Destiny: A Prequel to
Bound by Destiny
The Harvest Young
Nearing birth
SOUNDS WOKE Raiden.
The rhythmic thump, thump, thump comforted him, and he stretched. Low murmurs
caught his attention.
“So, have you
decided on a name?” Gibor asked.
Oh, that’s Gibor. I hope Chad is here too.
“Well, we were
thinking about Raiden,” Keyno said. “It means ‘thunder and lightning.’”
Hey, dabba! There was a slight pressure
above him. It felt like dabba was
rubbing his dad’s belly. Raiden, huh? I like
it. A lot.
“Have you
picked a name yet?” Keyno asked.
Who is dabba speaking to? Maybe Gibor again?
“Dayo. It
means ‘joy’ and it fits, believe me.”
Raiden perked
up. That was Chad. They were talking about his mate! Dayo was a good name too.
Others spoke, discussing names, but they didn’t interest him. He concentrated
on Chad instead, at hoping he sensed Dayo so he… wait, wait, something wasn’t
right. Chad’s heart rate was up and… oh gods, so was Dayo’s. His mate was struggling
to breathe.
Raiden shifted
in the enclosed area holding him, but damn, there wasn’t a lot of room. Why is he struggling?
What are you…? Hey now, stop all that
wiggling. There’s not enough space for you to moving so much. And jeez, why do
you have to be so big?
Raiden grabbed
the hand poking him and wrapped around the other body, and his twin snuggled
close. Sorry. I’m just—
Worried? Yeah, I got that. Like the name
too. Raiden is a strong name. But why are you worried?
Already his
twin knew him well. Szin, something’s wrong
with Chad.
What’s wrong—wait. My name is Szin? How do
you know that, and I don’t?
From Dad. Raiden shrugged. I caught the thought from him.
Szin huffed. Again, why didn’t I know this?
Um, because you sleep so much? Raiden jumped when Szin kicked him. Ow, stop!
I sleep so much because your big body gets
more nutrients—more everything!—than mine. Szin snarled. Never mind that, you said something’s wrong with Chad? What’s going on, and is it very
bad?
I’m not sure, and yes, it’s bad.
You need to tell Dad when he goes to sleep. Szin
insisted. We both will.
Raiden couldn’t
settle. Why were the adults taking so long? How much time could they waste
talking about nothing? Szin drifted next to him, once more asleep. Raiden
sighed, upset about that too. Szin was
smaller than him, and it concerned him. He didn’t know what he could do to help
or make sure Szin was better fed.
They tumbled together, Szin resting easier
when they were close. But Raiden remained
awake, chafing at the wait. After what seemed like forever, he heard his dabba suggest they call it a night.
Finally! Now Dad, hug Chad.
Hopefully his
dad caught the gentle nudge he sent mentally. Dad needed to touch Chad, then maybe
Raiden could figure out what the problem was he sensed with Dayo. Raiden almost
shouted with joy when Dad followed through and hugged Chad.
Fear swamped Raiden
as soon as the two men touched. Not only was something wrong, Chad’s life was
in danger. As was Dayo’s. Frantically Raiden reached out to Dad, but he couldn’t
get through this time. Dale’s mind was on too many other things.
But as soon as
his dad went to sleep, Raiden tried to get his attention again, but all he
accomplished was making his dad restless.
Need help? Szin asked, yawning as he
woke up again.
Please! My mate’s life is in danger. We must
get through to Dad. He has to get Chad to the doctor before he and Dayo die!
Dayo? Oh! You mate has a name now?
Gods, focus, will you?
Bite me, fuzzball, Szin snapped, then focused
on Dad, whispering in his mind. There’s
something wrong. Take him to see a doctor, please. Danger. There is danger. No
time to waste. Please, please. It’s so important.
Raiden and
Szin bumped into each other when Dale shifted in bed and then rolled onto his
other side. I know Chad looks… well,
tired doesn’t cover it. But how can you be so sure? Dale asked.
Oh gods, Dad
wasn’t listening. And Szin was being too nice. Raiden took over the mental
link, desperate to get Dad’s attention. Danger,
danger, danger. He’ll listen to you. You must make him go to the doctor. Make
him. Immediately. There’s a problem. Tomorrow—make him go tomorrow. Don’t wait!
He could die—his young could die. You can’t let that happen. It’s important that
Dayo lives. Very important. You have no idea how important—to me.
Dale
shuddered. Okay. I’ll buzz him tomorrow
and make him go see Doc. He won’t be happy, but I’ll drag him by the hair if I
have to. If worst comes to worst, I’ll get Keyno involved. He’ll set Gibor
after Chad. That should do the trick. I’ll have to tell Keyno now, you know
that, right? I won’t have a choice.
Raiden wished
they wouldn’t wait until tomorrow, but at least they were aware there was a
problem. He wasn’t sure why Dad hid that he could speak to them from dabba, but it didn’t matter now.
Oh, could you tell him to purr louder, please?
Raiden rolled
his eyes as Szin’s request echoed in his head.
Anxiously,
they listened to dabba and Dad’s
conversation, and snickered when Dad snapped that he didn’t want to hear the
word impossible—that he was mated to an alien and pregnant, so nothing was impossible.
“You’re right.
You’re absolutely right. You can really hear him? Talk to him? Dale, no one has
ever been able to communicate with a young like that!” Keyno exclaimed.
Huh. So this thing we do, it isn’t normal?
Not from what they say. Raiden shrugged,
listening to dabba and Dad argue. They needed to finish arguing and get to the important stuff: Dayo.
Szin snorted. Just wait until he finds about Dad’s other
surprise. Me!
“He asked you
to purr louder too,” Dale said.
“Great… gods.”
Okay, that was
kinda funny. The next thing Raiden knew, his dabba was yelling about feelings, getting Chad looked at now, and
buzzing Gibor.
Relieved they weren’t
waiting until morning, Raiden drifted off for a short nap.
