[Rewritten] The Family Secret - Voices of Beasts (Book 1)

Chapter 11

Thanksgiving came and went without a hitch. Azaran and I went to go visit my family for the day, Helaza went to go check on things in Limbo, and Fate  had gone back to Heaven for the day. We all reunited for the festivities and relaxed playing board and video games for most of the rest of the night. Cards Against Humanity had gotten lewd and hilarious, and Fate played the raunchiest hand that had Hel and I laughing ourselves half to death and Az blushing redder than his demon form.

I'd been shown that with the blood tablets I had I could totally mix them with booze and safely have some beers without getting ill. Az and I were the only ones still up about 10 in and we were racing one another in Mario Kart. He was just a tire ahead of me when I hucked a blue shell I'd been holding on to since early on and blew his car off a cliff and into the water. I sped ahead and crossed the finish line.

"WOO!" I exclaimed, fairly buzzed.

"Damn, you've gotten good at this since since you got here." Az said, sipping his Demon's Brew.

"I was already good at it, I just learned how to properly use the items from you three." I replied, setting us up for another race. I could see him chewing his lip out of the corner of his eye.

"Dante, listen. There's a ball coming up in December."

"A ball?" I asked curiously, "Like a masquerade ball kinda thing?"

"Actually yes, you're right on the nose. It's a masquerade ball for the kick off of the new year, and for the new mating swing."

"The mating swing, you've mentioned it but I still don't get it."

"Well, every 100 years there is a large, natural phenomenon among Inhumans where most of them find their mate."

"Most?" I asked nervously.

"Well, if one's mate died then there's nothing that can be done, or if their mate hasn't been born yet then they won't find them until either it's their time or in the next swing." He explained.

"So there's a chance..."

"Yes, there's a chance you could find your mate this year. Have you been wondering about this?" He said curiously swigging his brew.

I honestly hadn't, the thought of dating after transitioning hadn't crossed my mind at all. Who would want a trans man who hadn't transitioned yet? Who would want me now that I couldn't finish my transition? I grabbed and cracked open another beer, dropped in a tablet, and chugged the whole thing.

"Hadn't really thought about it until now." I admitted. Az looked at me kind of surprised.

"Really?"

"Well yeah. My transition was on the forefront of my mind the past few years, and that meant more to me than finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. Now..." I flopped back onto the rug, my arm over my face.

"Why are you now so worried? You're a handsome young man, and mating isn't exactly a choice between partners. It's a fated draw, who you end up with is who you end up with."

"So, even worse, I might get stuck with someone who hates me and doesn't want to be with a guy like me." I mumbled through my arm.

"You'd be surprised. There have been other Inhumans like you before, and some of my favorite stories are the unexpected ones. One of my closest Generals, he came to Earth about ten years after the last mating swing. Total ladies man, would go bar hopping with me, get sloppy, bring all the girls home. Until one night, we were out and dancing with a few girls when this tall, handsome as hell man comes strutting in. Even I fangirl over this guy a little bit kinda good looking. Rugged as hell, built like a freight train, he comes sauntering in like he owns the place.

"Now, I'm the one facing the door, Belzan is too busy dancing with the twin dancing next to me to see him. The twin dancing with me could see me looking at this guy and she winked at me, we both thought he was cute. So it was about 15 minutes in when out of the blue, Bel suddenly stop dancing mid song. It was one of his favorites, and the look on his face was pure joy. He pulled me off to the side, asked who smelled like a roaring fire and maple syrup. I nodded towards the big guy, and his face was pure confusion.

"'But that's a guy' He says to me, all confused. I remember shrugging at him and just telling him to stop being close minded, that mates happen whether we're ready for them or not. It was like two hours later Big Guy came over and introduced himself, his names Ellis and he's thinking one of the twins has to be his mate."

"Wait, can't you and the girls see who's destined to be with who because of their paths?" I questioned peeking from behind my arm.

"Yeah, and I knew exactly what was going on. So Ellis is hanging out with us and he's dancing with the twin I was hanging out with and we were all having a good time when the girls want to sit for a while. They ask Ellis and Belzan to go and get them drinks, so they nod and head over to the bar. It took them a few minutes, and the girls and I were watching intently since I told them that this was it, and when Ellis accidentally touched his elbow the two of them felt the spark and they ended up at the bar knocking them back till the bar closed."

"What did you and the twins end up doing?" 

"Went back to my place, dramatically and drunkenly read some plays, ended up having them spend the night. We kept in touch for a while, even after they both went back to the UK. Sweet girls, think they didn't take Bel and I seriously though."

"What about Bel and Ellis?"

"The two of them had one hell of a rocky start, didn't understand why the mating process paired the two of them together. Neither of them were really into guys, but once they got to know one another all that changed."

"So everything worked out?"

"The two of them live together in a small house out in the middle of nowhere, raising any wayward Inhumans I send their way. They're the best dads." He chuckled, fiddling with his mug with a smile. I removed my arm and looked at him for a minute, curious.

"Can you, Fate, and Hel fall in love? Does the Mating affect any of you?"

"Not that we know of. Not that it's that big a deal, Fate's not looking and Hel's not interested."

"Yeah, but what about you?" I exclaimed, pointing at him. He chuckled and shook his head. The beer was starting to hit me hard, and we could both tell.

"You're drunk, let's get you to bed." He helped me up and led me to the recliner room. I flopped onto it, kicking the foot rest up in the process, and curled up with the blanket Elise had sent home with me today.

"Night, Az." I mumbled, almost immediately dozing off.

"Night, kid. You're gonna give her such a run for her money..."