Bound by Fate-The Next Generation

 Szin's story
“Keyno? Could I speak with you and your mate, please?” Takeo asked. Ti and Cielo were standing at his back and the party was going full swing.  
Keyno looked at Ti. “Is this what I think this is?” 
“Yes, my friend. Takeo had something very important to ask you.” Ti had his arm around Cielo’s shoulders. Both were smiling.
“Would it have anything to do with Szin?” Dale asked as he fussed with party favors.
“Yah, bro, it does.” Cielo grinned at Dale, but Dale didn’t grin back.
“Then let’s go inside away from the party. We need privacy for this.” Keyno motioned for all of them to follow him inside. Cielo turned and frowned at Ti. Why weren’t Dale and Keyno smiling? Once they gathered in the living area, Dale turned to Takeo.
“Takeo, I’ve known you since you were a little thing, and I love you as much as I love my young. But… Szin feels—” 
Takeo held up his hand, cutting Dale off. “I know. I know how he feels, and I plan to show him that he’s just as good as any Ta’Narian around here. Better even. I’m formally requesting Szin as my mate.”
Dale rolled his eyes. Dealing with Alpha males could be a pain sometimes. “You didn’t let me finish, Takeo. Keyno and I have known Szin was your mate since birth. You already know he tends to think more like a human than a Ta’Narian,” Dale said. Now came the part he dreaded. “Then, there’s the issue of the mating itself. He’s been adamant he doesn’t want to mate you.”
Takeo soft, angry hissed was answered by Ti clamping a hand on his shoulder. “What are you saying? Are you denying my claim? He’s my mate and I won’t be—”
Cielo looked at Dale. “Yo, bro…”
“I thought you’d understand, Cielo.” Dale tugged his long ash brown hair in frustration.
“I’d advise you not to finish that sentence, Takeo.” Keyno glared at the young warrior.
“Stop!”Ti’s voice rang out. “Before this becomes something none of us can recover from, let Dale and Keyno say what they need to say so we can understand. Anger isn’t the answer, Takeo.”
Keyno tail twitched on the floor. “Takeo, we aren’t denying your claim. What we are doing is asking you to give Szin some time.”
“Time? What good will that do? That’s just more time for him to convince himself how wrong he is for me. No, I’ve waited long enough.”
“Takeo, listen to me.” Dale sighed as he looked at Cielo and Keyno. “You have no idea what’s it like to be forced into a match, to have no say in it. You don’t know what that does to you. I know. And… so does Colt.”
“Si.”
“When I was harvested, it wasn’t like it is now. There were no volunteers. Earth had a lotto system, and there was an age limit. I was under the age limit, but during the final harvest Keyno took me anyhow. I had seen Chad taken in the harvest a year before, and it was horrible. This wasn’t a happy time, Takeo. It was filled with anger and fear. I lost my best friend, and a year later my parents watched as I was dragged out of my home and carted off. I was scared to death.”
“My situation was a little different.” Cielo dropped the gangbanger accent, something he rarely did. Takeo raised an eyebrow. “I was on death row waiting to be executed for several murders. The great USA included what they considered the worse of us in the last harvest.”
“To say I wasn’t happy was an understatement.” Keyno shrugged. “These types of males would be more trouble than I thought they’d be worth. No Ta’Narian would want to deal with them. They were dangerous. Which Colt promptly proved when he tried to take over my ship.”
Takeo’s mouth dropped open. “Shit.”
Cielo laughed. “That’s not the half of it. As chance would have it, I ran across Dale while trying to escape. We fought.”
Takeo looked at Dale. “Ouch.”
Cielo snorted. “Don’t assume, Takeo. He knocked me out.”
“Get out of the universe!” Takeo turned wide eyes to Dale.
“Lucky kick, that’s all.” Dale mumbled. “It was Keyno that nearly killed Cielo.”
“W-what?” Takeo’s head snapped around to look at Keyno.
“It’s an automatic death sentence to hit a royal. And yes,” Keyno looked at Cielo. “I was furious he hit Dale.”
“Gods!” Takeo sat, stunned.
“They tried to reprogram Colt, and it wasn’t going good. Plus, any prospective mate would know what Colt had done. There was talk about selling Cielo as a slave, and I flipped out. He hadn’t asked to be harvested any more than I had. On the heels of that, a distress signal came in for a ship under attack from space pirates. An Onfre ship.” Dale added.
“We had a peace treaty with the Onfre, but both species avoided each other after the war. The understood rule was to leave the Onfre alone. I broke that rule when I offered Ti help.”
Ti spoke up. “He started a true peace with that act. Well, that and Dale’s surprise offer to share a meal with him and Keyno. And I also found Colt and took him as mate. Again, Colt wasn’t given a choice, just as Dale wasn’t.”
“Why the hell have I never heard all of this?” Takeo demanded.
“You don’t need to know everything about our lives,” Cielo said.
Takeo smirked at Cielo. “I know more than the four of you think I do.”
Silence greeted that remark. Finally Dale groaned. “I don’t even want to know how you know this. Do Raiden and Szin know also?”
“Raiden does. I don’t know about Szin. Not that your relationship shouldmatter to us, or what the four of you do. I love you and Keyno just as much as Ti and Cielo.”
“Well hell.” Dale sighed. “And we love you, Takeo. We would be honored to have you mate Szin, but…”
“Yes, but.” Takeo stood up and walked to where Dale was and sat on the floor near Dale. “I understand. How about this? I’ll give Szin time, as long as he doesn’t run from me. He runs, and all bets are off. I will not allow him to put himself in danger. That’s the best I can do. I don’t think giving him more time is going to solve anything.”
“Dale?” Keyno asked.
“It’s not enough, dammit. Takeo, I’m sorry but I can’t give you my blessing as long as—”
“If things do end up with me taking Szin, would it help if I get him to admit he wants me? That the only reason he’s avoiding the mating is because he feels like he isn’t good enough? If he loves me and wants me… will that be enough for you?”
“If I hear it from Szin, then maybe. But until then, I can’t give you my blessing, Takeo. God, I wish I could.”
“But you won’t hate me?”
“Oh God, Takeo. I could never hate you, and neither could Keyno.” Dale hugged the young warrior. “And if Szin asks for our blessing, then I’ll happily give it to you both.”
“We both will.” Keyno added.
“Good enough,” Takeo said.
Takeo bowed to Keyno and Dale. “Thank you for explaining. It helps.”
Cielo stood also. “Yo, let’s get back outside before folks start wonderin’ what’s going on.” 
Dale looked at Ti and Cielo. “Are we okay?”
Ti grinned, his fangs showing. “Ask me that the next time I have you in the playroom.”
“Oh my… God!”
Keyno patted Dale on the ass. “I’d say we’re okay.”
They walked back outside, and Takeo went to find Szin. It didn’t take him long. He spotted Szin at the edge of the lighted area. Moving quickly, he stalked closer to Szin, and pulled him into the darkness. He clamped his hand over Szin’s mouth and dragged him toward the back side of where their flyers were kept.
Szin didn’t struggle, it would do no good. He wasn’t afraid; he knew whose hand covered his mouth, whose huge body pressed into his. As soon as Takeo touched him, he reacted. His body tensed, and desire flooded him. He was pushed up against the wall, and Takeo stood looming over him.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” Takeo accused.
Szin turned his head, refusing to meet Takeo’s eyes. There was something about those red eyes that were hypnotic. “Man, you just got here, how could I be avoiding you?”
“Don’t, Szin. Don’t lie to me. That is unacceptable.” Takeo gently grasped Szin’s chin and forced him to look into his eyes. “Don’t ever lie to me, okay?”
“I-I… aw God.” Szin was fast losing the battle with his desire.
Takeo hissed, his forked tongue testing the air between them and smiled. It was full of sensual promise. He leaned closer and nipped Szin’s bottom lip.
“I’m going to kiss you, and you are going to kiss me back. Understand?”
“I-I… yes, yes, I understand.”
Moving closer, crowding him, he slowly angled his head toward Szin. Takeo’s tongue gently flicked out to touch Szin’s lips.
Szin moaned softly, the sensitive skin of his lips tickled by Takeo’s tongue. Takeo drew back and watched as Szin licked his lips, savoring the taste of him. With a slight smile, he leaned into Szin again, and tasted him, his mouth covering Szin’s.
This time the kiss was hot, demanding, and much more aggressive. His tongue teased the seam of Szin’s mouth, seeking entrance. Szin groaned and opened to him, tongues dueling until Szin gave way. Again Takeo pulled back. This time when Takeo touched his lips to Szin’s he nipped his bottom lip, warning him to open immediately.
Szin whimpered softly against Takeo’s mouth and did as he was told. Takeo’s hand slid up the back of his neck, and fisted in his hair. He moaned as Takeo ravished his mouth, claiming the first part of his body. He knew that before the night was through Takeo intended to claim all of him. His cock ached in his tight pants as Takeo moved to his ear, blowing softly.
Takeo nibbled on the lobe, then gently bit down. Szin arched in his arms and Takeo took note that this was something Szin really liked. Harsh pants drifted to Takeo, and he could feel how hard Szin was. Desperate groans drifted to Takeo as he kissed down Szin’s neck, blowing lightly where his lips had been, causing Szin to shiver. His other hand rubbed the bulge in Szin’s pants making him thrust desperately.
“I’ve asked for Keyno and Dale’s blessing to claim you, Szin,” Takeo whispered. “You will belong to me and soon.”
Szin heard the words, but his body didn’t give a damn at the moment. His brain, on the other hand, was yelling at him to listen.
“You’ve run long enough; it’s time to stop running.” Takeo rubbed his fangs against Szin’s neck.
 That, more than anything, finally got through to Szin. He had to stop Takeo from marking him; if he didn’t then everything was lost. Takeo would end up regretting his choice for a mate.
“Takeo, please, not like this. Please, don’t do this here by where the flyers are housed in the middle of the night. Please.”
Takeo stepped back. “I hadn’t planned to, Szin. You deserve better than that, and so do I. I almost lost my head once; I won’t make that same mistake. I’ll claim you when I take your virginity.”
“H-how did you know that—”
“Why do you think no one wanted what you were trying to give that night at the srab?”
“What are you saying?”Szin demanded. He knew, but he wanted Takeo to admit it, dammit.
“Your virginity is mine, and I will not allow you to give away what belongs to me.” Takeo leaned into Szin. “I made sure no one would come near you—just as I always have.”
“Oh… my God, Takeo.” He has known, but his head still spun, and not in a good way. He’d never seen this side of Takeo before. This demanding, controlling—okay, that was sexy, but shit, he was grown, dammit. He would not be treated like a-a… slave. And if he lost his temper then Takeo… no, what he needed was to buy time and bury the anger about what Takeo had done. “I need… I need to talk to my dad, okay? I need to know… stuff. Jesus, Takeo, give me a minute to catch up.”
“You have until tomorrow, Szin. I can’t wait any more. You’ve been mine since before birth, and I cannot, will not, wait any longer to have you. I know you’re frightened, that you feel like you’re not good enough, but that simply isn’t true.”
“Jesus, you make my head numb, Takeo.”
“Do you want me, Szin?”
Shocked, Szin looked at Takeo. “Wh-what?”
“Do you want me? Do you care for me? If you didn’t have this nonsense stuck in your head about not being good enough… If you looked like a Ta’Narian and not like a human—would you want to be my mate?”
“What a stupid question. Of course I care for you, want you. I’d mate you in a heartbeat., but I’m not like other Ta’Narians, so this is silly. I’m more human than anything.”
“No human male I know of can give birth, Szin.”
“Jeez. Look, I can’t think with you this close to me. Just let me talk to dad, it would make me feel better.”
“That should tell you something. You affect me just as much, and this is right. You belong to me. I’ll be here tomorrow morning, and Szin... ”
“Yeah?”
“We are bound together.”
“Szin? Where are you? It’s time to cut the cake and sing happy birthday. Szin!” Dale’s voice carried to them.
“I have to go, Takeo. This is so important to my dad.”
Takeo buried the growl that threatened to break loose. “I know. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Szin turned away, making sure to keep his thoughts blank. Takeo watched as Szin hurried off. He lifted his hand and made a duplicated recording of the conversation he and Szin just had. If the shit hit the fan—as Raiden liked to say—Szin’s own words would be the proof Dale needed.
TBC ~M