An Azziarin Christmas (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Azziarin Series Book 4)
Page 6
Chapter Six
Christmas Morning
“What are you doing up so early?” Risshi asked Mara as he lay in bed. The first sun had just started to rise, and his mate had just showered.
“It’s Christmas!” Her face held a bright smile as excitement danced in her bright eyes.
“Nobody will be up now,” he said, but she just laughed.
After a few minutes, she said, “Come on, Risshi, get up. I want to go down to the living area where the tree is.”
“Fine,” he grinned as he threw the covers back and climbed out of bed.
Mara stared at his nakedness. With his muscular body and chiseled abs…umm. She wished Jenny could see her mate.
“What are you staring at?” he asked with a sly smile.
“Quit distracting me and get ready,” she laughed.
The two of them headed hand-in-hand to the living area. To Risshi’s surprise, everyone was waiting.
“What took you so long?” Sydney asked.
As Risshi looked around, he noted how each couple looked so happy. Sydney sat in Jakke’s lap, his arms wrapped around her. Chloe sat between Dazz’s legs, and Krista sat on Kollin’s lap. They all encircled the odd, lighted tree that looked beautiful.
His father, Zekke and Takkeo sat off to the side.
“I tried to get him up earlier, but he was tired.” Mara laughed as she took his hand, and they found their own place to sit.
Chloe, the only one who wasn’t pregnant, got to her feet to give out presents. The first one she took was to Mallik. His eyes rounded in surprise when she handed it to him. “For me?” he questioned.
“Yes. You're family.” Looking at the males, she said, “We didn’t know what to get you since we can’t visit the market.” She leveled a stare at Dazz and raised her eyebrows before she continued. “So, these are objects that we had back home during medieval times.”
She continued handing out gifts to all the males while the females watched in delight as they opened them.
King Mallik grinned when he opened his gift. “What do you call this?” he asked as he held it up, inspecting the work of the gifted bladesmith.
“It’s a double-headed battleaxe,” Sydney supplied.
He turned it one way and then the other, looking at the intricate detail that was etched into the handle. “Thank you, it’s amazing.”
Kattlyn opened her gift of beautiful form-fitting gowns. The females mostly wore straight brown dresses on Azziar. “They are gorgeous! Thank you!”
Takkeo tore his gift open with gusto and held up his weapon. “It’s a war hammer,” Sydney said.
“It’s perfect!” His eyes glimmered with excitement.
Zekke didn’t want to take his gift, but Chloe insisted as she shoved it into his hands. As Mara watched, she could tell he liked it. He held out the dirk, a long-thrusting dagger, but he never smiled. He just looked at the design for a few moments and then laid it down. She didn’t know much about Zekke and often wondered about his odd, standoffish behavior.
Mara didn’t watch the other couples; instead, she got her gift for Risshi and handed it to him. “Here. It’s not like the others.” She peered at the weapons and then said, “They are not common gifts on Earth.”
“And this is?”
“Yes.” She smiled as he took the gift from her.
She watched as he carefully unwrapped the package. He grinned at her and then opened the box and pulled out the pocket knife. “What is it?” he asked.
She laughed, “It’s a pocket knife.” She took it from him and opened it up, showing him the two blades.
“What an odd design,” he said as he looked it over. “It would have its purposes.”
“My dad carried one in his pocket all the time. If anything needed cutting, he’d pull it out and use it. It’s not for fighting, though.”
“It’s perfect!” He grinned and then leaned over and kissed her lips.
“Now, I have a gift for you.”
“You do?” Mara didn’t know that he had gotten her a gift. “What is it?”
He laughed and then handed her the present. She tore it open and stared in stunned disbelief as tears filled her eyes. “You got me a ring?” she asked as she glanced at him before staring at the ring again.
“Yes. I know that’s your symbol for mating, and it’s important to you.” He took the ring out and slid it on her finger.
It was a silver band with tiny jewels of different colors embedded all the way around, making it sparkle and shine every time she moved her hand. She glanced at the others and saw that they, too, received rings for Christmas. Mara glanced down at her hand and then back to Risshi once again. “Thank you. It’s the best present you could have given me.” She threw her arms around his neck.
“You are welcome, mate.”
“Oh, wait!” I have one more gift for Jakke,” Sydney said with a mischievous smile and watery eyes.
Everyone turned to watch as Sydney pulled out another small package. “This is a traditional Christmas gift for males on Earth, and I wanted you to have one.”
He looked skeptical as he took the gift. After unwrapping it, he pulled out a red tie. All of the girls laughed while the males looked confused.
“What is it?” he asked, holding it up by one end.
“It’s a tie.” More female laughter filled the room. “Here, let me show you.” Sydney took the tie and draped it around his neck. When she made a beautiful knot and adjusted the tie accordingly, she leaned back and said, “There. You look good.”
His lips tightened before he gritted out, “Sish, mate! I love you, but I will not wear a leash! Not for you or anyone else!” He tore the tie off while everyone else exploded in laughter.
Risshi leaned over and whispered, “Do your males really wear that?”
Mara laughed, “They do.” Risshi just shook his head.
“Okay, let’s eat. I’m starving!” Sydney announced.
“Of course you are,” Chloe said.
As everyone else headed to the dining area, Mara watched with amazement. This was family, her family. Soon they would have little ones running around, and their family would grow.
“Are you coming?” Risshi asked with a smile.
“Yes.” She stood up and smiled lovingly at her mate. “Thank you.”
“For what?” He took her hand in his, and they walked toward the dining hall.Gazing at everyone sitting around the table, she looked at him and said, “For making the first Azziarin Christmas the best Christmas ever.”
The End
(For Now)
Thank you for reading An Azziarin Christmas, and as you may have guessed, Zekke’s story is next. If you wish to be notified when new books become available, visit my website at hannahdavenport.com and sign up for notifications. You can also like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter.
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Other books by Hannah Davenport
Jakke (Book 1)
Dazz (Book 2)
Kollin (Book 3)
Zekke (Book 4 coming soon)
Ambriel (Book 1)
Ambriel’s Quest (Book 2)