A Soul to Embrace (Duskwalker Brides #8)

Chapter 18

Even before they broke through the thinning border of the forest, the bright-red sunlight before them revealed dusk painted across the sky. Fiery glitters between the swaying treetops cast dappled light across the dirt, and she took in its tranquillity after missing the light within the Veil’s shadows.

At her side, Jabez hissed in pain when it got brighter. He squinted as though he found it blinding and almost ran into her to deviate from it.

He forced them to the left to escape its harshness, when she found it rather... mesmerising. Just beyond the tree line, she’d been able to see the reds of dusk casting flaming light against the white clouds and giving their shadows a darker hue as the sky morphed to purple.

Dusk and dawn were Zylah’s two favourite times of the day.

The beautiful way colours would splash across the world, each time different to the one before, left her breathless. It felt like the sky was always chasing itself – especially the sun and the moon.

It was a saddening thought that she and Jabez would never be able to share such a serene moment together. Since the sun burned his flesh, he couldn’t sit in the last of the day’s heat and soak in the colourfulness of the world. Instead, he hid from it like a creature of shadow, a being of darkness.

Perhaps that is why he can be so... bleak. He couldn’t nibble at the beauty of life in the way she could. Zylah, on the other hand, longed to run to its warmth and revel in the enthralling colours.

Instead, she manoeuvred until her body shielded him from the fiery light. Although it was hard to tell with his hood up, she knew he’d looked at her from the corner of his eye.

Pleasure radiated in her chest at how the red in his eyes seemed to glow, although the feeling was bittersweet.

Their earlier conversation hadn’t been forgotten, and it left her heart more confused than ever. She was beginning to feel as though she was alone in her tenderness, which was a rather harrowing thing to discover.

His avoidance was obvious, and she didn’t know how to combat it. He deflected, and she submitted because she didn’t want to ruin their companionship. But it’s already ruined.

He was quieter than before, and the space between them felt vast and cold. His apology meant much. She appreciated him informing her that he didn’t find her presence bothersome, but she couldn’t get to the root of the problem in his weighty silence.

A silence that had never bothered her until now. It didn’t help that there was little to teach her in the Veil, as the plants were dreary and lacklustre.

She missed the surface. She missed their cave and the way he sat with her while teaching her how to read. She missed how his features seemed to soften whenever he showed her a simple herb or flower, appearing to enjoy her interest and the way she smelt them or inspected them with abject curiosity.

I hope he’ll feel better once we are done here.

She hadn’t known his lack of magic was so bothersome for him. To Zylah, he was just Jabez – with or without magic. He’d frequently boasted about his prowess regarding it whenever she picked on him for his lack of strength and speed, and she’d merely found it rather endearing. She’d listened like one might listen to another tell a story, humour and tenderness spreading in her chest at his eccentric disquiet.

She didn’t care if he was without his powers, and originally thought it frustrated him because it meant he was weaker than her.

She wished he’d told her sooner that it was deeper than that; it almost seemed to... ache him that he lacked them.

If he gains his magic again, will he return to the way he was before? Would he be less cold and perhaps even be more forthcoming, more amicable? She’d thought him kind and gentle before. Would that only grow stronger?

The light dimmed the longer they walked. The sun was falling, but they also appeared to be heading in a large, curved arc through the forest, making it shine elsewhere other than their faces.

“This should be enough,” Jabez informed her, as he took them towards the forest’s edge.

Zylah didn’t expect the scene that would open up before her.

Considering her only experiences with towns and villages were those belonging to humans, she’d been imagining the roofs of houses, and a wall of protective stakes. Instead, a gigantic tree, taller than any she’d ever seen, sat in the middle of a large open meadow.

Only when they stepped into the last of the light, the sun now at their left, did she realise she was mistaken. It wasn’t a singular tree, but dozens that were nestled closely together. They hadn’t grown upwards, but rather spiralled to the right with their long branches twisting and interlocking with each other.

“It’s not a barrier from Demons, but from the sun,” she rasped, noting how the canopy of leaves would create a perfect shield.

“That’s exactly right,” he stated, allowing her just a moment to stand on the top of the hill to absorb the village before descending.

Long stalks of grass brushed against their thighs, and Zylah bent to the side so she could skim her hand over the tops of them, taking in their softness. They danced with the light wind, waving together until they created a pleasant rustling noise.

“During the day, it’s impossible for any Demon without a cloak to travel to it. The sun is the real barrier, allowing all those inside a chance to rest before nightfall. Although, any potential of being attacked is very low, so no one inside really worries about night anymore.”

“Why do you say that?” Zylah asked, cocking her head in curiosity.

“When it was first created, the three rings of the Veil hadn’t existed. Demons of all kinds ran rampant throughout. It’s only been in the last century and a half that the inner ring has become safer. They even reduced the number of guards that patrol it.”

“Is that how it obtained its name then? Spiral due the way the trees twist, and Haven due to it once being the only safe place here?”

“That’s correct,” he stated, but she thought she heard the smallest note of pride in his tone.

It didn’t take long to cross the meadow. By then, the sun had faded enough and cast the entire area in shadow. It’d be long before day was truly gone, but the forest of the Veil seemed to darken it earlier than it should.

They approached the village, and she saw just how daunting the trees were now that they were up close. Each one spanned metres in diameter, and she couldn’t even begin to guess their collective height – a half a kilometre, perhaps more?

If her venture down the Veil’s cliff wall was any indicator, she’d hate climbing one of them.

A small gap between each tree was just narrow enough to create a path inside. Already a sickly sweet smell came from within, leaking from every crevice and gap available. Curious about that scent, and the muted sounds of life she could hear within, Zylah’s skull jerked one way and the other as she sniffed wildly.

She thought he’d immediately take them inside it, but Jabez led them on a path around its perimeter instead.

At the centre point of each tree, he knelt between large, overarching roots and swiped at the ground. He brushed away dirt and dust before knocking on it, only to shake his head and stand once more.

Night fell by the time a dull thud radiated from the ground when he knocked. Jabez then tore at the dirt with his claws until he revealed some kind of wooden hatch, grasped a ring handle, and yanked on it. It refused to budge at first, and he put in a large amount of force until it cracked and bowed.

A few planks of wood detached where the roots of the tree had grown over them, and only half the door came up. The gap didn’t look big enough to fit him through, so he jimmied the stuck pieces sideways until they were freed. He dropped those pieces on the ground nearby and stepped back to reveal a narrow dirt passageway.

He sighed as he brushed his cloak hood back just enough to reveal his face while still shielding his hair. “I know this is less than ideal, but it’s better than going into the village from the main entrance.” He faced her and then lifted his gaze to her antlers. “I haven’t used this route for a few centuries. It’s a tight fit, so perhaps it’s best if you wait here.”

“No,” Zylah rejected, shaking her head. “I want to come with you.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that.” He shrugged as he walked backwards to the opening. “Suit yourself.”

Jabez climbed down some kind of ladder made of rocks and roots. The gap was so narrow that his shoulders almost brushed the edges, which, thankfully, meant Zylah was thin enough to squeeze in behind him with ease.

Once they got to the bottom, she realised how little room she had to manoeuvre and struggled with her antlers at first. Something caught around them, and she gave a quiet squeal when she got stuck. Jabez grabbed one, untangled it, and helped her turn without them gouging into rocky dirt and twisted roots.

Facing each other while crouching, her orbs brightened to yellow as she whispered, “Thank you.”

He nodded before backing up and turning to walk primarily on his hands and feet, which surprised her, as she didn’t think he had the ability to do so. She had to stay a few steps back to avoid his cloak, and it grew so dark that even she had to partially feel where they were going. She often pushed small hanging roots out of the way, and Jabez was kind enough to stop and untangle them from her antlers each time she was caught.

It went on for ages, spanning minutes as distant, muted chatter resonated from above, but all she could smell was dirt and Jabez before her. His breaths were sharp, as if he refused to breathe through his nose in an attempt to escape the smell of wet earth surrounding them.

It took her a moment to notice past his hunched, swaying form that a green glow illuminated the area up ahead. Over the crunch of their footsteps, trickling in the distance tingled her ears. Eventually the smell of water and greenery pervaded the air, and only thickened as the tunnel opened up into a large, spacious cavern.

The first thing Zylah noticed was the deep pool of water, its green glow dimly lighting up the entire area. It was situated in the very middle of an empty pocket of earth, while roots came from the ceiling, the walls, and even the ground to dangle around the edges.

Once they were free, they both stood on a mostly flat piece of land that appeared to be as hard as rock. Even the walls and ceiling looked hard, rather than like loose dirt.

There was nothing else here... yet she could sense some kind of power thrumming. It puffed her fur in alertness, pulsating until her nipples hardened in an odd way, but it didn’t feel ominous or unnerving. It was coming from the small pool of water that gave constant glittering ripples.

“What is this place?” Zylah asked with awe, looking up at the ceiling. She could barely make out anything other than the vast number of thick roots clinging to every surface available.

“The heart of the village,” Jabez answered, unclipping his cloak to let it fall before removing his satchel.

Zylah removed her bag, since he did, and placed it with his.

“Villages have a heart?” Is that why she could feel thrumming?

She turned her head down to him when he gave a small yet warm chuckle.

“No. Most don’t.” He waved towards the glowing green water. Its light highlighted his brown skin, white hair, and black horns, and even made his red eyes seem to glint, all of it giving him a rich aura. “I grew the trees surrounding this village by the mana stone sitting at the bottom of that pool.”

“ You grew the trees?!” she exclaimed, gasping in surprise.

Once more, he chuckled, but he looked at her from the corner of his eye this time. Humour brightened his features.

“I told you, Zylah. My power was formidable.” Then he drifted his gaze around the large pocket of earth. “It was actually rather weak when I first grew them. Back then, the most I could wield was earth magic – it’s what I was best at. I planted the seeds, then spent weeks in the middle of the village trying to grow them. I chose this location because there had been a large lake for them to take nourishment from, and all that remains now is this pool. The roots you see dangling inside it are from each tree reaching for it.”

He bent forward so he could grab at the back of his shirt and yank it off. Reddish pink instantly lifted into her sight at his bare torso. His chest was broad and flexed with strength. When he gave her his side, the deep, muscular curve of his spine leading to his round backside was highlighted by the glow of the water.

Mesmerised by the sight of him, Zylah bashfully fidgeted as she looked away. His body was too nice to look upon for her mind right then.

Her heart was still all over the place, and her arousal from the previous night hadn’t been forgotten. Now that she understood more about intimacy, the longing to brush her hands over his muscled back and chest tingled her fingers. His body was chiselled yet bulging with muscle, and she wondered if his skin would be as soft as it appeared.

She wished she could remember what he felt like when she’d been hugging him during her heat.

“W-what will happen to the village if you take the stone?” Zylah asked to distract herself from the way her heart picked up at seeing him half clothed.

She hoped what he planned to do wouldn’t bring the village harm.

“Nothing,” he answered plainly. “The trees are fully mature. All this stone does now is ensure they remain overly lush to give a thick canopy of protection. Removing it should do little more than make a few leaves wilt, but the rest will be sufficient protection.” Then he walked towards the water, his mauve pants shifting around his legs. “All stones have a limit unless they are fed additional mana, but even then, they don’t last forever. I’ve poured my own into it for years. All I am doing is taking back what I have given.”

Zylah watched as he dropped to sit on the ledge of roots and his pant legs instantly darkened when they grew saturated. He slid in with a splash, and the water came to the centre of his chest while he stood near the edge. It was obvious it deepened swiftly since he swam to the middle, his body gliding through the water with each stroke of his arms.

I wish I could do that. She hated that she instantly sunk in any body of water, as if she was just too heavy and dense – like a rock.

Jabez dived beneath the water and disappeared.

Zylah considered coming closer, but decided it was best she stayed out of his way. It gave her time to dwell on what he’d just said.

It seems like he has sacrificed a lot for the Demons. He’d grown the Veil for them, this village. Even if he doesn’t really show it, he obviously cares for them. He hid his true nature and feelings behind indifference, and she was curious as to why.

Why give away power, if he was so power hungry? Why care for these creatures, if he thought lowly of them? Why help me?

Her parents had acted as if he was horrible. They spoke of unpleasant things he’d done, things he hadn’t denied... but what about the good?

She looked up once more, remembering the scene of the village in the distance highlighted by the beauty of dusk. She wondered if the Demons appreciated him for all he’d done for them as much as she did on their behalf.

Before she could linger on her thoughts, the light snuffed out and shoved her into darkness once more. She brought her gaze down to the pool and flickers of green brightened in moving streaks just as air bubbles breached the surface. With a gasp, Jabez’s head popped up, and he immediately headed for the ledge.

He gripped a root before shaking his face of water. He shoved his other arm out, and his enclosed fist glowed with streaks of green before dimming – as if taking it from the water stopped it from radiating magic. Even the thrumming she’d felt earlier disappeared.

He climbed out and sat down with his legs crossed. “I ask that you don’t disturb me for a little while,” he stated, water sluicing down his naked torso and glittering from the stone in his hands. “What I’m about to do requires the utmost concentration.”

“Is it dangerous?” Zylah stated, worry tightening her stomach.

His lips quirked. “This isn’t the first time I’ve consumed a mana stone. I’ve just never attempted it without any of my own magic before.”

That didn’t make her feel any better, especially as he didn’t deny that it wasn’t dangerous.

He sighed when she chittered nervously and lowered his hands into his lap. He gave a shrug as he focused his gaze on the stone in his palm and ran the pad of his free hand’s thumb over it. It did little more than faintly glow.

“I’ll be fine, Zylah. I’ll stop if I feel it failing or if it’s dangerous.” He tilted his head back to give her a smug, raised brow. “I do care for my life, you know.”

Although his words did nothing to settle her unease, she nodded and backed up. Nothing she said would stop him from doing this, and Jabez had never truly asked anything of her before now.

The least she could do was try to have faith in him. He said this is important to him... that it weighs on him. She didn’t want to interfere with his attempt to regain his lost magic.

So, Zylah watched intently as he cupped the stone to his chest, closed his eyes, and bowed his head. Nothing happened as choking darkness descended upon them.

For some reason, that darkness felt heavier than usual, like a cold, foreboding blanket. She didn’t know if it was fear that made it weightier, and she fidgeted in the dark as she tried everything in her might to keep herself where she was. To not intervene despite how much her instinct reared its head for her to do so.

Then a charge in the air surrounding him swirled in an engulfing wind, gentle at first but growing stronger by the second. Soft light emanated from the stone and sucked away from it in fluttering, smoky streaks like he was pulling them to his heart, his slightly parted mouth, and even nose and ears. Starting from his heart and spreading up his neck, forks of green glowed from beneath his skin, following his veins and arteries. It made some of the Elvish grey undertone of his complexion shift to green.

Her body tensed and her heart gave a sharp sting when he let out a pained grunt and his features twisted in agony. The stone cracked, glimmering fragments slipping between the gaps of his fingers, while the power in the air grew harsher.

Malicious energy burst into the air, just as the stone shattered.

A bursting growl cut short as complete darkness descended upon them, more suffocating than before. All Zylah could sense was his fast heartbeat, his light breathing, and her own growing frantic. The air calmed, only for it to suddenly grow colder, to rush faster.

A small, dark chuckle echoed through the air, just as that green glow came to life as a set of eyes. It crawled along his limbs like luminous vines, and even seemed to momentarily colour his long white hair to green strands that spread outwards from his scalp. All the symbols, runes, and circles of writing across his body came to life in patches of multiple colours.

His chuckle grew louder as he stood and looked down at the magical lines of light twirling around his fingers, hands, and arms. He threw both arms out to the sides and torches she hadn’t noticed before lit up in flashes of fire.

Zylah gasped and stepped back in surprise.

The area got much brighter. It revealed him assessing his body as if he could see the magic now running through his entire being. The green faded out as his body began to change.

A red smoky symbol surrounded by a circle of runes on his chest glowed, just as his fangs grew, his nails turned into black claws, his eyes glowed a fiercer red, and the runes... moved. They shifted until black, near Demon-like streaks rushed over his sides, his arms, his neck, and even around his hairline.

He looked bigger, fiercer, and somehow... more like a Demon.

Then they changed again, swirling over his body like a ribbon that even covered part of his face, while his hair darkened to black. They shifted once more, just covering him from the neck down to his sternum, and up his fingers and hands like he’d dunked them into an inky liquid.

She wondered if these were the glamours he’d once told her of. She was too mesmerised to look away from his symbols shifting and sliding across his body like water.

They reverted back to what she now knew to be his true self: Elvish runic symbols that either created circles on his body, or left rings and runic ribbons up his limbs. Even a triangular symbol on his side returned, as did the multi-pointed star on his mid-back.

Then he was gone within an instant. Not invisible, as his heart and breaths ceased as well.

Uncertainty crept up her spine, barely believing he’d just disappeared into thin air!

“Oh, how I’ve missed this,” he stated, just as he materialised back into the space, but on the opposite side of the pool.

He was gone again, and she looked up when she heard movement on the ceiling. She’d looked too late, and instead watched him fall to land on his feet and a single hand with ease.

The roots around her shifted as the area rumbled. Loose rocks clicked and clacked against the ground as the pool of water bubbled and dropped in volume. Everything in the air felt charged, like when lightning was about to strike the top of a tree.

With orbs turning white in worry, Zylah stepped back. The back of her right heel caught around a root that had shifted, and she tripped over. She landed on her backside and an elbow with a loud oomph .

As if he’d forgotten about her presence, she saw the moment his head creepily twisted to the side to face her.

Zylah shrieked when small brown roots began to twine around her arms and legs. She fought them, kicking as she twisted to get away before being yanked right back as more grew over her. She broke them repeatedly, gaining freedom, only to be dragged back down when more and more encircled her limbs.

Just as her strength appeared to be winning, and she managed to tear her right arm free so she could claw at the ones wrapping around her midsection, her wrist was grabbed. Pressure weighed on her waist as Jabez shoved her arm back down against the ground until vines could capture it once more.

Long white hair brushed over her tossing skull, and his earthy scent fluttered all around her. Sitting on top of her and now pinning down both her arms so all she could do was kick her legs, he let out a chuckle that had her heart wanting to burst.

She’d never heard anything more evil and menacing, the depth and bass of his voice thumping through her like an ominous beat. Panting in fear, she managed to glance at his features, and he looked entirely crazed. His irises glowed with the faintest red, while his eyes were narrowed, and yet... somehow filled with utter glee. His grin almost made him look insane and vicious with his sharp fangs bared at her.

“ This is what power is,” he rumbled, his face drawing closer as the press on her wrists grew tighter and stronger. “ This is what true strength is.”

“Let me go!” Zylah roared, her sight flickering red before snuffing back into fearful white.

Her fur puffed in aversion when his face lowered until it was right next to hers. She tried to bash her skull against his, only to whimper in the realisation that even her antlers were trapped. It strained her neck when she tried to get them free, causing a snarly groan to bubble in her chest.

“I told you things would be different between us if I had my magic,” he stated, his voice dripping with so much malice she could almost taste it in the air.

Zylah didn’t know what else to do but struggle against the vines as they continued to grow. Her thighs twitched when they slipped under the skirt of her dress, and her abdomen tightened as more slipped over it. They even swirled around her breasts, cupping them from below as they crossed over her chest.

Every part of her was being captured in order to force her to submit. She twitched when the roots caressed sensitive spots, their roughness tickling her inner thighs, chest, and pounding forearms right behind where his hands were. The strangeness of those sensations had her jerking in surprise at their pleasantness and it cut through her tension.

He wasn’t leaning heavily on her, as if he was merely pressing her down but not trying to hurt her. Actually... the longer she remained trapped, the more she realised that nothing hurt. Her body wasn’t being strangled except for when she tried to pull away, and the constriction gentled whenever she stopped.

Fighting was obviously pointless – there were too many vines for him to manipulate with the tree roots surrounding them. The energy radiating off him felt... unusual and chaotic.

None of this felt right. Not his laughter, not the feel of the magic, and not what he was doing. This wasn’t the Jabez she’d come to know.

“Fuck. Why do you have to smell so damn nice ?” he growled right next to her ear hole, and she winced when his hold on her wrists tightened painfully.

Zylah froze beneath him. Wait. Did he... did he just say I smell nice?

It was only then that she noticed something hard and long resting against her abdomen, and it appeared to be coming from the centre of his groin. It didn’t feel like the vines, but she thought she may have originally mistaken it for a big one with the way it’d grown against her.

Fayren had not only shown her diagrams of different Demon female anatomy, but also common ones of male genitalia as well. At the time, she’d wondered what kind Jabez had – if it was more human in nature, or more Demon-like. She’d seen it be small and dangly between his thighs, but she’d never seen it hard like in those diagrams.

Trying to figure out what was happening, Zylah chittered nervously, only to let out a cry when his face buried into the fur of her neck. Nuzzling into her until she shivered, he took in a deep draw of her scent.

With her senses overly alert and her fur disturbed, her skin was sensitive against his deep breath that followed, making an incidental moan escape her.

Fear gave way to a string of other emotions, but none were more powerful than the one that made her pussy clench in reaction to him. His body was heavy and warm against hers, and she liked the weight of him bearing down on her. Suddenly, his grip on her wrists felt secure in a sublime way.

He flinched in surprise at the sound she made and swiftly leaned back. With his sharp brows furrowed and his lips flattened, a mingle of confusion and surprise was evident in his narrowed features.

“Shit,” he grated out, his voice strained. “I don’t know what came over me.”

The vines loosened and began to recede, except for one. Zylah immediately turned her gaze down to what was resting against her stomach, and reddish pink instantly lifted into her orbs. She couldn’t completely tell if he was hard since his pants were baggy and loose, but if Fayren’s books were any indication, she had a feeling she was right.

Her pants quickened just in reaction to the idea.

“Sorry,” Jabez grumbled, as he lifted off her with his gaze averted. “I’ve just been without my magic for so long that I got excited. It’s a very cathartic feeling to have it back.”

Before he could fully get to his feet, Zylah tackled him and reversed their positions. She straddled his waist and pinned his forearms to the ground. She received a dark glare, but she was too giddy and shocked by the hardness pressed against her backside and tail to care.

“Zylah...” he warned, his eyes narrowing further.

Her sight flickered with purple, while her conflicted heart softened and raced for an entirely different reason. She licked across the top of her bony snout in interest as she peered down at him.

“You’re hard?” Although her question was meant to be a statement, she was too uncertain to truly make it a fact.

As if he hadn’t expected her to say that, his glare disappeared, and another emotion took its place. His eyes widened in what could only be horror or mortification, while the tips of his ears bowed backwards.

She squealed when he managed to kick his leg to the side, fold it over her thigh, and roll them over.

“No,” he bit out, as he rose up to get out from between her thighs.

Zylah hooked her legs around his waist to stop him from getting away. Purple permanently lifted into her sight when she ground against his erection.

“I think you are,” Zylah rasped around panted breaths.

Despite how much he’d freaked her out earlier, Zylah couldn’t help being overjoyed. In some way, even before she knew what she wanted, she’d been hoping for any indication that he wanted more from her. She wanted his desire, his arousal, and only knew what that meant after Fayren’s.

Her chest panged when his nose scrunched up and he let out the strangest deep noise from his lips at the motion of her hips. She did it again, and he shoved his right hand against her pubic bone and pushed down to prevent her from doing it a third time as a harsh exhale fell from him.

“Stop,” he grated out, unable to fight against her strong legs. “Release me now , Zylah.”

“Why?” she whined, gripping at his back so her claws could trap him.

“Because I’m not myself right now,” he stated in a quiet tone, his head tilting to look down at the way they were pressed. “Release me on your own, or I will simply teleport away.”

Yes. Now that she’d seen him do that multiple times, she knew he could easily leave her trappings. But the nagging that he hadn’t done it already made her braver than usual.

“But I want your arousal,” Zylah answered back in a small voice. In just a matter of seconds, she was thrumming with desire. She felt it between her thighs, in her blood, in each of her shallow pants. “I want it.”

She wanted touch, and she didn’t care how. She wanted it from him. She’d been trying to get closer to him, just without knowing how until the previous night. The moment she knew what it was, what she needed, thoughts of exploring all the different ways to touch she’d been shown had run through her mind.

It’d made her ache in Fayren’s hut to an unfathomable degree.

But after what happened today, she’d thought it was entirely one-sided. She’d been trying to swallow that knowledge while wondering if it was possible to change it.

Yet, what she wanted was currently pressing against her, and she was overjoyed by the possibility that she may not be feeling this on her own. Because of that, she couldn’t... wouldn’t let him go – not of her own volition.

Not if it meant she could possibly cling until that barrier was broken – one she had no idea how to combat.

“Zylah,” he stated around a sigh. She knew that pacifying tone. It meant she was failing.

It instantly made her chest heavier, and she clutched at him harder. She whimpered and tightened her legs even more so she could fight his pressing hand and grind against him once more.

Despite his sharpened, fierce gaze, she lifted her skull just enough so she could part her maw and... lick over his lips. She shuddered at how they parted under her tongue’s merest touch. They’re so soft.

A quiet, unnerving growl rumbled out of him, just as his head darted forward, and a sharp gasp rent out of her when fangs lanced the tough skin of her neck. Her back bowed at the sharpness of them, while she flinched away from the cutting pain. He bit harder with each passing second, and his snarl vibrated her flesh – almost like he was trying to punish her!

She tried to pull away from it, but then her breath hitched when he ground between her thighs and pleasure instantly sparked. He let out a shaken, rumbling groan around his mouthful of her.

His hands shifted to the ground beside her, and she heard his claw-like nails ripping into the hardened earth. His next thrust had her melting beneath him from the way his body ground against hers, combined with his forceful bite. She wanted to think it was with fondness now, and that’s how she decided to take it.

Especially since she couldn’t see his face, yet he released another muffled groan against her.

A hand gripped her backside and lifted her just slightly, and he thrust his cock against her differently. Rather than the cloth-covered base rubbing her, she thought she may have felt the head shove against her swelling clit. Thankfully his pants weren’t particularly rough, and she was wet enough to ensure the glide was easy.

Her claws dug a little, but she instantly released them when she smelt a hint of blood and quickly healed him. But the scent of it, of him... hearing his little grunts and feeling his warm body lying over hers, had her mind growing foggy.

Zylah panted heavily, lost in the wave of strange new sensations suddenly bombarding her. The bite of his fangs felt incredible, and she grew dizzier as she tried to grind back against him.

She wanted more. There was a pulsing deep within, radiating across her lower abdomen. Heat swelled between her thighs as wetness dripped from her. The more swollen she felt, the faster her breaths became until they were shallow and sharp. His scent was choking her, but she licked at the drool inside her maw in reaction to it.

Another moan slipped from her constricted throat, and the purple in her sight deepened.

Please. Don’t stop. She angled her snout to caress the side of his head and pointed ear in appreciation.