Page 30 of Bred By Zyros
I will make her understand, even if it is only to tell her of the disgusting touches and my shame. I will share those nasty parts of me with her; share anything. Do anything. She can remove my fangs, pluck every scale. I amhers. I cannot be anyone else’s. There was great shame in the desperation that drove me to The Solar Breeding Agency, but none in everything that came after. The moment I pulled her citrus scent into me, I knew. I knew she would be everything; I had even tried to hate her for it, but my female gave me smiles where I only offered scowls. My harsh words were met with gentle, blue eyes.
She will forgive me.
And if she will not…it changes nothing.
Venom-touched mates cannot be separated. After just a few solars, the withdrawal from my venom will set in; it is said to be a horrible way to die. I feel her spirit move within me, the faintest brush of warmth…praying to the goddesses that she finds mine just as comforting despite what I’ve done. To bind a mate without their consent…it is a horrible crime. I gather her in my arms, tucking her warm, small body close to my chest, knowing I may be denied her touch after she wakes.
It will be another torment deserving.
So, I will soak her in now, waiting for the first signs of life to start within my beautiful, perfect mate. Even now, her scent changes with more than the venom.
The goddesses have given me another.
This one…I will not survive. I cannot—
I tug her closer, so close she whimpers in her sleep. I have never wanted to hear a being cry so badly in all my orbits. This child will not come into the world quietly; they will hiss and scream at the top of their lungs and breathe life into me like their mother before them.
The alternative is unsurvivable.
Melody
My limbs somehow feel both sore and numb at the same time, the sound of life riotous around me for the first few moments, overwhelming and scary. I force a deep breath through my lungs, met with the wet, gritty, sharp floral smell of Nyssara, and the being who brought me to her. Rainstorm musk surrounds me as thunder cracks somewhere nearby. The gentle rocking of a hammock—
No, not a hammock. I can feel the press of his chest through the fabric I’m cocooned in. I am terribly uncomfortable and uneasy. Like my body hasn’t moved or stretched in solars, but the rocking lulls me in and out of sleep, anyway, keeping me in this odd in between state. The smell of everything is so intense it makes my head throb, the chittering of the Thryss following somewhere far behind wherever we’re going. I don’t try to ask;I don’t even open my eyes, knowing that regardless of where it is, I’m just happy it’s with him. I’ve fallen hard. So deep in it, I know it’s pointless to try to stop now. Now and then, Zyros dips forward, plucking something off the ground before carrying on through the dense jungle. It’s when a particularly loud strike of thunder sounds that he heaves a sigh, turning in the opposite direction before heading off again.
Back home, I presume. The storms have started then? He’d said it would be a few days yet.
I’m ready to open my eyes now, but I’m worried this will end, the gentle rocking and quiet moment. My memories of his breeding ceremony are hazy at best, but one word keeps coming to mind every time I try to summon a coherent thought about the night.
Mate.
My heart flutters in my chest, hope…deafening hope before another deeper kind of nagging takes over. Zyros needs something from me, something important. My brows furrow as I try to remember what it was I was meant to do. Finally, the urge to open my eyes grows significant enough for me to actually try. They flutter open, crusty and sensitive. I immediately slam them closed again, aware of the stiffening male carrying me. My hands are shaky as I rub them with my palms as the damp, cool touch of the cave takes place of the muggy, humid air.
“Zyros,” I croak. I’m not sure what I’m asking for, but he seems to understand. The glowing vines come into focus first. My heart warms as pictures of them wrapped around us grace my mind before teal hair takes my vision. I’m lifted from the odd sling I was nestled in and brought into his arms, a groan leaving my lips. “Please, sit me down,” I whisper, my throat hoarse. “How long have I been asleep?”
My body seems at odds with myself, and he hesitates, nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply beforelowering me gently to the ground. I nearly smile as he wraps himself around me, not touching but keeping close. My body feels…off. My palm finds my chest. There’s a weird pressure there, a cool, familiar yet foreign press of something deep. Panic rears inside me, my heart jolting.
Am I having some kind of allergic reaction to his semen?
Surely not, the agency would've—
As my hand shakes on the ground where I brace myself, the glint of something pulls my attention to my skin. A ragged gasp chokes my dry mouth, a network of greenish blue veins lines my skin, shining like—
I slam my attention to Zyros, his slitted eyes wary as he settles beside me. “Something’s wrong, I don’t…I don’t feel good.”
But that’s not true exactly. I feel…fine, a little stiff, justdifferent.
He opens his mouth but closes it again, hissing to himself as his chest heaves with mine.
Something is wrong.
“What happened? We-we were doing the ceremony, you-well, we had sex, and I can’t—”
My breath is thin in my lungs as he grabs me, pulling me into him. “Hush, my Sssaryth. You are still adjusting.”
“Adjusting to what?” The more I try to understand, the more my mind fogs and aches.
“The mating. Here, drink this.”
