Dan
"Walk with me, Dan," Ira said, gesturing for him to follow as she stepped out of her office. Her tone was calm, but there was an edge of concern to it.
Dan followed reluctantly, his jaw tight and fists clenched at his sides.
"He's testing my patience, Ira!" he growled, his voice reverberating in the quiet hallway. Frustration etched deep lines into his face as he raked his fingers through his hair, tugging hard at the roots. "Do you know what I went through last night? His scent—his scent—was everywhere. It was like being suffocated by something I can't live without. I couldn't even stay in the same room. I had to leave or risk doing something I'd regret for the rest of my life."
Ira glanced sideways at him, her expression thoughtful but unreadable. "How is a single human unraveling you this much?"
Dan let out a low, bitter laugh. "You don't understand. This isn't just some human. This is my mate we're talking about. It's... different."
Ira's eyes softened at his words, though her voice remained clinical. "There is a shift in his personality. He's more reactive, more aggressive. Is that normal for your kind?"
Dan exhaled deeply, the tension in his shoulders momentarily easing as he considered her question. "In Grosh... yes," he admitted after a pause. "Priming in same-sex mates triggers heightened aggression. It's instinctual—our biology forces us to compete for dominance. The more dominant partner becomes the alpha, while the less dominant one becomes the omega."
Ira raised an eyebrow, tilting her head thoughtfully. "And how is that determined?"
Dan winced, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as though the question itself caused him physical discomfort. "Ira, I'm not even sure I'm allowed to disclose that to a human," he muttered.
"You're Priming with a human, Dan," Ira said, her voice steady but laced with urgency. "And I'm the bridge between the two of you. He doesn't even know he's Priming, and you have no idea how your venom is going to affect him. Don't you think it's time you start telling us about your sacred reproductive process? Don't you think he deserves to know what's happening to him?"
Dan's jaw tightened, his golden eyes glowing faintly as he locked his gaze with hers. He felt a flash of something raw inside him—fear, frustration, and a touch of helplessness. "Deserving to know and being able to handle the truth are two very different things," he said, his voice low and measured, though the edges of his words wavered.
He glanced away for a moment, as though gathering the courage to continue. "Nick doesn't understand what's happening to him, Ira. Hell, he doesn't even know what I am. I'm an alien to him, to all of you. Why would he ever want to tie his life to someone like me? Priming is a Grosh thing, not a human thing. So, forgive me if I'm a little scared right now." He ran a hand through his hair, then rubbed the scruff on his face as though trying to ground himself. "The coming days aren't going to be easy. When Nick starts going through those physical changes, I have no idea how he'll react. He might end up hating me forever."
Dan's voice broke slightly on the last word, and he quickly looked away again, his fists clenched at his sides. He wish he could make Ira understand his predicament. He was millions of lightyears away from his home and it never felt as isolating as it felt at this moment. He was a commanding office not some punny teenager who found his mate in his school, he shouldn't be freaking out, yet the thought of Priming to a mate of different species in a foreign planet was making hyperventilate.
Dan exhaled heavily and straightened, changing the subject. "Did you get the reports on his DNA?"
Ira gave him a small nod, gesturing for him to follow. "Come with me," she said, leading him toward one of the meeting rooms.
Once inside, she handed him a tablet and tapped the screen to bring up a series of complex diagrams. "I found something," she said, her voice tinged with curiosity and a touch of triumph. "Nick's non-coding DNA—what we often call 'junk DNA'—is remarkably similar to Grosh DNA. There are sequences in his genome that align almost perfectly with yours."
Dan frowned, his eyes narrowing as he studied the data. "What does that mean?"
Ira leaned against the table, folding her arms. "I have a hunch that his non-coding DNA is synthesizing proteins that have triggered your Priming. In other words, his body is responding to you because of his hidden biology. It could be mere luck or divine intervention that you strumbled upon him among million of humans who live on New Earth."
Dan felt a jolt run through him as her words sank in. That made sense. It explained everything...the pull he felt toward Nick, the strange reactions Nick was experiencing. Devine intervention or not, this was his reality, this was his truth.
"Thanks for looking into it," Dan said with a heavy sigh, raking a hand through his dark hair. There was no escaping now: Nick was Priming to him. Whether Dan had wanted this or not, their destinies were now irrevocably entwined.
Ira studied him carefully, her brow furrowing. "Are you going to tell him the truth now?"
Dan exhaled, his shoulders sagging under the weight of the situation. "I have to," he admitted. "If I don't, he'll be even more confused about what's happening to him."
The thought of Nick navigating this storm alone tore at Dan's resolve. If Dan's was this effected despite knowing the reason he could only imagine what Nick would go through as the effects of priming take over him.
Stinging Nick with his avath hadn't been intentional; it had been an accident born of carelessness. Yet the consequences were just as binding. If Nick's DNA truly mirrored Grosh physiology, he would experience the full effects of Priming, just as any Grosh male would.
In another time, in another place, Dan wouldn't have hesitated. If they had been on Grosh, the claim would have already been made. By now, they would be entangled in a primal frenzy, exploring every inch of each other with abandon. Determine who would be the top and who the bottom. Who would carry their child and who would provide the life force.
But no—Dan had to restrain himself. He had to honor Earth's social conventions, hold back his instincts, and act like the thought of Nick didn't consume him every second of the day. The ache in his chest was constant, the yearning so potent it was almost unbearable.
"Is Nick going to be alright?" Ira asked softly, her concern cutting through Dan's spiraling thoughts.
Dan hesitated, staring at her as if the answer might suddenly appear. But it didn't. "I don't know," he admitted, his voice thick with uncertainty. "I want him to be alright more than anything. But at this point... I can't say for sure."
The weight of his own words pressed down on him, and he clenched his fists to keep his composure. "Let's hope for the best," he said finally, his tone resolute despite the turmoil inside him, "and prepare for the worst."
Without waiting for a response, Dan turned and strode back toward the lab where he had left Nick. His mind was already spinning with what he would say, how he would explain everything without scaring Nick or pushing him further away.
But when he arrived, the room was empty.
Dan froze, his glowing eyes scanning the space. Nick was nowhere to be seen. A fresh wave of panic surged through him, and his heart pounded in his chest. Where had he gone?
"Nick?" Dan called out, his voice echoing in the stillness of the lab. No answer.
The panic was irrational, even he knew it, yet he couldn't prevent it from building in his chest. Not only that, he needed to be close to Nick, in case he was having severe effects of Priming.
He darted out and looked around only to find him in the main lab, laughing with a bunch of lab workers, men and women. Dan saw red. Priming wasn't the time to socialise with others. The body is too wound up to act platonic to another person. Priming was a time when mates stayed together, preferably away from other people. Explored each other, fought for dominance. Dan wasn't sure if Nick felt that way but Dan couldn't extinguish his primal call. Couldn't ignore the need to separate his mate from other potensial sex partners until they have completed Priming.
Dan legs took him to Nick in a few steps. He took Nick's arm and pulled him out of the lab.
"What the hell, Dan. What do you think you are doing?" Nick yelled, only to stumble back in shock when he looked at his face.
Yes, extended canines, glowing eyes, scrolling like a dog defending his bone, yeah he wasn't a pretty sight and he didn't need to be told how he looked right now.
"Come with me," Dan stormed away expecting Nick to follow. Thankfully, Nick didn't try to deny him and followed him through the hallway, stomping his feet as he did so. When they reached a groove in the wall obscured from the security cameras, Dan caged him in, hands on both sides of his head
"You shouldn't go near other people with priming hormones raging in your blood," he growled.
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked, trying to sound angry but his voice was hoarse, and his hips rose up to bump against Dan's croch on their own, a if their bodies were magnets getting pulled together. Dan bet Nick didn't even know what was happening to him.
"Don't you feel it?" Dan asked, looking down at Nick's hard nipples poking through his thin NEAE uniform.
"No, I don't," he sassed, back arched, trying to rub his hard cock against Dan's. "I need to keep my job, so stop whatever you are doing."
Dan frowned. He was stubborn, more stubborn than Grosh even though physically he wasn't even half their strength.
"If you think I'm scared of you, I'm not," Nick growled, grabbing Dan by the collar and yanking him close. His voice was rough, but his pulse betrayed the storm raging inside him.
Dan's golden eyes burned, locking onto Nick's defiance with a predatory hunger that was becoming harder to suppress.
He knew what Nick's biology was doing right now. Trying to assert dominance. And it was cute. There was no way Nick would be the top, not because Dan was a Grosh and Nick was tiny little human but also because Dan was raised as one of the strongest Grosh males there is. A commander. And even a strong Grosh civilian would have a hard time topping him...to think Nick would become the dominant one in the relationship was laughable.
And right now he wanted to show Nick his place so badly it was like a need clawing at his bones. Nick was going to be his omega, no doubt, but for now, he was going to let him assume he had the upper hand.
Nick's grip tightened on his shirt, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, but Dan could sense the undercurrent of his emotions. Fear wasn't among them. What replaced it was something far more dangerous...reckless desire.
Dan felt a tingling in his wrist before it happened. His avath emerged from his right wrist with a slow, excruciating precision, the bone sliding out with a sharp, throbbing ache. He swallowed the groan that threatened to spill as sensation shot up his arm. The avath, gleaming and deadly, pulsed faintly with his heartbeat. It was a weapon, a sacred part of him, and its venom held the power to bind or destroy, but right now, its function was much more sinister. To bind Nick to him forever.
He moved his hand with slow deliberate precision, and dragged the sharp tip along the column of Nick neck, hard enough to make him feel the sharp point but not hard enough to peirce. His heart hammered as he watched Nick's reaction. The effect was immediate. Nick shuddered visibly, his breath catching in his throat. Any other grown man would have recoiled in fear at the sight of the deadly protrusion—at the knowledge that just a small dose of its venom could kill him in seconds. But not Nick. Instead, he leaned forward, a subtle but unmistakable motion as if drawn to it.
He pulled him hand away, he didn't want to strong him again. No, he had already learned from his mistake.
Dan placed his hand beside Nick's head while his other hand moved to Nick's hips, gripping him firmly as he pushed him back, creating just enough space to keep Nick's cock from touching him. He leaned down, his lips brushing dangerously close to Nick's, his voice dropping to a dark, intimate whisper.
"Do you want it, Nick? Do you want my venom?"
Nick's eyes widened, as he pulled away, shock flickering across his face at the question, but the betraying tremor that coursed through his body told Dan everything he needed to know.
"It's a sweet pain," Dan husked his voice a low growl that sent a ripple of tension between them.
Nick swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. His gaze flickered to the avath, his pupils dilating as he stared at the sharp, glistening tip. Time seemed to stretch as the air between them thickened with unspoken truths and unrestrained need.
"Are you trying to scare me, big bad alien?" Nick asked with a challenge.
Then, without breaking eye contact, Nick tilted his head to the side, parted his lips just enough to take the tip of the avath between his teeth. Dan hissed sharply, the sensation sparking a jolt of pleasure shoot through his body like wildfire, his cock lurched at the sensation.
Nick released the bone with a deliberate motion, his voice low and rough as he spoke. "Do it."
Dan froze, his chest tightening as the weight of Nick's words settled over him. There was no hesitation, no trace of fear in his tone. He wasn't what Nick was doing, weather this is was effect of Priming or Nick was playing some game, some insane human courtship game that Dan had no idea of.
Dan hesitated for a second, but the primal part of him urged him on. He dragged the heated tip down Nick's side, tracing the curve of his ribs, the dip of his waist.
Down, lower, over the sharp jut of his hip. And then, without warning, Dan drove it forward, impaling the fleshy part.
Nick flinched, his eyes wide with shock before his body shuddered and he folded, the heel of his palm pressing against his cock as what Dan assumed was an orgasm took over his body.
"What was that?" Nick asked, amazed at his own body's reaction.
The smell of Nick's come reached Dan and he gulped as saliva pooled in his mouth. He was willing to go on his knees and beg for a taste but they were in an open hallway and he didn't want to embarrass Nick.
"Come to my room, Nick," Dan growled, his voice rough and full of promise. "Before I pick you up and give the whole NEAE a show they'll never forget."
Dan stepped back, though every cell in his body screamed in protest at the distance between them. Restraint was a fragile thread, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold onto it. If Nick didn't follow, Dan didn't trust himself not to make good on his threat. But by some miracle or perhaps sheer temptation, Nick moved, his steps hesitant but deliberate.
The moment Nick crossed the threshold of his room, Dan shut the door behind him with a sharp click, sealing them in together. And then he was on his knees, his hands tugging at Nick's waistband with an urgency he could barely contain.
Dan's sharp gaze fell to the small bead of blood from the avath on his hip. His mouth watered, his instincts roaring to claim every part of Nick. Without hesitation, he leaned forward and licked the faint trail of blood, his tongue tracing the mark with reverence. The tang hit his tongue like a drug, sending a jolt of satisfaction and possessive hunger through him.
His saliva worked instantly, closing the wound, its healing properties designed by Grosh evolution to protect mates. But Dan wasn't just tending to Nick; he was worshiping him.
He was starving for Nick in ways he couldn't even put into words. His body, his soul, his very being craved to share everything he was. The essence of his venom itched beneath his skin, ready to bond them in ways Nick could never fully understand. He wanted to give, to imprint himself on Nick so deeply that nothing could separate them.
And then the thought struck him—a primal, ancient instinct buried deep in Grosh biology. He wanted to give him his essence, his venom, and his child. He flinched at the last thought. Omegas could carry children, but Nick was a human.
The desire was overwhelming, instinctual, but the rational part of him knew better. Nick was human, not Grosh. Expecting Nick to carry his child was cruel to consider. Humane males weren't biologically built for that, even though the venom would change his physiology, Dan couldn't risk it.
Yet the thought persisted, a whisper in the back of his mind. Dan forced the thought aside, focusing instead on the here and now. His hands steadied on Nick's hips, his eyes looking up at him with unmasked hunger. This moment was all that mattered, and he would show Nick exactly what it meant to be wanted by a Grosh.
***
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