Page 44 of King of Serpents

She turned warily toward the tunnel, her skin prickling with goosebumps beneath her jumpsuit. She was already chilled from the cold of the cave system and had been away from the fire burning in the royal nest for far too long. But it was not just the cold making her react now. The heat drawing together within her belly was warming her subtly from the inside, despite the numbness that was slowly invading her extremities.

Should she run and try to make it back to the warmth of her nest before he arrived? Did she even have time to make the sort of clean getaway that Buosoa had? Somehow, she very seriously doubted it. Running now almost felt extremely foolish. As provoked as he obviously was, would he take it the wrong way? Too many questions that lacked answers. Normally, her response would be to boldly take a chance anyway. Unfortunately, it seemed that nerve was failing her. So instead, it seemed that she was just going to stand there like a mouse, trembling in the face of an approaching serpent.

“I can’t believe that I’m just standing here,” she muttered with a humorless laugh. “It seems that I am weak as any other after all.”

The irony of her situation did not escape her. How often had she scoffed at the way everyone in the colony seemed to lose their heads and common sense after the Corp retreated from the planet? She hadn’t wanted anyone enough to set aside her own logical and sense of self-preservation. Because of that, she had never believed herself to be capable of the weakness that she saw in others when it came to matters of love and desire—but this was a sort of weakness that she had never encountered before. It was derived purely from a need that went far beyond just casual desire and romantic fantasies. It stirred something to life within her that was helpless to do anything but respond as a low humming song carried by the tunnel invaded the deepest part of her and turned to a pool of fire churning restlessly inside of her.

It caressed over her senses as it rolled over her, fanning the flames of her need higher within her until her skin itched with want for his touch, and her sex tingled and slickened with her need to be filled. She clenched her thighs together with the hope of exercising some control over it, but the action sent a tremor of friction rising up to brush her weeping cunt. A pant of breath escaped her, and there was the distant sensation of something slipping from between her fingers and her arms suddenly becoming weightless as she stared into the darkness.

Waiting. Waiting for him.

Fuck, why again wasn’t she running? None of this was natural as far as her lived experiences had taught her. Nothing should exercise so much control. But she couldn’t make herself move. Her body was betraying her as it bloomed, ripe, wet, and sweet, in preparation for something she couldn’t even accurately imagine.

Alex shivered where she stood, the sound of Therxian’s wings growing louder and louder, matching the rhythmic beat of her heart echoing in her ears. A shadow shifted elegantly within the darkness, its movement becoming increasingly beautiful as it gained more and more definition as it got closer. Therxian was coming.

She saw the crimson glow of his eyes cutting the darkness first, and it was followed by the sleekness of his dark indigo body emerging from the recesses of the tunnel into the light of the bloom galthie flowers growing in clusters from the corridor walls. He settled on a ledge for a moment, his head angling toward her as his tail whipped the air and curled. His two dark tongues tasted the air as his eyes roved over her, gliding lower over her as his song brightened, sending a dual touch of heat stroking through her, stirring her arousal higher.

Until his gaze dropped to her feet and froze. His eyes narrowed and blazed, but it was the discordant, aggressive note breaking his song that ripped through her so that her own eyes dropped down in a panic to the meat that had fallen to the ground at her feet.

Drawing himself up, he hissed vehemently, his head whipping around as he searched for his rival. His gavo snapped upward and began to rattle with its vibration in addition to the rapid movements of his jaw, producing a sound of threat that she had never heard before, punctuated by sharp, primal barks. It was horrific and arousing. She stumbled back, drawing his attention back to her as she backpedaled away. He crooned at her, and his wings snapped numerous times against his sides until they suddenly spread wide. His wings tipped briefly, but then he launched himself through the air toward her, giving her an almost perfect view of his sant. Engorged and glistening with his cum dripping from it, it jerked in the air as he plummeted towards her, its multiple heads twitching in a way that made her thighs clench with a new burst of arousal flaming through her.

Fuck, she was most definitely in trouble.

Chapter 32

Need burned through him, charring his insides with a permanent brand. It shifted within him dangerously as he clung to the edge of the tunnel and leaned forward to peer down at the female staring up at him. He drew her rich scent deep into his lungs, his tongues snaking out to capture the delicate note of flavor within her subtle pheromones. It did not possess the potency of a Seshanamitesh female, and yet it affected him more than the combined pheromones of all the young females of the noble families. The aftermath of being doused repeatedly with their essence had ignited a fire and need to breed within him, but this female... her sweetness consumed him. He hungered for it—for her—like he had never hungered for anything before. The sight of her alone there soothed the fury within him, easing the territorial aggression rising brutally within him so that it faded—forgotten.

Alex. Her name hissed from between his teeth, rolling off his tongues, but he had little doubt that she heard it. To him, however, it was a litany—a prayer to the one being that stirred to life such intense feeling of devotion in him. It brought forth a fever in him that only equaled the charm of her intellect that had worked her way beneath his scales. She was small and delicate and yet she packed an engaging personality within her tiny frame. His eyes roved over her with admiration from the crown of golden hair upon her head to the lithe little body and the swell of her breasts pushing against her coverings. He hummed enticingly to her as his gaze slid over her longingly, lowering slowly. How he cherished every curve and every delicate, slender line. So different. So precious. So—what was that?

He froze, his gavo lifting as his eyes fastened upon the meat lying at her feet.

That did not belong there. Jathella had not mentioned that Buosoa would approach with such a gift. And guards seldom had time from their duties to hunt. His tongues flickered, intentionally separating the notes of scents and flavors in the air until he isolated the heavy musk of that male. Therxian’s head jerked back in affront, his eyes narrowing on the meat that rested at the epicenter of the pheromone trail. His gavo began to rapidly snap and vibrate and his jaw clattered in warning as he whipped his head around, the sound broken by short, territorial barks. He dared!

Not only was he lurking around the palace, but he had intentionally made an approach! As fresh as the meat appeared to be, he was likely still nearby. Another wave of fury exploded through him, searing the primitive need to conquer and claim deeper within him as he launched himself from the edge of the tunnel, his shriek shattering the air. He channeled every ounce of his rage through his vocalizations as he dropped rapidly toward his exposed and vulnerable female.

His wings stretched wide, catching the air as he plummeted, his tail whipping viciously behind him to steer him directly toward her. His gavo was extended to full sail so that he cut through the air more efficiently, stabilizing his rapid descent. He would strike at any male who gave challenge. He would wrap his wings and coils protectively around what was his. He would—Why was she backing away?

She was not only backing away from him but hastily withdrawing with enough speed that she was tripping over her own feet as he dropped heavily within the corridor, his wings fanning wide. His head snaked to the left, and then to the right, his dark tongues flicking out to draw in the air over his oral receptors. His tail drawing up in a tight coil, he whipped it, slapping the meat off the edge of the corridor and into the dark abyss of the broken-out bottom of the tunnel. He hissed, his throat bulging aggressively. It only receded enough for Therxian’s jaw to clatter loudly in warning again as he let loose several sharp barks before allowing it to bulge once more as his gavo vibrated threateningly as he side-winded swiftly toward his female, who promptly stumbled and fell in response to his unexpected movement.

Alarm rippled through him as she dropped, and he rushed toward her, his tail curling around her possessively. Her vulnerable position sprawled on the ground was putting him on edge. Spreading his wings wide, he crouched over her as he continued to demonstrate vocally and with visual cues. And still the male did not show himself.

Satisfaction rose sharply within Therxian as his gaze drifted triumphantly through the corridor. Coward!

Releasing another shrill bark, he huffed triumphantly, his head lowering as his attention dropped to the little female within his grasp.

His.

Affection, territorial triumph, possessiveness... hunger. It crashed through him violently. He had defeated his rival. He had won the right of capture. His chest expanded proudly as he drew back his wings to look down at his prize.

A pale fist snapped up the moment his wings withdrew, landing with an aggressive, hard blow against his nose. The blow sent a burst of blinding pain across his face and into his eyes. He recoiled, his tail falling away and rolling away with the painful impact. His hands flew to his face as his wings fanned the air and his gavo rose and dropped rapidly with his shocked shriek.

Peering between his fingers, he stared in shock at the female crouched in front of him: her face flushed and her body trembling with every deep breath she drew. Despite the pain burning through his face, his arousal pitched higher. Exquisite. Strong.

Hunger licked with a tongue of fire deep within him, and he slowly lowered his hands to return her regard, his gavo rising inquisitively with his interest.

“What the fucking hell, Therxian?” she snapped.

A croon rose from deep within his chest, an instinctive mating song that males had been gifted with since the beginning of their time. A female’s greatest strength was her pheromones. And although her song was potent, it held only a fraction of the allure that a male possessed. His song filled the void between them so that her fragrance heightened, and she shivered in response.