Ren's cry echoed into the mist, trembling on the edge of pleasure and fear. The serpent's coils tightened, possessive, as if to keep him from slipping away.
Then—suddenly—the pressure shifted. The massive body coiled around him began to glow, scales dissolving into streams of golden light. Ren blinked through the haze of heat as the enormous serpent shape folded inward, shrinking, reshaping.
Before his dazed eyes, the beast melted into the form of a man.
A man with inky black hair falling against his sharp jaw, his chest bare and smooth, skin pale as moonlight. But the eyes—the same molten gold—burned down at Ren with unmistakable hunger.
Li Wei.
Ren's lips parted soundlessly. "Y-you…"
Li Wei leaned forward, bracing his arm against the wall of mist behind Ren, caging him in. His body radiated heat, the same suffocating fire Ren had felt in the coils, now pressed against him in human form.
"Do you see now?" Li Wei whispered, his voice low and velvety, brushing hot across Ren's lips. "Beast or man, serpent or human… I am the same. And you…" He trailed a finger slowly down Ren's chest, stopping just above his racing heart. "…you belong to me, in every shape of this world."
Ren's breath came ragged, his knees trembling under the weight of that gaze. "N-no… this isn't… real—"
Li Wei cut him off by pressing closer, their bodies flush. His bare skin was searing, every point of contact sparking a dangerous heat. His hand slid to Ren's shoulder, fingers curling against the glowing mark.
Ren gasped, the fire bursting across his body again. "Ah—!"
Li Wei smirked, lowering his lips until they brushed the shell of Ren's ear. "Your cries are sweeter when you don't fight them."
Ren shook his head desperately, yet his fingers clutched at Li Wei's arm, betraying him. He hated the way his body leaned in, the way his chest rose to meet the warmth pressing against him.
Li Wei pulled back just enough to capture Ren's gaze fully, his golden eyes smoldering. "You can deny me with words," he murmured, "but here—" his hand pressed firmly over the serpent mark, making Ren shudder violently— "you cannot lie."
Ren's lips trembled, his face flushed with heat he couldn't suppress.
"Stop…" he whispered weakly.
Li Wei's lips curved, so close their breaths mingled. "No, beloved. I've waited lifetimes. This time, I won't."