Chapter 36
Survii
“And they aren’t offended at all?” Navine asked as Survii took off the formal clothing that he had been wearing for the meeting.
“Not even slightly. Alanna didn’t even question it.”
Navine made a sound that said nothing and still meant everything. It was exactly how Survii felt about this whole thing.
He was willing to do a lot of things for the sake of duty, but he wasn’t willing to falsely mate a female in some kind of ceremony that had a lot of pageantry but no real meaning. He knew some species did that, especially those that didn’t find mates easily, but the domini were not among them.
But, then again, the ceremony wasn’t meaningless to humans. It was their mating ceremony, and even if they didn’t feel the bond like every other species, they still felt something. The ceremony was representative of that, so of course, Alanna would want one.
But they had also made it a transaction. A sale. No different from when he would input his biomarkers into the digital agreement for the Coalition. And that was gross.
But it was part of human tradition and culture. Apparently, it was very common for human elites. How could he disparage their culture on their own planet, even if it did run completely afoul of his own? He had met too many species to be offended by something as simple as cultural differences.
Yet, he was. Because it was about his mating.
He had borrowed the comm from Tuvo before returning to his room so he could explain what was happening to Yursini and Navine. He had reached the part about the marriage offer and both of them had responded nearly as badly as himself.
If nothing else, at least it confirmed that he wasn’t overreacting. It was disgusting. But it was also normal for the humans.
“Are you going to do it?” Yursini asked as he yanked off his shirt and tossed it into the basket he had been given for soiled fabrics.
He let out a long breath, resting his hands on his hips. Thinking about it.
Hating that he was leaning towards agreeing.
“What kind of male am I that I would disrespect my female this way?”
“It’s only disrespect if she feels disrespected.” Yursini said wisely. “It’s her culture. I feel like the best way to respect her would be to honor both of your cultures through this. Accept their offer, but make sure they all know the real reason you’re doing it.”
Navine groaned. “See, this is why I never wanted to be mated. It’s so much work.”
Survii smirked. “Just wait until it hits you, Navine. You’ll understand.”
“I will space myself.”
Her dull tone had Survii and Yursini laughing.
He finished up some further business before he ended the comm and returned it to Tuvo. And after that, he went right to Alanna’s door. Atem was no longer guarding it. Either because he had left on his own or Peony had dragged him away.
Not that he would have let her guardian stop him.
He knocked, fully confident. The moment Alanna answered, he was taking her by the face and kissing her, pushing her into her room. He kicked the door behind him. He missed doors that slid shut properly, but there was definitely something satisfying about that – slam! – as the door forcefully shut.
Alanna actually jumped at the sound, but she smiled into the kiss and didn’t attempt to pull away.
He pushed her to the counter in her kitchen, then picked her up and sat her on it giving him easier access to her mouth.
“Miss me?” She asked, holding onto his neck.
“Miserably,” he confirmed, kissing her nose. He leaned back so he could look into her pretty golden-brown eyes. “I’ve decided-”
“No, wait!” She cut him off, covering his mouth with her hand.
He chuckled, kissing her palm, making her smile.
“That tickles.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he caught her wrist and kept it in place as he began to kiss and nip at her fingers.
“Something you wanted to say first, vi Vitralai?”
“Yes.” She breathed, staring, transfixed, at his mouth. He couldn’t keep from grinning as he sucked gently at the tip of her little finger.
“I’m listening,” he said when she fell quiet.
“Huh? Oh! Right. Yeah. About the marriage thing. Listen, er…” She shivered when he ran his tongue over her middle finger. “I’m having trouble focusing, Survii.”
“That’s kind of the point.”
“This is serious.”
“And this isn’t?”
She pulled more determinedly on her fingers and, after a second, he let them go with a sigh of disappointment.
“Very well. What do you need to tell me?” He rested his hands on her hips instead, making a comfortable place for himself between her legs.
“About the marriage.” She put her hands on his chest in an effort to keep him back – only to be distracted by his muscles because he was still shirtless.
“Er… The, er… marriage… Yeah.” She cleared her throat and forced her eyes back up to his face.
“Listen, if you don’t want to marry me because they asked you to, I understand. ”
He cocked his head back, grinning at her. “Do you?”
She nodded. “Mating isn’t the same as marriage. And mating for the self-serving interests of others is wrong. I understand why you’d be mad at their suggestion. We don’t have to get married. At least, not for them.”
“Precisely.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m not marrying you for them.”
She nodded, smiling, but he couldn’t miss that hint of disappointment in her eyes. He caught her neck and forced her head back so she would look at him.
“I’m going to marry you because you are my mate, and this is your culture, and because you so very clearly want to marry me.”
She blinked, startled. “Survii, no, you don’t have to-”
“I want to.” He embraced her, grinning. “I hate that they are turning our mating into an opportunity for themselves. But since they’re doing it, I will as well. I’m going to take full advantage of their selfishness to give you the human mating ceremony of your dreams.”
She tried to hide it, but Alanna wasn’t quick enough to disguise the excited gleam in her eyes.
“That’s what you want, isn’t it, greedy little thing,” he laughed attacking her neck with his teeth and lips, making her laugh and squirm.
“We can have a huge party though!” She squealed as he tickled her.
“The hugest,” he agreed. He had no idea what a human mating ceremony involved, so he couldn’t specify, but he would give her anything she wanted.
And his mate wanted an unlimited budget human mating ceremony, and she would get one. He would do anything to make her happy. Even if it benefited others to do this. But-
“I want to claim you first,” he said, “Let me make you mine the right way before they take advantage of us.”
Alanna beamed. “I’d love that!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes!” She threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Survii!”
He chuckled, stroking a single claw along her spine. “We will have to work out the details. Claiming you is going to be different here. You’ll have to tell me the important points of your traditions, so I don’t ruin anything.”
“You can’t ruin it.” She turned, kissing his chest. “Our weddings have a lot of tradition, but we break those a lot more often than we adhere to them. So long as we’re happy, it’s perfect. That’s the only tradition that matters.”
“And this one?” He pointed to the ring around his neck.
She snickered. “That’s the one that’s important to Hattie. She’s dreamed of the perfect proposal and wedding her whole life. Since she couldn’t have the wedding, she wanted the ring while on Turv. You guys just inherited it.”
“So, the ring means nothing to you?”
“Well, I didn’t say that.” She hooked her finger through it and pulled gently. “It’s a good tradition to keep. Especially if it gets out. Not all the human females that mate aliens will be able to have a wedding. At least a ring is a simple thing we can keep in the universe when they’re off Earth.”
“Meaningful?”
“Very.”
“What meaning is that?”
She looked up, surprised. As though it didn’t even occur to her that he wouldn’t know.
But offering rings to their mates had been something that Hattie had told Atem and Romival to do when they claimed their females.
Havali and Survii had seen them do it and learned to do the same.
Only because the others had done it though.
Survii didn’t actually know why he needed to offer Alanna a ring as part of her mating ceremony.
There were species that had gift giving as part of the bonding process, of course. Sometimes, it could be any gift. Sometimes, it had to be a specific thing. So, he hadn’t really questioned it.
But humans didn’t have mate bonding instincts to follow. So, that meant, the offering of the ring was ceremonial, not instinctual. Therefore, it had meaning more than strictly biological.
And it was a meaning that was so obvious to her, she hadn’t even thought about explaining it. Neither had Hattie when she re-started the tradition on Turv.
She started laughing, as though the ridiculousness of it dawned on her.
“You guys just started giving us rings without even asking why?”
“Hattie said it was important to you.”
She beamed, leaning into his chest. “Well, there are two answers. One cynical, and the actual correct answer.”
He threw back his head, laughing. “Tell me the cynical one first.”
“It’s an incredible successful marketing stunt from diamond companies to convince people that they have to spend an inordinate amount of money on a diamond for an engagement ring to convince the woman you’re proposing to that you’re worth it.”
He laughed again. “That is cynical.”
“Yeah, that’s the one pessimists like to say is the real origin of wedding rings. When, in reality, that’s just the origin of the modern-day concept of a diamond engagement ring.”
“All right. What’s the correct answer then?”
“The correct answer is that a ring is a circle, and a circle has no end and no beginning. It is infinite and represents the eternal bond of love and devotion between partners. And it is a tradition that humans have been celebrating for thousands of years.”
He smiled, resting his forehead down on hers. “That is a beautiful meaning. And you want one of these rings? You, not Hattie asking for it through you.”
“I want it.” She promised, pressing a kiss over the ring where it rested on his heart. “I want to wear the mark that symbolizes the eternity of our love and vows. Even though I know it doesn’t mean the same to you. I still want it.”
Survii suddenly grabbed her up, making her laugh as she locked her legs around his waist. He gave her a frown as he walked her into her bedroom.
“What do you mean, it doesn’t mean the same thing to me?”
“Well, it’s just,” her face had darkened with her blush. “It’s not your tradition…”
“Why should that mean it is meaningless to me?” He laid her back on the bed, covering her body with his. Eagerly pressing kisses along her neck. “It is important to you; therefore, it is important to me.”
“And you really don’t mind?” Her fingers stroked through his hair. “Marrying me?”
Survii, already pulling apart the buttons that were keeping her shirt on, didn’t even look up as he continued, kissing each new length of skin exposed.
“Nothing would bring me more joy than making you happy.” He pushed the sleeves down as she lifted her torso, allowing him to slide it off. “And you know, I do enjoy learning and celebrating with other cultures.”
She giggled as he continued down. This time focusing on her skirt. He pulled it off, now kissing along the line where her hips met her thighs.
She was already wet for him. Glistening between her legs, the pink of her hidden flesh pulsing eagerly for his touch.
He grinned over her mound, finally catching her gaze. Her eyes were fixed on him, her little black pupils fully blown in her eyes. Adorable.
“I will claim you,” he said, putting her legs over his shoulders. “I will marry you. I will put a pup in your belly the very first moment you ask me to. And I will take you on an adventure through the stars that most can never imagine in their grandest of dreams.”
She whimpered, trembling from the very promise.
He pressed a little kiss to her clit before smiling at her. “Want a surprise?”
She blinked once before nodding. He grinned wickedly.