A/N: Video by TekinBeatz on YouTube
Getting through the workday of the scheduled family dinner felt like torture to Dathnar, though the dinner itself was probably going to be agonizing itself. The previous day he hadn't gotten the chance to see Eliza again. In the short time apart, Dathnar missed Eliza's sweet words and heat filled touches. He was glad that they would be announcing their future mating soon. He did not know how much longer he could hold himself back from completely taking his female.
He found his thoughts drifting to the past as he completed the load of paperwork it took to run a mine. It had been five years since he had retired as warlord from his position with the Coalition Battle Troops, and in a way his missed the physical action of his previous title. Paper pushing was boring for him, though he was good with the numbers and the social skills required for the business. That is why he mostly occupied himself by working deep in the new caverns of the mines, chopping away at the rocky walls, unearthing the precious orb that made him rich.
Even at forty-three spacs, he was still as physically fit as he was in his younger years and enjoyed the burn that pulsed through his muscles as he swung his heavy ax. He preferred letting his assistant Dax handle most of the paperwork the job entailed, but he could not place it all on the male, especially since the male spent a large amount of his time training his beloved younger sister, though he doubted she still needed the instruction, and from her reaction to the male, she did not desire it either.
At that moment, his assistant walked into his office. "So I was thinking maybe I can be of assistance to you with this family dinner tonight."
Dathnar smiled inwardly. With his extensive military training, he was also good at reading others, and it was even easier since he knew Dax. The male had something up his sleeve. "Is that right? How so?"
"I could accompany you; you know to offer you brotherly support. We are like brothers, right? I could be there just in case things take a turn in the wrong direction." Dathnar realized he was lying. Dax would not look him the eye.
"What direction is that, brother?" He could barely hold back his laugh.
"Well, for one, I can just imagine you trying to murder Uric. That would not make the right impression on your future family. I could keep you both in line, help make sure the dinner goes smoothly." Dax continued before Dathnar could say anything.
"Plus, Eliza's family likes me. I could help you win them over." That was the truth at least. He had witnessed Dax interactions with her family. They had always reacted warmly to his friend. Him, not so much, though he completely understood why. Had someone almost dropped his heart's fated to their doom, he would be angry and cold, too.
"I'll think about it.", he replied. He, of course, would welcome his brother to accompany him, but he wanted to see him sweat. Dathnar wanted the male to admit his true reason for wanting to go.
"How long do you need to think about it?"
Dathnar cocked one brow spix and stared at Dax, not offering him an answer, and shuffled the huge stack of paperwork that remained incomplete.
"Come on. You know you need me.", Dax stated in a matter-of-fact manner. It was not a lie. He could use someone else on his side there, but he would not admit it.
"Eliza will keep me rational. She always knows just what to do." With that idea, he imagined her placating him in inappropriate ways. Naughty thoughts filled his mind, notions that should not be in the same thought process as dinner with her family. Still, he could not help but imagine Eliza pulling him outside, out of eyes view, dropping to her knees, and taking him into her hot, wet mouth with her parents not too far away.
Dax's consistent whining pulled him from his blissful dream, as he continued to plead his case. "Even Eliza would not be able to stop you from crushing the male into dust and you know it. Come on, just invite me as, what do humans call it? Your plus one."
Dathnar was ready to cave, but first he replied. "First tell me the real reason you want to go and don't say it is to keep from attacking Uric. I may want to kill the male, but I will not jeopardize my relationship with Eliza over him. I will just do it at a later date."
The male's grin grew two sizes bigger than Dathnar had seen it before when he replied. "Alright. You caught me. I wish to spend more time with Claire. For educational purposes, of course."
"Of course.", Dathnar said with a chuckle. "In that case, you are welcome to join me. I just hope Eliza's parents do not mind."
"Thank you, brother. I owe you one."
"That's right. Now, get out and let me finish this dreking paperwork, so I can get to my female." With that, Dax hightailed it out of his office, possible going to torment poor Claire, once again. It seemed to be his favorite pastime.
The pile of papers took him four additional yiros to complete, and it seemed he was going to arrive late to the family dinner. "Great. Another thing for them to hold against me." It could not be helped. He had to get through the new employee forms and contracts for the work crew he was hiring to dig new tunnels for his mine. Normally, he would just do it with his own small crew, but there was too much to be done. Tinging Dax that he was finished for the day and to meet him at his tuz, Dathnar exited his office.
At his home, Dathnar took a quick shower, changed into his best robes, and left his tuz in under thirty mons. Dax stood outside his door, waiting on him. "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, sir. I just got here."
"Call me sir one more time and I am uninviting you."
Dax held up his claws in a mock surrender and laughed. "Sorry. Won't happen again."
Then they spread their wings and took to the sky. It was already dark, and the land was bathed in the moons' light. The green and purple lights bounced off their surroundings bathing the citu in an ethereal glow. They continued their journey in silence, taking in the peaceful serenity of their home.
Finally, the males arrived at Eliza's family tuz unit and as soon, as they touched the ground, Dathnar found himself suddenly nervous. He paused, stopping abruptly where he stood. This could go wrong in so many ways. Dax must have seen the worry on his face.
"Everything will be fine, Dath. Come, let's go. You don't want to keep your female waiting any longer. Plus, I am starving."
The mention of his female, Eliza brought Dathnar out of his frozen state. He could not worry about the what ifs. His female was going to announce their coupling and he needed to be there for her. He knew her family's acceptance meant a lot to her, and he could not disappoint her.
"Yes, let us go." They stepped to the door and knocked. Eliza's father Daniel answered the door. Dathnar mumbled through an apology for being late, his eyes instantly finding Eliza's. She appeared relieved and he knew he had made the right decision. He briefly took in everyone sitting at the table. He saw as Eliza scooted to the side, giving room for Dax to sit beside Claire.
"Hello, everyone.", he heard himself say, but his attention was still devoted to Eliza.
Finally, he took his eyes away from her, taking in everyone else at the table. His old friend Urme sat beside Eliza's brother Luke. Next to him was Sydney who sat beside the infuriating male, Uric, a look of disappointment evident on his face. By him was Rob, who was as usual quiet. The male never said much and was the only family member that did not work in his mine. Beth and Daniel sat at the opposite ends of the table. At his side of the table, sat Clay, then Claire, Dax, and Eliza.
Clay was the first to greet him. "Hey, boss. Glad you could make it. We were about to start without you."
"I made it just in time then, huh?", he asked.
"Yes, sir. We are glad you were able to join us. Won't you take a seat?", Beth retorted, but from her expression, he was sure she probably preferred if he had not come at all. It was going to be hard to win her approval, he realized.
"Thank you." Eliza quickly pulled another chair up beside hers, offering him the seat.
"Since everyone is here, how about we dig in?", Daniel said.
"Yes, everyone please enjoy.", Beth offered. She appeared to be in her element as a caretaker. A genuine smile took over her face as everyone began to fill their plates.
Everything looked delicious. He had not seen the food of his planet prepared as what was in front of him, but the smells of the planet's meats, spices, and vegetables enticed him.
"Are you alright?", he heard Eliza whisper from his side.
"Perfect, love.", he responded squeezing her hand under the table. Both of the palms were sweating, apparently, he was not the only one nervous about tonight's revelation. It would not falter him, though.
"So, Dathnar. Is it true you are expanding the mines?", Daniel questioned.
"Yes. I just hired a crew to take on the expansion. It should be done in a few tunes."
"That means months, right?", responded Sydney. Her study of the language apparent.
"Correct. I see you've been brushing up on Prathian.", Dathnar replied.
"Yes. I find other languages, especially Pratham's very intriguing.", stated Sydney.
"Sydney is our family whiz. She flourishes in math, sciences, and language.", Beth boasted, the pride for her daughter showing in her tone. Sydney blushed, shy at her mother's brags.
"Does the expansion mean you are going to be bringing in more employees? Any from Earth. It would be nice to have some more humans on the planet.", Claire offered. Dax glanced at Claire. An unreadable expression crossed his face. Was he jealous?
"Maybe in the future, but the at this moment, no. I do not plan to bring in any new employees." At his declaration, Dax relaxed.
Beth decided it was time for someone else to join the conversation. "Uric, you are being awfully quiet this evening. How was your day?"
"Not too bad. Thank you for inviting me. The food is wonderful. I am glad you found use of the taru."
Conversations continued to flow as plates were refilled and glasses were filled. After everyone finished and the plates were cleared, the family and guests moved to the sitting room. Dathnar and Eliza sat together on the floor on a shaggy rug.
Beth passed out pieces of something she called a pie made special by his female. She smiled wide at him, as he took his first bite. The delectable flavors of pashu and cinnamon made his tastebuds come alive. His female was talented in all sorts of ways, he was learning. After two slices, he finally put down his plate. Eliza elbowed Dathnar in his side. "Are you ready?"
"As I will ever be."
Eliza called out for everyone's attention, standing to seemingly gather more courage. Dathnar took to her side, offering her his hand in support.
"There is something we need to tell everyone.", she started. Her mother paled, as everyone else looked on in curiosity.
"I know we haven't been on Pratham long, but things are different here, in a good way." Eliza smiled as she looked his way. "Dathnar has asked for to be his mate and I have agreed."
Gasps filled the room. Congratulations came from Urme, Luke, and Dax. Everyone else was left speechless, at least for a moment. It was Beth that spoke first.
"Don't you think you are both getting a little ahead of yourselves? How much can you really know about each other to promise yourselves to one another?" Beth was barely holding the disdain from her voice. Dathnar, however, would not be swayed.
"Our mating system is different than yours from Earth. Our souls choose one another, mates are for eternity. It is very rare that one can fight the mating bond."
Uric adding in his opinion then. "It does happen. My mother denied her mate bond. Her and my father are not fated mates." Dathnar wanted to knock the male into oblivion, but he held his composure.
"Your mother denied her mate bond because her fated mate was heading into battle. It is not the same.", Dax offered. The explanation seemed to anger Uric.
"Everyone just calm down for a second.", Daniel being the voice of reason, stated. "When did you both realize you were fated mates?"
"It was instantaneous. However, we did not embrace it right away.", Dathnar replied, deciding to go with the truth.
"Maybe because in the back of your mind, you knew it was wrong. You are old enough to be her father.", Beth stated.
"That is true.", Daniel added softly.
"It is, but I also have a longer life span than you humans and I care for your daughter.", Dathnar agreed.
Eliza finally spoke. "I appreciate everyone's' concerns, but I have made up my mind."
Luke stood up from his seat, taking his sister in for a hug. "I support your decision. I see how he looks at you. In even a short period, it is evident that he cares for you." He stared Dathnar's way. "But if you hurt her, I will tie you down and cut off your wings, boss or no boss."
Dathnar laughed to himself. He appreciated Luke's bravery and admired him for defending his sister, but he would never be able to overpower a Prathan, warlord or otherwise. Still, he would entertain his notion. "Agreed."
Daniel pulled Eliza to the side and Dathnar could hear some of their conversation, mostly the part where he wished she would have come to him, but he was happy for her. When they returned, he offered his support and the family agreed. They were happy as long as their sister was happy.
The only ones who were not pleased were Beth and Uric. Both excused themselves, Beth went upstairs as the family had a celebratory toast to the new fated mates. Uric departed, claiming he needed to head home and prepare for the next workday. Dathnar did not have the opportunity to speak with him regarding his dismissal, but he found himself unbothered, willing to leave it for another day.
It was late when everyone prepared to leave for the night, the three Prathans to their separate tuzes and the family into their own units. Luke offered to walk Urme home, and they were the first to leave. Claire walked Dax out. For the first time since their arrival, she was not upset with the male. Finally, as Dathnar and Eliza exited the tuz of her parents, Eliza pulled him in for a short, but sweet kiss.
"Don't forget, were meeting at the fall in one hour for our first practice run." With that she took off for her tuz. He could not wait.
A/N: Hey! I know it has been a while. I hope you enjoy this long update. So, the family dinner seems to have gone smoothly. Do you think everything will remain calm? Can you believe that Dathnar was too overjoyed to handle the issue with Uric? How do you think the first practice is going to go? Find out next time.