EPILOGUE

Lysander's POV

Three Years Later

"I now present King Lysander and his wife, Queen Aria!" Jesse beamed with a clap of his hands. Applause roared around us, and I turned to my new wife, smiling like the lovesick fool I was. She was glowing, her beauty nearly flooring me. Stunning.

Her emerald eyes met mine, and I pulled her in by the waist, drowning out the noise of people moving around us as I lifted her lips to mine in the most pure display of my affection. I could feel her smile against my lips, and I knew why she did it. I felt a tiny kick against my lower abdomen that felt more like a tickle from the outside.

I lowered my hand atop her swollen belly, caressing it gently as I continued to kiss her softly.

After the war, she focused her attention on establishing peace amongst the species. Despite the fact that our entire species was nearly wiped out again, she didn't give up hope. Not only did she ensure safety for vampires and wolves, she also worked to reintegrate the other four species into society. Yes, that even included the angels. They underwent transitions and training programs to strip them of their dark magic and teach them basic empathy.

I supported her as much as I could during the challenges, and waited patiently for her to be ready to wed. A year ago, she finally consented to planning our wedding. I was more than ready to take my wife, and six months after that, we discovered that she was pregnant. That was the first time a descendant of mine was not made known to me beforehand. Instead, I found out the same time she did, during breakfast in the Palace. I heard the little thumping of our son's heartbeat, and I thought I was going crazy. An ultrasound confirmed that I wasn't. She was pregnant with our child, and I was so ready to meet him.

"What do you say we get out of here?" I whispered against her mouth, making her shiver with excitement.

But before we could turn to go, little hands gripped my slacks, locking me in place.

"Daddy, James is following me again!" Lilly whined, ducking away from where her brother stood, bashfully clinging onto his favorite toy truck. Aria giggled, breaking my hold so she could kneel before her son.

"Hey, sweetie. What's the matter?" He pouted, his lower lip trembling as he looked at his sister. She growled in response and I gave her a stern look. She was a feisty little thing, with the combined attitude of Bas and Aria. It was terrifying and sometimes I wondered if she would rip poor little James apart. He was her polar opposite, timid and sensitive. He hated being alone, and would often, to her utmost displeasure, follow her everywhere.

He didn't speak at first, but gestured for his mom to lean in for a secret. She obeyed, extending an ear to him.

"When is Uncle Wowy coming home?" Her eyes shot to me, wide and alarmed.

"Um, Uncle Rory should be here to pick you up in an hour, sweetie." She mumbled. She always got nervous when James mentioned his father, though I wasn't sure why. We referred to him as Uncle per his own request. He wasn't around enough to be known as his father, and spent most of his time traveling for work. I tried explaining to him that James would eventually ask why he looked so much like his favorite 'Uncle', but he insisted that the news wait until James was ready to understand the whole story.

I guess it made sense. It would be hard to explain to a four-year-old why mom and someone who wasn't 'dad' made a baby together. Even to a kid who didn't know how sex worked, that would be awkward.

Personally, I never tried to keep him away from his son. I knew that they would share a deeper connection, and I was fine with that. I held no ill will for the former King. Though I admit that I was a little surprised when she spared his life back at the ARIA. Once she was able, she sat both of us down and explained that what was done was not romantic in any sense, but out of care for him as a person and that nothing would change. She was still mine. I pitied the man. Though I could feel his sorrow, he didn't show it.

Instead, he made it his goal to serve the Kingdom with all he had. It was like he wanted to prove himself to her. He wanted her to see that her mercy was not lost on him.

Every now and then he would take time off to visit the kids. He tended to spoil them, but we didn't mind. We appreciated the occasional break from the twins and usually used it as an opportunity to grow our relationship.

I licked my lips, the reminder of our relationship therapy pulling me back to my plans for my bride. Damn it, Rory, get here faster!

Noticing my distress, Kim approached us with a knowing smile.

"Congratulations, son." She mused, pulling me in to kiss my cheek. "It's about time you tied her down. I thought she would have you following her around the world forever with no ring on your finger."

Speaking of tying her down...

"You know how stubborn she can be." I chuckled, trying my damndest not to get a hard-on while talking to my mother-in-law.

But fuck, I wanted to get Aria naked.

"Lysander." She scolded in my head. She could sense how hot and bothered I was, but I didn't care. I smirked back at her.

"I never agreed to stay for the reception, sweetheart. I'm eager to make love to my wife, you can't fault me for that." Her cheeks changed bright red, and she turned back to face our son.

"Honey, why don't you go with Grammy while you wait for Uncle Rory? Mommy and Daddy have somewhere we need to be right now." Kim raised her brows at me, crossing her arms and biting her cheek.

"Please?" I begged shamelessly, pleading with my best puppy-dog eyes. They used to work flawlessly on Aria, and her mom appeared to have the same weakness. She huffed, trying to fight her smile.

"Okay, fine. But you owe me, mister."

"Anything." I said with an appreciative grin.

"Come on, Jam Jam. Lilly. Let's go play with the bubbles."

The twins trotted after her and I breathed a sigh of relief. I had this night planned for ages and I was eager for her to see what I'd done.

Before she could find something else to distract us, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to her feet and teleporting us to our honeymoon location.

The Irish lighthouse.

I had the top level slightly renovated, while still keeping the original charm. A large wrought iron bed occupied the center, and several of my canvases were set up in the corner. I would paint her this time. Hot and naked for me.

A chest sat at the foot that held various instruments of pleasure that I planned on taking full advantage of during our weeklong stay, but first things first, I would get her out of her princess style gown.

I gave her a moment to admire the beauty surrounding us before trailing gentle kisses down her neck to her shoulder, slowly untying the corset of the dress. She purred in satisfaction, reaching back to cup the front of my white slacks where my cock was already fighting to get out.

"Careful." I growled against her supple skin. "Keep that up and I'll rip the damn thing off you."

She gasped.

 "You wouldn't!"

"Try me, wifey." I smirked, giving her a playful nibble on the nape of her neck.

She moaned, gripping onto my erection with just the perfect amount of force. "Fucking-" I swore, my hands moving much faster in my eagerness. Why did they make these dresses so damn hard to take off?

"Lysander." Her breathy voice had me near feral, and I swore I would melt into the fucking floor.

I finally managed to get the ties loose enough to pull over her stomach, tossing her onto the bed with ease at her freedom. She giggled, leaning up on her elbows as she watched me removing my jacket and tie. I tore it away as if it were on fire, freeing every bit of my body so I could feel her skin on mine. I could hear the come trickling down her pussy at the sight of my frantic antics, and it ebbed me on.

I lifted her legs, spreading them wide as I buried my face between her legs like a starved animal. She let out a squeal of pleasure, followed by a low growl as her head fell back against the pillow. She tasted so fucking delicious. I wanted to eat her up, devour her until there was no part of her that I hadn't tasted.

"Yes, Ly..." She hummed, gripping onto the sheets in her ecstasy. Fuck, I loved her. She was so perfect. Everything about her drove me wild, and I still couldn't believe that The Moon God had gifted me with her for a wife.

My fingers worked to part her further, giving my tongue better access as I slid one inside of her. She bucked her hips against me, making me groan. She was already so close, her walls tightening around my digit and threatening to keep it.

"Come, Aria. Come for your husband," I urged, my voice dripping with lustful desire. Calling myself her husband did that to me. It made me into a deranged lunatic. I was obsessed, and I would never grow tired of her.

"Yes. Fuck, yes!" she screamed, finally surrendering to the waves of pleasure. I lowered my head back down, removing my finger so I could lap up the delicious juices she let out for me. Her legs shook in her sensitivity, but I didn't allow her time to recover before moving myself between her thighs and burying my cock deep inside of her.

"Shit," I groaned, feeling the effects of the end of her orgasm milking my cock into submission. But I couldn't submit just yet. I needed to make this remarkable. I planned on stretching this out for at least another hour.

I wanted her exhausted.

The sun was setting over the glittering ocean, painting her in red and orange light beneath me. I gripped the sides of her head, holding her still for a passionate kiss. My hands trailed from her face to her breasts, down her stomach, and finally to her hips where they rested.

I leaned down to kiss her knee while I slowly pushed myself in, then back out of her.

"God, I love you," I groaned, meeting her glowing green eyes with more love and admiration than I had ever felt before.

"I love you, Lysander. My husband," she moaned back, out of breath. And it was more than enough.

Thus our marriage began. A marriage unlike any other in existence. A marriage between two immortal beings who were wildly in love. A marriage between a hybrid and a First. A marriage between a Queen and King.

A marriage meant to be eternal.