"I heard that you found your mate already," Sam said with a mouthful, causing Bruno to glare at his him.
"Yes!" River excitedly replied.
They were all in the dining room eating—well, only three people were eating since demons don't eat.
"I heard it's Damien," Sam nonchalantly said as he swallowed his food.
"You don't talk about people like they're not there!" River glares at Sam.
"Good for me, he's a demon, not a 'person,'" San dryly remarked.
"Where's my nephew?" River asked.
"He's asleep," Bruno chimed in with a fond smile on his lips.
"Thought of a name yet?" River excitedly inquired, placing his food on his plate.
"Yes, we're thinking of naming him after you," Sam said with a serious face.
"Really?!" River squealed.
"Ha! Caught you! Why would I name my son 'River'?" Sam laughed out loud, pointing at the shocked expression on his cousin's face.
"You're so mean!" River puffed out his cheeks.
"Whatever. You looked so dumb," Sam said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Well, we can say that dinner was filled with the polar siblings kicking each other under the table and playfully biting each other's heads off. Their mates were just looking at them with amused smiles on their faces.
---
"Luci?" River called out to Lucifer, who was standing in front of the garden's maze, staring ahead.
"Oh, River? Come here," Lucifer motioned with his hand.
River skipped over to him, standing beside him, and looked up to see the starry sky. Originally, there were no stars—morning or night—in hell, but Lucifer made some renovations for of his mate's sake.
"Well, I wanted to thank you," Lucifer said, still gazing ahead.
River snapped his head from the sky to look at Lucifer.
"For what?"
"I know what you did."
"Huh?" River was confused.
"At the drawing room. Sam and Bruno were too devastated to dwell on what you said," Lucifer solemnly explained.
"Oh, that," River muttered.
"Yes. You mentioned that the reason why the baby was still under that spell was because of me, then you dropped the matter almost immediately as if you regretted saying it in the first place," Lucifer said.
"Yeah," River replied, now wearing a solemn expression on his face as he continued. "You didn't want a child in the first place, isn't it?"
"Yes, but now, I do not regret it," Lucifer solemnly admitted. He knew that if his mates were to ever find out that he didn't want the child initially, they would never forgive him.
"Why?" River asked.
"I'm not expressing my feelings to a child, Ruby," Lucifer retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Don't humor me, Lucifer. The only things you have feelings towards are your mates and maybe your child," River said, amused.
"Whatever. I'll have to talk to Father; he gave me a child, and his little puppets are trying to take it from me," Lucifer said, clenching his fists.
"Why did you call me out here, Lucifer?" River asked, a hint of amusement in his smile.
"Ah, you know me too well," Lucifer replied with a low chuckle.
"What is it?" River inquired.
"If I'm not mistaken, there's something quite off about my son," Lucifer smoothly stated.
"Well, there are many things off with your son because he's the Devil's son," River mused, a little smile playing on his lips.
"You know what I'm talking about," Lucifer said, narrowing his eyes at River.
"Unfortunately. Well, your son took the genes of your past. He's an angel, not a demon," River revealed.
"Splendid," Lucifer sarcastically remarked.
"If that's all, I'll take my leave now," River turned to face Lucifer.
"One more thing," Lucifer interjected.
"What is that?" River inquired, tilting his head to the side.
"Well, I would like it if you don't write to your mom to call off the contract, yet. You can tell her about finding your mate, but I'd still like the contract to be effective," Lucifer explained.
"Any particular reason?" River asked, though he didn't mind.
"No—" Lucifer was cut off by River.
"You don't have to explain yourself," River said with a small smile on his lips. "I always wanted a father." He bowed slightly before leaving the garden.
Lucifer stood alone in the garden, gazing at the sky without any emotion on his face. He still didn't understand why humans looked at the stars as if they were the most beautiful thing in the world. He turned his back to the countless stars, leaving the garden to meet his mates.
Only time could tell their fates.
Time...
Little did the world know that a war was brewing—a war that would affect all creatures: humans, shifters, demons, weres, sirens; even heaven and hell would feel the "effect" of the war.
But who was the mastermind behind all this? Who was busy building an army to destroy "everything"? Who wanted a clash between heaven and hell? Who was the traitor? Who was the backstabber?
"Who" was the question at hand now.
No one knew what was coming right at them.
When it was coming...
Or...
Who it was coming from...
Time would tell.
But wouldn't it be too late by then?
Well, they didn't know when this bloodshed would happen.
But trust me:
It was going to take a while for things to unfold.
But hey, all these would take a handful of decades before "it" happens, right?