The Dawning of Fate

The air blows and the earth hums beneath my bare feet. The leaves and I sway. Arms high above my head and waist whining with the wind, I dance. There is no music, only nature’s song. I do not know why I felt this urge but I will not deny the release. Thoughts surge my mind day in and day out. As my feet move along the ground, I allow them to come and go as they please.

I am nervous and confused. Zan calls me his lifemate and that means for life. This life and the next. Can I see myself with him for that long? Am I willing to give up any other options for Zan? I’ve never been that girl to dream of marriage and building a family of my own. Those were fairytales. I’ve never experienced the intense emotions I feel for Zan. Is it love? No, I don’t think I would call it that but it’s fondness, passion, and yearning. He’s the craving you shouldn’t have, the door marked ‘do not enter’, the red button you shouldn’t push. Irresistible.

These rituals will link our mind, body, and soul. If I go through with this, there’s no going back home. Zan can’t follow me to Earth, not that I want to go back. Earth isn’t perfect but neither is space. I’m still unsure about drinking his blood. That, I do not want to do but the other three seem okay.

Rustling in the bushes catches my attention. My dancing stops and I withdraw my blade. My eyes scan the area for movement. A presence appears behind me and I spin with my blade at his throat.

Full lips curved into a smirk, “you’re getting better,” he commends. Zan pushes the blade away and pulls me against his body. “I enjoyed your little performance. I've not seen dancing that way in many lunars.”

“It wasn’t for you,” I say while sheathing the blade.

“Mate,” he hums as he smooths his tongue over the bite mark on my shoulders. Delicious tingles flow down my spine. My hands travel along his bare chest until they reach the sides of his face.

“Are you nervous?”

“For tomorrow?” I nod and he declines. “I know everything will be fine.” He dips his head and places a gentle kiss on my lips. I return it in kind. Zan gathers my hands in his. “Come, we have much to do before the night is upon us.” We leave the forest and return to the library.

“What do we need to do?”

“These rituals are very specific and must be done precisely so we will need to ensure that we are prepared because my brother will not be here for them,” he says as he places a book on the desk and sits with me on his lap.

“But he just got here.”

“Ah, little Terran, I see you’ve taken a liking to my womb mate. I may have to kill him. ”

I burst out laughing and nudge him with my elbow. “You are not going to kill your brother.”

“He couldn’t even if he tried,” Amondis says, sounding groggy from his sleep. Zan scoffs at this.

Truth is I do like Amondis. Not in a romantic sense but he’s sort of like my alien older brother. Sure, I already have an older brother and I would never replace Dimitri but I have a connection with Amondis. Dimitri and I spoke here and there, but our parents had a huge influence on him. I’d always been the rebellious child. He’d always been the respectable son.

Zan places the translation device on the book and opens it to the section we need. Amondis gathers some of the skin papers. “What are those for?” I ask him.

“More than likely we’re going to need supplies. I will go to the market to collect them.”

“Can I go with you?”

Amondis looks at Zan. I roll my eyes because of course, he needs to ask permission first.

“You will keep her safe.” It wasn’t a question.

“Of course brother,” Amondis responds anyway and Zan nods.

“Great, now let’s figure out what we need,” I say excitedly before diving into the book. Some things I understand but others don’t translate so Zan tells his brother most of the things that are required.

“Echo, it says here that we need a seed of our choosing for the fertility ritual. You have been studying the vegetation, which do you suggest?”

My thoughts swirl around the different plants I’ve studied, here and on Earth. There are many that overlap surprisingly but there is one in particular that comes to mind.

“There is a tree here called the gilora. When it grows, it produces large, beautiful creamy-white flowers. Back at home, we called these flowers magnolias and among other things, they symbolize purity, endurance, and dignity.”

“I think it’s perfect for you,” my alien lover says. I shake my head and look at him.

“No, Azandum, it’s perfect for us.” I made sure he could see the sincerity in my eyes and he nods solemnly. The question is why have a fertility ritual if aliens and humans can’t even have babies? Right? We get the rest of the items down and prepare to leave.

“If you two are finished,” Amondis interrupts from outside and I giggle.

“Zan, you have to let me go at some point.” His arms tighten around me at my statement and he kisses me again. I accept all of it. Eventually, he releases me with a growl.

“Keep her safe brother.”

“Always.” Amondis and I exit through the barrier and begin our trek to the market.

“Have you and Zan always been close?” I ask him after we’ve walked for a while.

“Yes, Azandum and I did everything together,” he responds.

“What was he like as a child?” There’s a pregnant pause as Amondis gathers his thoughts.

“My brother has always been quiet and reserved, never played well with the village kids. But he was always there for me. Azandum was my friend, my brother, my protector, everything,” he reminisces, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“That must have been amazing, growing up with your brother like that.”

“Yea, it was. After I heard slavers took him, I searched for lunars. Even after the wars, I didn’t give up. I’m just glad I have him back now.” I nod in understanding. “I’m also glad he has you Echo.”

“Why?”

“You help him. He may never admit it but my brother has changed a lot since his capture and you being by his side is helping him come to terms with that.”

We make it to the market and search the stalls for what we need. There are not many people here today so it doesn’t take long.

“You shackin’ it up with both the Tumerians, eh?” Someone says beside me. I look and recognize the bright pink teller from the registration office.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, you lettin’ the boys gut stick ya,” she announces with a smutty look on her face.

“I’m not, and if I were, it wouldn’t be any of your business,” I shoot back, giving her an incredulous look.

“Aye, I call it how I see it. Everybody’s talking about the new Terran in town.” She looks at me up and down, sneering. “I honestly don’t see what’s so exciting. You’re nothing special,” she shrugs.

“I guess not even aliens are above being a bitch,” I scoff as I pay for my things.

Amondis’s eyebrows furrow upon seeing my annoying expression when I find my way back to him.

He asks me what’s wrong and I tell which results in him laughing. I shoot him a glare as we start back towards the house. When we get there, he tells Zan the story which makes him laugh too.

“I’m not seeing the joke.”

“Tumerians don’t take more than one partner Echo. We are a territorial species, so we could never share a lover,” Zan explains. “And besides, you already knew people were going to talk about you being the only unknown species on this planet.”

Sure but that doesn’t mean I want it to happen or want to know about it.

“Riddle me this,” he nods for me to continue. “What if you had a lover for years and you’ve built a family together but then you find your lifemate? How would that work?”

“Huh, I’ve never thought of that,” Amondis says thoughtfully “My family would come first but the bond isn’t something you can ignore. It’s literally the other half of your soul. I’ve seen the way you two act around each other, you’re inseparable.”

“I don’t know. Fortunately, I do not have that issue,” Zan finally says. “But now we must study and memorize the oaths for each ritual.”

I groan. “Nobody said anything about homework.” They just laugh.

That night after Amondis left, Zan took me hard and fast, leaving me panting for breath. I’ve never been with a man with such impossible stamina, a man who was able to keep up with my libido. Instead, I find myself trying to keep up with him. An impossible task but I’ll enjoy the quest nevertheless.

“Zan!” I gasp, trying to squirm away when the rough pad of his finger brushed against my forbidden area.

“You have so many holes little Terran; I plan to fill them all.” My insides clenched at the gruff sound of his voice.

“Azandum!” I screamed, wincing when that finger breached the surrounding ring of muscles and pressed inside me. The intrusion made that much more invasive with the lack of moisture on his finger. His impossibly large penis continued to work me, sliding in and out with such electrifying strokes.

When he removes his finger, it leaves me with a strange empty feeling until he replaces it with the lubricated thumb he ran through my folds. The impossibly thick finger making me burn from the inside out.

“You are reluctant yet your tusa is unimaginably wet and strangling my haju, practically begging for more,” he groans.

My cheeks flame in guilt as I revel in the dark pleasure only he can draw from me. The deepest parts of me craved the way Zan took control and dominated my body without hesitation. I was his and he left me with no doubt about it. So when he pulled his finger free and abandoned my vagina in favor of lining himself up at my entrance, I did my best to relax. I’ve never had anal before but I knew tensing up was not the best option.

Zan kept me steady with a hand tightly gripping my hip, maneuvering himself inside slowly and causing whimpers to escape my throat. The stretch was beyond uncomfortable, painful even, with his alien-sized cock and my human-sized hole.

“Be calm, my little Terran,” he whispered, wrapping a hand around to work my bundle of nerves in slow circles, adding pleasure to the mixture of pain. I let out a deep breath and relaxed my body once more.

He paused once he was fully sheathed and both of our breathing was out of control. The slickness coating his fingers was undeniable proof of how much I liked the invasion. Zan pulled back and pressed back in slowly.

“Fuck!” I moaned, dropping my head forward.

“Indeed,” he growled, picking up his pace when I didn’t protest. The strokes were exquisite, almost subdued compared to the way he usually took my ’tusa,’ as he likes to call it. I could feel him watching the spot where his cock disappeared, burning the vision in his memory.

Heat scorched my insides and I detonated around him on a strangled cry when he rubbed my bundle of nerves with speed and precision. I felt like my entire body was coming apart. And when he followed me over the edge, we both stayed in our exact spots long enough for Zan to catch his breath and take me to the shower.

He held me, without saying a word. None needed to be said because, after tomorrow night, all the cards would be laid on the table. He might not have said it, but I knew Zan held me not only for my benefit but for him as well. He didn’t want to lose me any more than I wanted to lose him. His past will change nothing, this I know, and tomorrow I’ll prove that to him.