I didn’t get why I felt so nervous as Salha led me to the massive amphitheater they called the Great Circle. This wasn’t going to be a true wedding, just the formality to secure my safe stay with the tribe for the next few months. Still, I felt jitters. But those worries quickly took a backseat as I feasted my eyes on the mesmerizing sight before me.
As they couldn’t comfortably navigate stairs, the ‘seating’ area was basically an incline, not so steep as to make it uncomfortable, but just enough that people in the back were higher than those in the front and could still have a clear view of what was happening on the huge circular platform at the bottom. Large braziers surrounded the circle, and a fascinating pale blue flame burned within them. It almost looked like a magical flame.
Standing around the edges of the circle, a dozen Ordosian females held long ribbons of the same pale-blue color as the flames. In the encroaching darkness of early nightfall, a slight glow radiated around them. They reminded me of the ribbons from my old days as a rhythmic gymnast. Behind them, on an elevated dais, the three Elders towered over the area. And beyond, to complete this magnificent tableau, the river trickled down in a happy flow.
A hush descended over the tribe assembled for the event as Salha led me to the cushioned, U-shaped stool at the edge of the circle, right where the ‘seating’ area ended. She made me remove my shoes before entering the circle. As soon as I was settled, Salha went to join the twelve females on the circle. One of them extended a pair of ribbons to my sister-in-law, who slipped her hands into a sort of glove at the end of each.
My jaw dropped when all of the females lifted the tips of their tails and their scales parted, revealing whitish bulbs that seemed to swell. From where I sat, it made the tips of their tail look vaguely like lilies of the valley. Salha emitted a long, sustained cry that startled me. It wasn’t a shout or scream, but more like a call to gather. As soon as she stopped, the females began rattling their tails in almost perfect sync, the sound akin to a strong wind rustling through the leaves of a tree. Seconds later, they started singing in a manner similar to the Inuit Throat-Singers. The crowd soon responded to their haunting chant by interjecting throaty sounds at specific moments, their own tail rattles also joining the fray.
Mesmerized, I stared in awe as the females began to sway from side to side in an incredibly sensual motion. Salha made that calling sound again before raising her arms and moving around in a tight circle, all while waving her ribbons. The other females imitated her for a few seconds, then launched into an enchanting choreography. They appeared to glide around the circle, ribbons swirling and twirling around them, looking almost like light waves dancing in the air in the growing darkness.
Salha, still in the center of the circle, was performing what could have passed for the Ordosian version of belly dancing. In that instant, I realized that she was performing on my behalf the dance that I should have done. While a part of me was grateful for them sparing me from this, another part felt that, as this was my wedding, I should have performed my own version of a dance instead.
But the sound of drums being struck once every two seconds had my head jerk left then right. Four males slithered from the sides, beating their drums in perfect sync as they went to take their position at the edge of the circle.
A war cry rose in the distance. I recognized the voice as belonging to Szaro. A most pleasant shiver of anticipation ran through me. Two voices echoed his war cry, their tone menacing. As if in direct response, the four males by the circles began beating their drums in a martial fashion. The females moved to the edges, swaying from side to side while still waving their ribbons. Salha came to stand by my side.
My breath caught in my throat as I watched Szaro enter the circle with a savage expression on his face, the badass battle staff I’d admired in his armory held firmly in his hand. The two males I had yet to see continued to shout war cries from the sides while Szaro began performing a dance of his own, waving his staff around with the dexterity of a marching band drum major, swirling it around his body and neck, tossing it into the air and catching it flawlessly, the whole time flexing his muscles, stretching his hood to make himself look even more fearsome and imposing, and swaying in a way that had me hot and bothered in no time.
He moved closer to me and struck his staff on the ground. The movement of his hips made his abdominal muscles ripple, causing my mouth to water. He rattled the tip of his tail next to my ear, and the sound resonated deep in my core.
My nipples instantly hardened, and wetness pooled between my thighs. Szaro flicked his tongue, and his slitted pupils widened. A hungry look descended over his features, making me squirm in my seat.
Just as I was about to give in to the burning urge to reach out and touch him, Szaro pulled away. Mandha and Raskier rushed into the circle, each armed with a weapon. They immediately attacked him in a battle worthy of the most epic martial arts choreography. I couldn’t tell if it was a real fight or not, but it had me at the edge of my seat. It also turned me on far more than I wanted to admit to myself.
When Szaro split his staff in two, revealing vicious blades at the tips of each half to simultaneously fight his two opponents, I got so caught up in the moment that I jumped to my feet and started shouting encouragement. Salha’s laughter next to me snapped me out of my daze. Her knowing smile and approving gaze made me blush. But as the beat of the drums and the throaty chants of the females and of the crowd reached a crescendo, everything suddenly stopped. Silence descended over the circle. Mandha and Raskier slithered backwards, heads bowed, hoods folded, and arms spread wide with their weapons lowered in a gesture of defeat.
Szaro moved to the center of the circle and emitted a victorious war cry to which everyone responded with the rattling of their tails. That sound didn’t affect me like Szaro’s had when he’d done it next to my ear. He reattached the two halves of his staff into a single weapon, placed it on the ground next to him and extended both hands towards me. Salha led me to him. He drew me into his embrace, and I wrapped my arms around him.
Fuck me sideways!! My knees turned to jelly at the hard feel of his chest against mine. I’d expected his scales to be hard and to scrape my skin, but they were smooth to the touch. He towered over me by a good head—his hood spread wide, blocking out the full moon behind him. His pupils widened as his gaze bore into mine, hypnotizing me. Szaro’s tail wrapped around us twice, drawing me even more closely to him, and yet still leaving enough length for the tip to rise next to my ear and rattle. A moan escaped me as a bolt of lust exploded in the pit of my stomach.
A fierce smile stretched his lips, baring his fangs that appeared longer than ever. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned forward, a rumbling sound vibrating from his chest. My fingers dug into his muscular back, expecting the impending sting from his fangs sinking into my flesh, but he merely rubbed his cheek against mine on one side and then on the other, marking me with his scent. The gentle scraping of the scales alongside his jaw on my skin resonated directly in my core. His hold tightened as I moaned again, the sustained rattling of his tail working like the most potent of aphrodisiacs.
When he straightened to look at me, a flash of light blue at the edge of my vision made me realize the females had resumed their dance, swirling their ribbons around us. I felt some of them brush against my arms and back, but they didn’t matter to me: Szaro did. His strong hand slid up my spine to cup my nape moments before he claimed my mouth. Liquid fire poured through my veins. It wasn’t the chaste kiss from our human wedding. This was possessive, dominant, and passionate.
Just as I was melting in his arms, he broke the kiss, his lips tracing a burning trail along my jawline and down my neck. A soft gasp escaped me, turning into a moan when the prickling sensation of his fangs piercing the fleshy part of my shoulder was soon followed by an overall sense of well-being due to whatever he’d just injected me with.
Szaro straightened as silence once more surrounded us. Feeling a little disoriented, I noticed the females had moved to the side while the three Elders had descended from the dais. They surrounded us, all three of them holding hands to form a circle around us. They began speaking in Ordosian, reciting something in one voice. I had no idea what they said but could guess it was some sort of blessing. Szaro smiled with a tenderness that turned me upside down before pressing his forehead to mine.
We remained like this while the Elders continued to speak, the tribe chorusing a single word from time to time. Finally, Elder Krathi spoke alone. Szaro responded in their language, startling me.
“Serena, do you freely accept Szaro Kota as your life mate?” Elder Krathi asked in Universal this time.
“I do,” I responded.
“Serena Bello, Szaro Kota, you are bonded for life before the Goddess Isshaya and the people of Krada. May your union be happy, fertile, and endless in years,” Elder Krathi said in a solemn voice.
The sound of the entire tribe rattling their tails was like a tidal wave, sending a shiver down my spine. The Elders released their hands and moved away from us, breaking the circle. Szaro’s hold around me tightened ever so slightly. Lifting his forehead from mine, he kissed my lips one more time, then my forehead before releasing me with obvious reluctance. Although I couldn’t swear it, my gut told me these last two kisses had not been part of the ceremony. To my total dismay, I wished he hadn’t stopped.
The next hour or so went by in a daze as the tribe descended from the ‘seating’ area of the amphitheater to congratulate us. Szaro introduced me to each tribe member, their names flying right out of my mind within seconds, some of them striking brief conversations with us, then slowly scattering. Eventually, most of the tribe had moved away, leaving only Salha, her mate, and her child. To my shock, she pulled me into her embrace.
“Welcome to the family, my sister,” she said affectionately before releasing me.
“Welcome to the family,” Mandha repeated, bowing his head as Salha let go of me.
“Welcome to the family,” Eicu said with his young, high-pitched voice, standing half-hidden behind his father.
“Thank you,” I said, feeling both touched and like an impostor.
“Enjoy the moment, my sister,” Salha said, while handing me back my shoes. “Remember that you are right where you are meant to be.”
With these words, she waved us goodbye and left with her family.
“Ready to go home, my mate?” Szaro asked, his voice sounding deeper than before.
Suddenly intimidated, I nodded, unable to speak a word. He placed his hand on the small of my back to give me a nudge forward. I barely repressed a shiver, feeling instantly bereft by the brevity of his touch. As we made our way back to our house, I realized how much Szaro had to slow his natural speed to adjust to the pace of my normal human walk. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to faze him.
“Do you require sustenance?” he asked in a solicitous fashion as soon as we entered our dwelling.
I shook my head, touched by his attention. “No,” I said with a smile. “I ate right before you arrived. I’m fine until morning.”
“Very well,” he said, looking as uncertain as I felt.
“It was a beautiful ceremony,” I said with sincerity. “You all dance amazingly well. It was impressive, especially you battling those two males.”
Szaro puffed out his chest, a wide grin stretching his lips. “I am glad it pleased you.”
An awkward silence settled between us as we both looked for something to say. I tried to come up with something, but my stupid, lust-filled brain kept turning back to the feel of his hard body wrapped around me and his lips pressing against mine. How could I be such a horn ball for a male I probably wasn’t even compatible with?
“I guess I should get ready for bed,” I said nervously. “It’s been a long and eventful day.”
“Of course,” Szaro said.
I headed to our bedroom while Szaro went to his armory to put away his weapon. Just as I was closing the drawer of my dresser after retrieving one of my nightgowns, the door opened on Szaro. My head jerked towards him as he glided in while removing one of his armbands. He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed the expression on my face.
“Is something wrong, my mate?” he asked with a sliver of worry.
I chewed my bottom lip, feeling even more awkward and silly for being so self-conscious. As my husband, he was entitled to see me naked. But this was no traditional wedding.
And I am far too eager for a repeat after that kiss.
“Everything is fine. It’s just…” I searched for the words to explain that I was just being a dumb prude when his gaze settled on the garment clutched in my hands.
His face lit up with understanding. “Privacy,” he whispered under his breath. “Humans do not undress in front of others, except their mate. You will have privacy until you feel ready to welcome me as a mate. I will wait outside. Let me know when it is fine for me to return.”
“No! You don’t have to do that!” I exclaimed, feeling like a total shit. “I’m being silly.”
“No, my mate. You have been thrown into a situation you weren’t ready for,” he said gently. “The day you bare yourself in my presence, it will be because you want to, not because you feel you have to. I will not have you ever be uncomfortable because of me. I will be outside.”
He turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Even though there had been no condemnation in his eyes, and although I doubted neither the sincerity of his words nor the sentiment that fueled them, I still felt guilty and conflicted. Nevertheless, I made quick work of stripping out of my second skin of a little black dress to put on my midnight blue silk negligée.
“You can come in,” I called out while hanging my dress on my temporary clothes rack.
Szaro returned, his gaze roaming over me like a gentle caress. It did funny things to me, and I was baffled to realize that, despite my human body, my husband appeared to genuinely be attracted to me. When Salha had gone on about his fascination with me, I thought she’d been overhyping it to help things along between us.
“This is a beautiful color and fabric on you,” Szaro said simply before turning to his dresser.
“Thank you,” I said, flattered. “It’s my favorite color.”
I climbed into my bed, my gaze locked on him as he carefully removed his adornments and put them back inside his dresser.
“You’re staring,” he said without turning to look at me.
I stiffened. “How do you know?”
Like king cobras, the Ordosians had two patterns at the back of their hood that looked like eyes.
“I can feel it,” he replied, matter-of-factly, as he turned to face me.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, scrunching my face.
“Why sorry? I am your mate. You have the right to look and touch all you like,” he said with a shrug. “I have no secrets from you. It is my duty to sate your curiosity about me or my species as a whole.”
I sat up in my bed and crossed my legs under me, my blanket covering any naughty bits my short skirt might have revealed. I gave him an assessing look, my gaze slowly roaming over him. His lips twitched with amusement, and he spread his arms wide before doing a slow 360.
I snorted. “Someone is showing off,” I said teasingly.
“It’s only showing off if the watchers like what they see,” he deadpanned. “Should I presume that my appearance, strange though it is to a human, doesn’t displease you?”
I chuckled, wondering if he was fishing for compliments. “I’ll admit that, as much as I found you intimidating the first time we met, you’re growing on me. You’re not hard on the eyes—hood, scales, tail, and all.”
It was his turn to chuckle. “You flatter me, my mate,” he said, bowing his head. “I think your face is enchanting, and your skin is a wonder, both in its unique golden color and incredible softness. Legs are still a mystery to me, but what you can do with yours fascinates me beyond words. What you did on the terrace earlier, I could have watched you for hours. You are more than not hard on the eyes, my mate, you are a pleasure to gaze upon.”
I stared at him speechless for a moment. “Wow… You sure know how to speak to a woman,” I said, beyond moved.
“I take that as being positive?” he asked hesitantly.
“Most definitely,” I said with a nod.
He grinned, his shoulders relaxing. He looked so different from the scary hunter that I had first met by the border.
“But ask away. I’m sure there are things you want to know about me,” Szaro insisted.
He wrapped his tail neatly and lowered himself upon it in what I considered his sitting position. I smiled gratefully as it put him at eye-level with me sitting on my bed instead of having to strain my neck to look up at him.
“Actually, I do have a number of questions,” I admitted sheepishly. “Please do not hesitate to tell me if they are rude or make you uncomfortable. I do not want to offend you.”
“I won’t be. Ask away. I am curious to know what kind of things about us intrigue you.”
I cleared my throat, shifted on my bed, then went for it. “Do you… do you molt?”
Szaro burst out laughing. It was powerful, deep, and sexy, with the same subtle vibrating sound that always accompanied the Ordosians’ speech.
“We do,” he said with a nod. “And it’s downright insufferable. The itchiness is enough to drive one to madness. You will get to witness me going insane in two or three weeks.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his dejected expression. “Is it really that bad?” I asked in a commiserating voice.
“It is,” he replied grumpily. “You just want to rip it off, but you can’t, or you might end up tearing off some of the new scales. At least, at my age, we only molt once or twice a year. For younglings, it’s once a month.” He frowned before casting a playfully baleful glance my way. “You will probably die of laughter watching me for ten days as I rub myself over every rough surface I encounter to help loosen the old skin.”
I chuckled again at the visual of Szaro scratching against a rock or a tree like a big bear with an itch.
“And does it come off in a single piece like most snakes?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. The old skin on the arms tends to fall off first. You’d think the one around our tail would be first since it’s constantly grinding on the ground, but no,” Szaro explained. “Our hood and back are second. And then the torso and the tail come off in a single piece. Then our scales are all beautiful and shiny, and we don’t feel so confined anymore in a skin that’s too tight to contain us.”
“That must feel good,” I said.
“Very! Until then, I apologize in advance for how irritable I might get during that time,” he added with a guilty face. “Drinking a lot of water and soaking in the river helps alleviate some of the symptoms.”
“Then I guess we’ll be swimming a lot in two weeks,” I said teasingly.
“Indeed,” he replied. “What else do you want to know about me?”
“Hmm… You don’t have ears, or at least none that are visible. How do you hear what I say?”
“We do not have external ears, but we have inner ones,” he replied. “Sound travels from our skin to our jaw muscles, to the quadrate bone next to our ear bone, and from there, the sound waves enter our inner ear.”
“Nifty,” I said, staring at the spot under his hood where external ears would have been on a human, and wondering what hearing that way might sound like.
“What else?”
I pursed my lips, holding back the question I really wanted to ask, and choosing to ease into the topic with a different question first.
“I was surprised to find out that Ordosians kiss,” I said carefully. “It shouldn’t have been one, considering you have lips identical to ours. But do you kiss with your tongues, too?”
“We do,” he said with a naughty grin that had me squirming.
“But… don’t you use it to smell?” I argued.
“We do that as well,” he conceded. “Our tongue is even more sensitive to smell than our noses. It reveals many things, from distance, to gender, to health status, pregnancy, fear, and arousal , to name a few. It is quite a powerful tool.”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. The way he’d emphasized the word arousal made it clear he’d caught my scent on at least one of the many times he’d gotten me hot and bothered.
“I see,” I said, losing my nerve to continue with my other question.
He narrowed his eyes at me, his face taking on a disturbing intensity.
“Go on, Serena. Ask me,” Szaro suddenly said, his gaze darkening and his voice dropping almost an octave. “You’ve been wondering from the first time you laid eyes on me, and even more so once Kayog informed you that we were to bond to save your life. Ask me.”
“If you know what I’m curious about, why don’t you just tell me?” I challenged, scrunching my face with embarrassment.
“Because I want you to ask me,” he said in an oddly commanding voice.
“Fine,” I said in a slightly clipped tone. “Do you have hemipenes like most snakes and lizards?”
A slow grin stretched his lips, making my stomach flutter. There was something sexual about it that promised plenty of wicked times.
“No, my mate, there’s no need for two penises,” he said in a rumbling tone. “Snakes only use one at a time anyway. So, us having two would be pointless.”
That revelation pleased me far too much. I licked my lips nervously and summoned all my courage to ask the next question.
“Snake penises have a few spikes on them. How about you guys?” I asked, shocked by my own boldness.
“A few?” Szaro repeated as if I’d said something offensive. “We don’t have a few. Our penises are covered with them.”
My jaw dropped, and my shoulders fell, shock and bitter disappointment warring within me. I shouldn’t be so bummed out. His words only confirmed what I’d known all along: we weren’t compatible. It still sucked. For a moment during our ceremony, while he held me in his arms, I actually wondered if I could give this a real chance…
Szaro burst out laughing at my crestfallen expression. “You have no idea how much it pleases me that you should be so disappointed. You and I are compatible. They are spikes, not thorns,” he explained. “They are not sharp and rigid. Their tips are rounded, and they have just the right firmness to enhance a female’s pleasure. And when I am aroused, I can make them pulsate for even greater sensations.”
I gaped at him, speechless, unsure how to react or what to think. “Are you serious?” I asked at last, shocked that those would be the words to come out of my mouth.
“Very serious. Do you want to see?” he asked, matter-of-factly.
My brain froze for a second as I stared at him in disbelief. “Did you just offer to show me your dick?”
“If by ‘dick’ you mean penis, then yes. My body is yours,” Szaro said with a shrug. “I have nothing to hide from you. I’m merely offering to show. I’m not trying to seduce you.”
I chewed my bottom lip. My curiosity was beyond sky high. “All right, yes. I’d really like to see what you guys are packing down there,” I said, my face burning.
The triumphant smile on Szaro’s face made me wonder for a moment if it had been a mistake. But any such thoughts fled my mind as the scales a short distance below his navel—where a man’s crotch would be—parted to reveal a seam from whence a thick, lubricated shaft emerged. My husband had not been kidding when he said his shaft was covered in spikes. However, now that I could see them, their rounded tips indeed erased any fear I initially felt. They weren’t thorns or claw-like monstrosities that would tear me to shreds. Instead, I found myself imagining what it would feel like.
“See?” Szaro said with a grin. “It’s not that threatening, is it?”
I shook my head, although my eyes remained locked on his shaft.
“What are you doing?” I exclaimed as he began to slowly stroke himself.
“Showing you how I can control them once I am aroused,” he said, nonchalantly.
The wretch was taunting me—enjoying my embarrassment. And yet, I watched with fascination as his hand moved along his length a few more times.
“No way!” I exclaimed when, moments later, he stopped stroking himself, holding his shaft at the base so that I could see what was happening.
His spikes extruded a little further, and the head of his cock widened for a few seconds before returning to their normal sizes. He repeated the motion a few times, his gaze heavy on me.
“We resorb going in, and distend going out,” he explained.
The dull throbbing between my thighs made me wish I could slip my hand under my skirt and take care of business. My face must have shown how hot and bothered he was getting me because Szaro flicked his tongue a couple of times in my direction.
“Don’t do that,” I said, scrunching my face to hide my embarrassment.
“Don’t do what?” Szaro asked with the most fake innocent look on his face. “Taste the scent of your arousal?”
“Yes,” I hissed.
“Why wouldn’t I? It is divine, and it is my reward to reap,” he said, smugly. “There is nothing wrong with being aroused by your mate, Serena. Quite the contrary… The sooner you let go of your inhibitions and fears, the sooner we can truly begin our life together.”
He released his cock and retracted it inside his body, his scales closing seamlessly. I forced a neutral expression on my face to hide how much I wished it was still out and that he would use it on me.
“One thing I can promise you, my Serena, is that once you’ve been with an Ordosian, you’ll have no more use for human men,” he whispered in a purring tone that messed me up inside.
I gasped in disbelief at such an outrageous boast.
“Sweet dreams, my mate,” Szaro said before I could respond. “May they be filled with pleasant thoughts of you and me.”
And with that, he moved to his heated plate, wrapped his long tail into a round cushion before resting on top of it. I stared at him a few seconds longer, feeling cheated. Fighting back a frustrated groan, I lay down on my bed, turned off the light, and had many wet dreams about us.
