Ren's vision blurred as the serpent's gaze swallowed him whole.
Heat surged through his veins, a fire that spread from the mark on his shoulder to every corner of his trembling body. He staggered back, but the serpent's coils tightened, drawing him close against smooth, cool scales that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat.
His breath hitched. "I—I can't—"
The serpent's massive head lowered, its golden eyes burning with hunger and tenderness both. When it spoke, its voice was no longer distant thunder—it was a whisper curling against Ren's ear, deep and intoxicating.
"Stop denying me. You were born for my embrace."
Ren shivered violently as the coils shifted, pressing him tighter, until his chest was flush against the serpent's glistening scales. The strange contact sent sparks racing beneath his skin, pleasure and fear mixing into something unbearable.
"Let me go…" Ren whispered, though his voice betrayed him with its breathless edge.
The serpent's tongue flickered out, brushing lightly along the side of Ren's neck. His knees buckled at the sensation—wet, electric, sinful.
"Your body remembers," the serpent hissed softly. "Even if your mind resists."
Ren's mark flared, glowing bright enough to pierce the mist. The serpent's head dipped lower, brushing its lips—now strangely human-shaped—against the place where the mark burned hottest.
Ren gasped sharply, clutching the serpent's coils for balance as a jolt of molten heat shot through him. His body betrayed him, arching into the touch despite the panic in his mind.
"Ah—stop—"
But his protest melted into a strangled moan when the serpent's mouth sealed against his mark, sucking lightly as though claiming it. Fire coursed through his veins, raw and dizzying, flooding him with warmth that pooled low in his belly.
Ren's fingers dug into the serpent's scales, trembling. "W-why does it… feel like this…?"
The serpent's golden eyes narrowed, glinting with satisfaction. "Because you are mine. This fire is the truth of us."
The coils shifted again, one sliding slowly against Ren's thigh, teasing, testing. Ren's breath hitched violently, his face burning scarlet.
"Don't…" he whispered weakly, yet his body leaned helplessly closer, craving more of the impossible heat.
The serpent growled low, a sound that vibrated straight through Ren's chest. "Your lips still deny me, but your body…" The serpent's mouth curved against his skin, almost a smirk. "…your body begs."
Ren's cry echoed into the mist, swallowed whole by the night.