, Chandra or Kamaria meddles with me.”

I nodded. “Always to improve.”

He agreed. “Right. As of now, I have seen only the genes of stars are perfect, not to brag. Since what we have, our nucleic acid sequence is different than yours. We even have different bases, structure and everything. That gives us this supreme power.”

Rhaze shook her head. “Biology was one class I slept in my schooling days. Now you are saying that I should not have? When did this turn to be a lecture in genetics?”

Mizar gave her a gloomy smile. “I hope to skim through. Alioth never got this either.”

Rhaze cleared her throat. “Good. Better finish the introduction fast. Not many like this.”

The sea crashed perfectly on the beach, dancing to the tune the moon created. The sands hissed as they switched places and a gentle breeze rang through my ears.

Whether he did it on purpose or not, Aries traced something on the sands. It was a pattern of some sort and he was tracing it again and again.

What could that be? I so did want to ask him about it, but I withheld myself back. There would be time for this. But when I saw it, my mind said, I knew what it was. I just had to concentrate on it more.

“Anyway, the creatures of this planet have certain rules for their molecular basis and we have to bend around those rules to get what we need to do,” Mizar said. “But we... Scholars found a way. If the creation of the Three Sisters were to die, their souls would pass through the River of Souls, a passage that connects everything in this universe. Time, space, dimension, you name it, it connects. The souls pass through that river before we resend the souls back.”

Kaina took in a sharp breath. “You mean to say that if a shifter or a vampire or a magyc were to die, we would be reborn?”

“Without a doubt,” Mizar said. “For the number of souls in the universe should be the same. Even the humans who live on Laukris, this continent can go through the rebirth. The humans and creatures on the other continents have another pathway. So if I wanted, I could take a soul out of the River of Souls and if I gave it a chance, it could be a star.”

I blinked slowly. “What?”

Aries cleared his throat. “When The Three Sisters created the three races, they did not have any source for souls. They took the souls of the dead stars and made the shifters, Vampires and Magycs. Hence, you can replace the souls oscillating.”

Mizar nodded. “But, we would never take a soul from the River of Souls, because the cosmos had allocated that souls for the earth. Interfering is not advisable unless you are one of the stars whose name is engraved on the Origins with a damned silver or gold ink.”

Nash sat with his legs close by as he supported his face with his hands. Varian and Aislynn schooled their features while Miguel was clenching and unclenching his fists.

“Then?” I probed.

“Six hundred years ago.” Mizar cleared his throat, “Amaris and I had a chat by the River. She... took one soul out and gave it to me. Amaris told me to take care of that soul for she was killed by her mate because of the curse she had issued. She said if I took care of that new star, I could not simply destroy the Shifter’s genes. When I accepted, she said that the soul I held in my hands was my Soul-Bound.”

Miguel’s head snapped up. “Kenna?”

I could see how bloodshot his eyes were.

Mizar took in a deep breath. “Yes. It is because I accepted to take care of that soul, shifter’s genes are still thriving.”

“That does not make you any noble,” Nash snarled. “So what? What’s so great about-”

“Nash,” Aries warned softly. “Soul-Bound is everything up there.” He pointed up the sky. “It is something even Cosmos can’t understand at times. It is the strongest and the oldest bond. It is even older than time itself. A mate bond what Luna gives is just a part of its intensity. A mate bond can be changed, be broken, but a Soul-Bond? It does not work that way. If I met my mate on earth, and my Soul-Bound, no matter how much I love my mate, I would end up leaving her for my Soul-Bound. While mate bond deals with your heart, Nash. Soul-Bond deals with... your soul. Don’t ever say it is nothing.”

Nash’s face had a tinge of redness as he lowered his face.

That strong bond to someone. Would it not consume us? I bet that was why they said that the black hole consumes everything, for it was a dying star, to begin with. Then that flashes of memory of Tucana talking with Volans came to me. In that, Tucana was willing to give up everything to be with her Soul-Bound.

I could not help but wonder. “Is it really that strong?”

Aries looked at me. “Yes. It is. If the star you fall in love with is... single in your words, then a Soul-Bond may snap between you both. But sometimes... many times it snaps suddenly, you won’t be ready for it. You won’t even realise that it had snapped. You won’t know that the person before you are your Soul-Bound until it hits you hard. So hard, that it knocks the breath out of your lungs and make you question everything. It is so strong that, no matter how much you distance yourself, you will end up in the place you began.”

My lips parted. The way he said it, By the Moon! I could feel as if I had one such bond so deep in my soul. Was it desperate of me to hope that he and I shared one such bond like that?

When his silver iris darkened a shade, he turned away, breaking the eye contact.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see a certain royal smirking. Cut that. I could feel her smugness. As if. I snorted mentally. As if I had the chance of being his Soul-Bound. It sounded ridiculous in my mind. When my rationality looked like it would win, my heart gave out a silent plea of hope. What was to say that his Soul-Bound would be a star? Did I not have hope?

Mizar suppressed his smirk. “That was one way of telling it.”

Miguel looked at the newcomer. “Was she that to you?”

Mizar slowly nodded. “When I realised that she still loved you, I tried to stop initiating the bond. She searched for you everywhere. Every time she went to get rest, your face is the one she would remember. She loved you so much.”

Miguel’s eyes shimmered with tears and a drop rolled down.

My possessiveness was taking over. Me scolding my pack members was completely different from them crying because of someone else.

“I suppressed it,” Mizar whispered. “I ignored it. I will not lie, I did love her. But I did not want her to force herself to me. She... Amaris came and told her what we had.”

Miguel sniffed. “Just say it.”

“Two thousand years ago, a star locked Luna somewhere in this universe,” Mizar said, completely unrelated to what he had been saying before. “The Twelve were sent to replace her.”

Aries nodded. “Yes. Thirteen actually. Urse found her Soul-Bound here and she stayed here. That’s how we became twelve.”

A name flashed in my mind and before I could remember what it was if fled. The memory of someone saying ‘Ursa died’ and pain taking over my body resonated. What was happening to me?

Alright? he asked and a wave of warmth coated me.

Just a fleeting memory, I replied.

We will look into this memory of yours soon, he said. There are too many secrets that I can no longer ignore.

“Yes,” Mizar said. “The star who locked Luna... put a lock on her name, that won’t allow anyone to know who she is.”

I frowned but remained silent.

“Kendra removed the lock on her name,” Mizar said. “While doing so, she nearly combusted, died. I... I had to initiate the bond. It is because of the bond she is living.”

I had mixed feeling about Kenna... Kendra, whoever it was. As Aries said, she should have come down. She should have. She should be the one explaining to Miguel.

“Is she happy?” Miguel asked in a hoarse voice. “Does she love you? Do you love her?”

Mizar nodded slowly. “Yes. We love each other very much. I can feel it.”

Miguel swallowed. “As long as she is happy.”

Nash gave Miguel a blank look. “How the hell can you be like this? How can you love her after all this?”

Miguel laughed but there was no humour in it. “She was my mate, I will admit it. But she is her Soul-Bound, Nash. Haven’t you heard what Aries said? And she is happy. That’s all I want. When you fall for your mate Nash, that’s what you will wish for. Her happiness.”

Nash scowled but turned his face away.

Varian cleared his throat. “So, the bond between Miguel and Kenna is broken?”

Mizar said, “Yes. It has.”

“Okay,” Varian said and I could feel the electricity he so skillfully control dance in his eyes. “If Kenna causes a problem for Miguel, trust me when I say I will replace you and torture you.”

Mizar laughed and how he did that, I shall never know. “I know. After all, both of you were indeed created by Amaris herself. I expect nothing less.”

Aislynn gaped. “What?”

“Miguel and Varian were created by Amaris herself,” Mizar said. “They were created one after another. In a way, they are brothers.”

I smiled proudly. “Is that the reason why they are strong shifters?”

“Yes,” Mizar said. “They are.”

“Wait,” Rhaze said. “That means Lyra is a shifter as strong as them? You did say she was created by Amaris the last time.”

I bit my lips. Was I? I never felt like it.

Mizar grinned widely. “Did I say that? I remember saying that she was taken care of by one of the Four Sisters. I never said Amaris.”

“Care?” I echoed. “What do you mean, Mizar?”

“Exactly,” Mizar said. “I saw into the records. You were not created by any of the Daughters of the Moon nor by the scientists. You were taken care of. That’s all.”

“That changes things,” Aries said. “Are you trying to say that, she is not a creature of Earth?”

“Probabilities are high,” Mizar said, shrugging. “I mean, Luna sent specific care for you.”

A wave of silence washed over us. What did he mean by the fact that I had high chances of not being a creature of Earth? The did those flashes of the pulsars were really my memory?

“Is there no way that you could know who I am?” I asked. “If I am not a shifter, what am I?”

“Definitely not a star,” Mizar said. “My father might have a clue, but knowing him, he won’t open his mouth. Only if we catch Luna, can we know who you are.”

“If she is not a star,” Aries began. “Are you trying to say that she is-”

“Then who is the one to break the curse?” Rhaze asked suddenly. When all our eyes fell on her, she blinked. “I am sorry, but I had to ask this.”

He said, “You see, Amaris gave me the authority to release the Shifter’s genes after seven hundred years. But in the end, she herself created it. She created the genes alright. But not for Lyra. The genes she created, I incorporated into Raoul. He was the one who was meant to stop the curse. Or that’s what Luna led us to believe.”

I blinked. Say what now?

“Luna led us to believe?” Aries sighed. “You mean to say that she had already decided which shifter to break the curse and she disguised that shifter and led the world to believe that Raoul is the curse-breaker?”

“Precisely,” Mizar agreed. “We still have to replace who Luna named as the curse-breaker.”

“Wait a minute,” Nash said, holding his hands up. “If... Amaris gave the curse, should she not be the one to decide who would break it?”

“Point,” Kaina agreed.

Mizar took a deep breath. “You know that it was because of a shifter, Elijah that Luna’s location was unknown. So, to some extent, Luna has the ability to decide on this stuff. After all, the powers of Cosmos flows for her to Surva to Luna. None of the other three daughters has the power of Cosmos. Luna has powers over her three sisters.”

“So Luna sent care for Lyra, huh?” Aislynn commented. “I do wonder who Lyra is now.”

Narrowing my eyes at her, Aislynn smiled sheepishly. I rolled my eyes. I was not someone who they claimed me to be. I was Lyra. That was all.

You are you, Aries said, his scent soothing me. No matter what they say otherwise.

Nodding, I said. “What if you did not check your records properly. What if I am not the one you claim me to be?”

“You definitely are,” Mizar said with conviction. “I can recognise all the souls on earth save for the one who has not tasted death. You... you have never died, Lyra. That made me curious and I searched even more carefully about you.”

I shook my head. “Perhaps you might have gotten it wrong.”

“I have not,” Mizar said surely. “I even looked at the Index of Death. You see, every one of us here, except Aries have died and have reborn. I am in my fifth life. Rhaze and Kaina in tenth. Nash in his twelfth, Miguel in his fourth. I can list on. But I can’t replace any history of your soul, Lyra.”

My breath became ragged. It was so much better when I had thought that I was just a human in my pack. It was so much better.

Aislynn whispered. “What do you mean by that?”

Mizar looked into Aries’ eyes as he spoke. “This is her first birth, Aries. Her soul like you, have never tasted death.”

Aries shook his head vigorously. “Impossible. I know all the first-generation stars, like me. And you did say she is not a star...”

What was impossible?

Before I could voice my question, Ant asked in a low voice. “Why was Luna locked up?”

A wave of silence fell like a curtain over us.

The waves crackled like an old witch from fairy tales and the sands sizzled to the groan of the winds. The sky pulled a blanket of clouds over itself, hiding the shiny spots for us to see.

“I don’t know the reason,” Mizar finally said. “I don’t know. But all I know was that the Thirteen were sent down to search for her, for the Moon got to know that Luna was kept here. Seven hundred years ago, Aquarius was about to replace Luna. But that star, Rionach who held Luna mated with a shifter named Elijah. That mating gave her powers to rival that of the Twelve. Amaris believes that the twelve could fight Rionach together and may win, but she is not sure how many would walk away alive.”

I gasped. “Is Rionach that powerful?”

Aries nearly groaned. “I knew her by another name. She was indeed created among us. But what animosity does she holds against Luna? This Rionach... tell me truthfully, Mizar. Did she mate or did she Soul-Bind?”

Mizar coughed. “Soul-Bind.”

Aries closed his eyes. “That explains why she is so powerful.”

“What explains?” Varian asked. “How can she be-”

“-that powerful?” Aries interrupted. “She can be. Did I not say that Soul-Bond is everything up there?”

Alioth’s brother said, “Not to mention she has a daughter with Elijah.”

Aries groaned. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect. I have to call the rest Eleven. And Mizar, does her daughter take after her mother or her father?”

Mizar’s lips grew to a thin line. “She takes after her mother. I saw it just before I came down.”

Aries closed his eyes shut and I could see a flicker of pain crossing over his handsome features. Unconsciously, I took his fingers in my hand and laced it together. To my surprise, he squeezed it back.

Was this our thing now? Taking each other’s hands to comfort? If so, I liked it. No, I loved it.

Ant asked. “Who is Rionach’s daughter?”

Mizar shook his head. “I don’t know. I am still searching. Once I replace her, I shall let you know.”

Varian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I never expected something so big. This was the reason behind the curse? Was it because of Elijah she decided to curse us?”

Mizar nodded. “Amaris herself confided in me.”

Aislynn inhaled sharply. “This is way too much. I do hope that we replace Luna as soon as possible.”

As they spoke about the ways to replace Luna, something in me screamed. It thrashed and groaned at each of their ideas. What did this feeling want?

“What if you were doing it all wrong?” I blurted.

Rhaze frowned. “What is going on in that mind of yours?”

“You don’t make any sense,” Mizar said.

“A scientist, Mizar,” I said. “I hope you can relate. There is something we want to replace. It will come to us only when we least expect it to. Not to mention, most of the inventions were by chance. What if we were doing it all wrong? What if when we replace who Rionach’s daughter is, we will replace Luna?”

Nash blinked. “Is that how you usually think?”

Aislynn licked her lips. “That was one perspective.”

Kaina shook her head. “It might just work.”

But I was not concerned with their opinion. Whose mattered to the most right now was the male next to me.

“It will not hurt to try that,” Aries said softly.

Mizar nodded. “Then I will get on replaceing who that female is. She might be the key to this entire thing.”

Before Mizar could vanish, Miguel looked up. “Tell Kenna-Kendra that I am happy. I truly want her to be happy and be loved. She and I... we were meant to be a past I guess.” He gave that star a tight smile. “It would not be fair to her to hold onto the past. It would not be fair to me. We both deserve that.”

**********

After Mizar left, Aislynn and Varian were the first ones to retire for the night. Nash sighed and followed Miguel who appeared he would empty the entire liquor stock Varian had in one night.

Ant left with Kaina, with the witch muttering her how to take a concoction. Perhaps that medicine would help her sleep tonight.

When it was down to me, my beta and the star who made my heart race, I sighed and gazed up.

How peaceful the sky looked from here. How clear and orderly it was. Who knew the chaos it would hold?

Rhaze got up, dusted herself and cleared her throat. “I think you should sleep, Lyra. Don’t think too much.”

I gaped at my sister. “Didn’t you hear what Mizar said about me? I am apparently not who I am. Does this not bother you?”

Rhaze frowned but I could see a smile on her face. “Should it? You are still the same Lyra I know. Someone who has grown up because life demanded you to, but you are still the same. You are still my sister, my baby sister. If anything, I am so damn proud of you.”

I simply stared at her. The love she had for me could move mountains.

She bent, ruffled my hair like she used to do when I was little. “Good night, Lyra. Sleep well.”

Then she gave Aries a nod. “Good night to you too.”

He grunted. “Good night, Rhaze.”

Like a dandelion, she left leaving us alone.

I began to star-gaze. And it was a wonderful feeling at that. The sky was playing a game of hide-and-seek. The beach was peaceful and calm while the sea sang a song to its lover that it had long lost. While the sand on which I was seated was quite cool, I would feel the heat emanate the from Aries. And the patterns that he was drawing with his finger on my skin was not lost to me either.

This was a perfect night.

“What is it that troubles you?” Aries whispered, inching closer.

I gulped. “N-nothing troubles me now.”

“Liar,” he said in that soft voice.

If he was going to speak in that voice one more time, the lock I had on my scent would be rendered useless. My hormones were getting haywire around him and my heart was having a competition with light to see who would be the fastest. But my mind was at ease.

It begged me to stay where I was.

But I could not do it. Aries... nothing escapes him. He could bloody sense that something was bothering me. What is to say that he won’t smell me?

Before I could stand up and leave, he held my hand tighter. “Will you come with me to that clearing again?”

I gulped. “Is it because of what Mizar said?”

He nodded. “There is something I want to confirm. Can you come?”

Apart from my family and my pack he was the one with whom I would trust my life. “Yes.”

A/N: By the beginning of this chapter you can guess what exam I had yesterday.

(Yes, it was molecular biology. Yay, me)

What do you think of this chapter?

To the old readers, I am sorry that your comments were misplaced. I am editing and the chapter got about 7k+ words and it would be tiring. Don’t worry, the content would be in the next chapter.

Until next update,

~Quill