The Dawning of Fate

A Tumerian in flight? That’s not something you see every day. Two Tumerians aerial sparring? That’s not something you see in a lifetime. Bulging muscles and scaled wings soar through the air with speed and precision. Azandum was definitely restraining himself during our training. He has a substantial partner now and it’s absolutely beautiful. They move through the sky with a lethal grace. I sit on the stairs and watch. Thunder sits by my side.

My fingers stroke his fur. “I’m going to be going away for a little while, Thunder, and I can’t bring you with me.”

He nudges his large head against my arm and I drape it around his body, hugging him to me. A tear slips from my eye when he begins to whine. “I’m going to miss you too big boy. I’ll come back for you, I promise. It’ll only be for a little while. Everything will be fine.”

Thunder licks the side of my face and begins trotting away. He stops and lets out a roaring howl before taking off running towards the forest. I smile despite the tears falling down my eyes.

“See you soon Thunder.”

“Mate upset.” The drakul says to me. His voice is much louder than Zan’s and throaty, like a rumble whereas Zan’s is more like a steady hum. When I look up I see that Zan and his brother have stopped sparring and are standing before me now. Thunder’s howl must have distracted them.

“You will return to him, Echo,” Zan says. “Do you have all that you need? We must make for the Aligolian ship so that we can arrive on Niscus as soon as possible.”

I gather up the few supplies I’ve packed and my black cloak and nod. Zan disappears into the house before returning outside. My eyes rake up and down his freshly-clothed body. I’ve never seen him with a shirt on but the black fitted t-shirt hugs his muscular chest and strains against his large biceps. Not to mention the leather pants and combat boots. Gosh, I can feel the moisture gathering between my legs. Small slits are fashioned in the back for his wings.

I hadn’t realized I was biting my lip until his thumb slowly drags it away. Thick fingers grip my chin as firm lips descend upon mine. A soft moan escapes my mouth when he presses my body to his.

“I didn’t know you owned a shirt.”

“They’re restraining but there are occasions when I can’t walk around dressed as a barbarian. Perhaps I should wear them more often if they’re going to cause this sort of reaction from you,” he growls huskily.

Amondis says something to him while walking past which causes Zan to laugh in response. “The infernal trading post awaits us my al sisi.”

I smile and peck his lips before wrapping my arms and legs around him. “Whisk me away, my Tumerian warrior.” His throaty laugh fills my ears, making my heart sing with happiness.

“As you wish, little Terran.” And then we take off, soaring through the sky.

The alien ship is exactly how I remember it: black steel, sinister-looking, and large as hell. Although the first time I saw it, newly bought groceries were falling on the ground beside a van-my home-and I was being knocked out. From above, the design resembles that of a snakehead. The lights make for glaring red eyes.

As we enter through the downed hatch, unwanted memories flood my brain. I remember my vision going in and out as I was hauled up the incline. Voices hissed all around me. I hadn’t realized my hands were shaking until Zan grips them in his large pair.

“Nothing like that will ever happen to you again. I swear it on my life.”

A smile forms on my face and I kiss him on his cheek before letting him guide me through the ship. Zan straps me into one of the seats in the control room before taking up the co-pilot seat beside Amondis. God, I wish I was knocked out this time during take-off. This is nothing like an airplane ride. Amondis shot us into the sky without a second to spare. Nausea is threatening to overtake my body and I’m losing the battle. Luckily, after breaking through the planet’s atmosphere, we even out and fly at a steady pace. Unfortunately, Zan’s shoes get to see the insides of my stomach. If I wasn’t feeling so terrible, I would laugh at the slideshow of emotions that pass across his face.

He grumbles something in his language before picking me and carrying me through the ship. I can hear Amondis’s laughter as we enter the labyrinth of hallways and inset doors. I distantly wonder how he knows where to go.

Our journey leads us up a triangular elevator of sorts and through one of the sliding doors. Behind the door is a washroom complete with a pristine white sink and an oddly-shaped toilet. The whole area was eerily sterile. Zan helps me clean up and rinse my mouth and afterward he cleans off his shoes.

“Sorry about that,” I wince. He flashes me a smirk and my thighs press closer together. Will I always react this way? When he leans down and inhales my scent, I get my answer.

Yes.

Warm breath tickles my neck and goosebumps pepper my skin. “Do you know what you smell like little Terran? The purr in his voice is laced with seduction.

Words seem to have escaped my recollection so all I can do is shake my head. Long fingers tangle in my braids, gripping them, and roughly pull my head back, exposing my neck further.

God, if I wasn’t wet already, I was surely soaking now. Zan’s drakul was coming out to play, and sweet Mother Mary, he liked to play dirty.

“You smell like a field of wildflowers after fresh rain; a rainforest teeming with life.” My breath hitches as he presses his hard body into mine and I feel the ever-growing erection against my lower stomach. “And do you know what the scent of your arousal does to that delicious smell?”

“No,” I squeak.

“It coats said forest in an intoxicating aroma so sweet-smelling that you can almost taste it, drawing all the predators in with its promises of delight. Predators like me.”

The whimper that escapes me seems to set fire to the beast and before I know it, my pants are around my ankles and my hands are gripping onto the small sink counter for dear life. Zan rams into my channel without apology. He takes my pleasure for himself, chasing his release with purpose and precision. All I’m left to do is hold on for the ride and what a ride it is. I love it when he gets like this. He’s not treating me like his delicate little flower.

My orgasm crashes over me like a tidal wave, drowning me in sweet, sweet pleasure. Zan continues to pound into me until I feel his cock thicken inside of me. Without warning, he withdraws from me and I whip around, ready to rage at the loss. One look into those feral eyes rips the voice from my throat.

“On your knees,” he orders, and I dropped down obediently. He taps my lips with his impressive girth and I open for him. It doesn’t take long for him to spill into my mouth. The sweet yet warm and spicy taste of his cum has me moaning as I swallow his plentiful seed.

He watches with a wicked gleam in his golden slits. The grip on my hair returns and he tugs just enough to signal that he wants me on my feet. I stand and my head is tilted once more as his mouth descends onto mine. Sharp fangs nip my bottom lip and my whimper turns into a moan as he laps up the tiny bubbles of blood that formed there. When his eyes settle on me again, they’re so reverent that I can hardly breathe.

“The word love doesn’t even come close to the way my soul calls out to you, Echo.” Tears form in my eyes and I crash into him, holding tight because words will never be enough to describe all that he means to me.

We get cleaned up, again, and Zan guides me toward a spacious part of the ship, fit with steel couches that have cushions. A small table sits between the two loveseats and a chair. So the alien ship has a living room too?

Zan skirts around me over to the wall parallel to the couches and glides his hand down until something clicks. The wall begins to fold back, revealing a massive window. My knees nearly buckle at the sight before me. Millions and billions of stars paint their obsidian backdrop. Tears fall from my eyes at the beauty of it all.

My mouth sputters open and closed as I try to form the right words but there are none. Because what are words when they’re up against existence. That is what I’m looking at, that is the feeling that courses through my body at this very moment. My brain has not the capacity to comprehend all that is in front of me, my eyes are not large enough to take it all in. But my heart? Yes, I feel it there and the love of my life feels it too.

“This is where we will bind ourselves to each other for all of this life and the next.”

“The blood ritual? Here?” He nods and trepidation creeps up my spine. Oh god, I’m going to have to drink his blood.

“Do not worry, Echo. It will be over before you know it,” Zan whispers whilst pulling me into his comforting embrace.

Amondis walks in at that moment saying something with a wicked grin on his purple face. Zan snorts before nodding and drawing out the blade from his boot.

“Isn’t he supposed to be, oh, I don’t know, flying?!”

Tendrils of a throaty laugh wisp around in my mind. “This vessel is fully capable of automatic flight. Besides, Amondis insisted on being here for our ritual. He’s being unnecessarily cautious.”

I smile at that. Sometimes I wish I’d had a relationship with Dimitri like they have. But that was another life. My path took me elsewhere and I couldn’t be happier. “So how are we doing this?”

“I figured it would be easier for you to drink from the source, me. It gives you less time to hesitate versus you staring at a bowl full of my blood.” I shudder and nod. “I will drink from you first. My brother will be close but not here. This is likely to get very intimate.”

My face heats with a blush at the less than appropriate tone in his voice. Slowly, his fingers drift into my hair and he kisses me so tenderly that I almost want to cry. He then tilts my head so that the window full of sparkling stars fills my vision while he places gentle kisses along my jaw. When his hot tongue trails the column of my neck, I gasp and press my body closer to his.

I don’t even have time to fully register what’s happening because as soon as Zan sinks his teeth into my neck, he also cups my sex with his large hand. The harsh sucking on my neck combines with his teasing strokes between my thighs. Soon I’m going to be seeing an entirely different set of stars. My head starts to feel fuzzy and Zan pulls back, licking the blood from his fangs. If that wasn’t the most erotic thing I’ve seen then I don’t know what is. He takes his blade and quickly slices a cut on his wrist.

“Drink.” The command in his voice left no room for hesitation and so I do as I’m told.

He knew that was what I needed to get through this. I craved his dominance. It left no room for doubt or overthinking. It felt nice to let someone else take control after running the show for so long. As soon as his blood touched my tongue, my immediate response was to cringe but once the taste started to filter in, I was surprised, to say the least. His blood didn't have the copper taste like a human. The closest thing to compare it to is wine. Not sweet wine, no. More like the expensive bold wine that you drink alongside a bunch of fatty foods. Sadly there's no fatty food here. What I do have however is a hand disappearing inside my pants and two thick fingers circling my sensitive nub.

My previously building orgasm comes back with vengeance and makes my insides shudder and clench. Zan doesn’t waste time bringing me to my climax.

“Such a good girl.” And with those words, I explode onto his fingers and my mouth releases his wrist with a gasp.

Zan removes his hand and licks his fingers clean before kissing me deeply. We go on to recite the vow and although this is nothing like a traditional wedding, the feelings are all there. Even without the bond bringing us closer, I know that we would’ve found each other.

I am here, see me.

I am the lock, you are the key.

There is only you, my al sisi.

My soul, I bind to you and you unto me

With you, I will share my whole self and all that is precious to me.

I will cherish your whole self for all eternity.

I am ready, as you are.

I am worthy, as you are

I am here, I see you.

After patching up my neck and wrapping gauze around his wrist, Zan sits me down before going to talk to his brother. My head rests on the smooth surface of the chair as I stare out at the stars. I don’t feel different but I know something is supposed to happen. After each ritual, we usually feel the link between us thickening and growing stronger but this time is different. I don’t feel it. Did we do it wrong? No, the vow was recited perfectly and from the fuzziness in my head, he drank enough blood. So did I. Then why? I don’t get much time to wonder because sleep demands that I listen to her enchanting song.