Sam felt as if a fist had wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air. A lightning bolt of hot, nauseating fear shot up his spine, curling into his belly, making his bladder tense. He stumbled back, his calves hitting the edge of the mattress. The Naga's eyes floated closer, until its-his-features pulled away from the cool dampness of the tunnel and into the soft glow of candlelight.
Dean had not returned. No, instead this creature, had found its way to Sam. Oh, Jesus, a flickering, savage part of Sam's mind whispered. Is Dean dead?
Sam grabbed his mating bite. His fingers slipped gracelessly over the discolored patch of flesh. It felt fever hot under his touch.
Sam's eyes did not leave the Naga's stare as he crept from the dark. His serpentine gaze was hungry, intense. Overwhelming. It was as if Sam was the only thing in the universe. The only other creature in existence. Sam's knees trembled and for a brief, stark moment, he thought his legs would give out.
No one had the right to look at him like that. No one.
Except Dean.
The Naga slithered into the light. Sam's eyes rapidly flickered over his gargantuan body. His upper body was that of a man. Of course. Sam expected that. But he didn't expect how strange-how unnatural-it felt to see another Naga. The Naga felt wrong.
Because he's not Dean.
His Viking-blond hair was styled into a modern undercut, the sides short and buzzed, disconnected from the long, lush locks on top. Although partially concealed by a spray of golden beige stubble, his jaw line was so chiseled it could slice a finger wide open. He was younger than Sam expected. Sam had imagined him how he perceived his brother: older, rugged, shaped by the open road. This Naga looked like he could've been one of his classmates at Stanford. One of the jocks. One of the frat boys that pounded the football field during the day and played beer pong with his fraternity brothers on loud, rambunctious school nights. Sam knew the type: a well-hung hot head with shit for brains.
But Sam knew from experience that looks could be deceiving. There was an easy, cocky intelligence in the Naga's eyes, something that told Sam this monster was very, very smart.
He was shirtless. His skin was a glowing, deep bronze, stretching across the beefy slopes of his full pecs and down his chiseled belly to the start of his savage serpentine bottom. He had forearms that could chop down a whole forest, dusted with a light covering of wiry blond hair. He carried nothing in his clawed hands. But Sam understood his danger. This monster didn't need a weapon. Not with his snake half curling into the room, winding its way inside.
His scales were a kind of strange black shade. Sam squinted at the mass of scales that curled into the room. No. No, they weren't really black at all, but a kind of dark green mixed in with black. One moment green, another second black. Iridescent, Sam realized. His scales were iridescent. With each sway of his body, each flicker of candlelight, those luminous, dark colors turned with the changing of his body's angle.
In the center of his snake bottom was a fat lump. Sam's eyes flickered to the empty space where the gagged hooker had been kept in the cage until Dean's shedding was supposed to end. Of course this monster hadn't been able to resist with her bound like a Thanksgiving turkey. A single, grimy hot pink slingback heel laid on its side.
Sam peered back at the lump in his belly. Was it...moving? Yes, it was. Sam could see the Naga's skin being pushed outward here and there. Squirming. Struggling. He heard grumbles and groans and underneath, there it was. A small, strained voice. "Help me. It burns. Oh, God. Help me!"
Oh, my God, Sam thought, thinking he might vomit. He didn't bite her before he ate her.
Sam swallowed down the bile rising in his throat, eyes flickering back to the Naga's face. He smiled, full and dark, in that strange, self-contained way. It reminded Sam of a wolf's grin. His fangs glinted, razor sharp.
"You know when I first smelled you, I thought you'd be a chick," the Naga said, his dark brows lifting into a curve of question. His voice was husky, the barest hint of Southern twang in the roots.
"But beggars can't be choosers, you know?" the Naga continued, halting two yards away.
Sam's chest felt like it was crushed in a vice. It was hard to breathe. He inched backward, his muscles tensing to dive down under the bed for the poker. To have something between himself and the monster. The shift wasn't much but it was enough for the Naga's eyes to narrow suspiciously.
"I wouldn't run, if I were you," his said, eyes flickering down to Sam's stomach. "You wouldn't get far. Not with that cute little belly."
Sam saw the momentary flash of lust in the monster's eyes-there and gone in a mere second-but the look was enough to make acid burn in Sam's throat.
"Whatever you're thinking, no, it's not gonna happen," Sam said.
The Naga's lips slid easily into a smirk, one fang glinting, "And what do you think is going to happen?"
"Where's Dean?" Sam quickly changed the subject.
"Your mate?"
Sam licked his lips nervously, "Yes."
"Doesn't matter."
"Tell me."
The Naga laughed, "You should be more concerned about yourself, Sam."
Sam flinched at his name. How did the monster know his name? Oh, wait. Of course he did. If Dean was right, the bastard had been watching them for awhile.
"You should be more concerned," the Naga continued. "About what's going to happen to you."
Sam felt his blood drain out of his face. His heart was thudding so fast against his ribcage he felt dizzy with it. He inched backwards.
"That so?"
"Don't worry," the Naga said, chuckling. "I'm not gonna have you for dinner, if that's what you're afraid of. Not gonna cut you open like those two over there," the Naga nodded to the corpses on the concrete. "I just want you to come with me."
Sam paused. "No."
The Naga smiled. A patronizing smile. A smile that said, You don't have a choice, honey.
"That's not a request, Sammy."
Something sharp and mean bled into Sam's mouth. "It's Sam," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Not Sammy. Sam."
The Naga raised his arms in a placating gesture, "Easy, tiger. Sam. I got it. I'll remember."
The welcoming blunt edge of anger rapidly dissipated, leaving belly deep dread behind. How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one? He was cornered. Defenseless. The Naga's powerful snake half began to unwind, drawing closer.
"No!" Sam shouted, dove for the fire poker, wrenched it out from under the bed, and brandished it in front of him. "Get the fuck away from me!"
"My name is Aiden," the Naga said slowly, as if talking to a cornered, feral animal. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just put that shit down before you hurt yourself."
The Naga-Aiden-reached out. Sam flinched back, hitting the edge of the headboard. His curved, black claws glistened. Sam swung the poker, missing his fingers by inches.
The Naga jerked back, hissed, and glanced over his shoulder. Sam peered over the monster's wide torso, seeing nothing but inky blackness.
It was only then that Sam realized that there was a good possibly that Dean was in one of the tunnels, searching for the creature in front of him.
Sam opened his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Dean! D-"
Viper quick, too quick for Sam to fully process it, Aiden the Naga wrenched the poker out of his gasp, tossed it away, and slammed his hand against Sam's mouth. Sam bit down automatically and in a split second a coppery gush squirted past his lips. He gagged.
Aiden hissed. He kept his hand pressed firmly against his lips as Sam spat and wrenched, hands clawing at his forearms. Aiden wrapped his free arm around Sam's back and twisted, managing to heave him into a cruel rendition of a bridal carry. With his lower half uncoiling and turning towards the entrance, the Naga raced out of the room. Sam bucked and writhed, pulling frantically at the hand clamped over his mouth, his overgrown hair sweeping back from his forehead with the change of air.
That Naga was slithering so fast it was dizzying. The moist sewer walls raced by, a blur of black with intervals of juts of pipes. Vague outlines. The slick, slick, slick of the monster's heavy lower body sounded almost like the wheels of a bike. Sam screamed into the soft wall of flesh, a meaty, desperate, MMMMmmmmhhhhp.
Before Sam fully understood it, the cool, damp air gave way to the crisp aroma of a woody forest. It was hard to believe that only hours before he and Dean had meandered through this forest. Had made delicious love on the bank. Had run soft hands against each other's worn muscles and through tangled clumps of grimy hair. Had bathed in the bubbling river.
Now, Sam was in the unwanted embrace of a Naga who wanted to do unspeakable things to him.
Sam struggled harder, but the Naga simply tightened his grip. Sam grimaced in pain. Through the thick branches above them, the moon shone in flickers of light. Sam's eyes darted down, noting how the creature moved. So quick. So fucking lethal.
Minutes bled by. The landscape around them was one big, dark green blur, punctuated by the occasional massive California oak. The Naga was taking them far, far away. Slithering in a scattered, almost illogical pattern. A pattern that was meant, Sam realized, to confuse someone tracking.
To confuse a tracker.
To confuse Dean.
Sam bucked again, this time hard enough to tear the Naga's hand away from his mouth. Lightning quick, the monster wrapped his large hand around Sam's wrists, bone crushingly tight.
"Dean!" Sam shouted. "I'm here! Dean!"
"Stop it!" Aiden growled. "If I could use my hypnosis on you, I would. But I can't. So if you don't stop, I'll..."
The Naga had finished the threat, but Sam was not listening. He was stuck on the word. Hypnosis. Sam hadn't even thought that was a possible threat until now because he had forgotten Dean's abilities. Why couldn't this Naga use his hypnosis on him? More importantly, how did this monster know he couldn't?
Sam found himself growing quiet, helplessness beating at his insides like the panicked wings of a trapped bird. The Naga's golden gaze bore into his own, stern and verging on vicious.
I'm just making him angrier, Sam thought. He's just going to hurt me if I keep this up. Dean is too far away to hear, now, anyway.
Sam stopped struggling and stared up at the monster, watching as its features slowly soften. It loosened its grip on Sam's wrists without a word.
Times passed. Seconds. Minutes. The further away they traveled the more Sam thought, Dean's never going to find us. He's making sure of it.
Sam squeezed his eyes shut and focused on his breathing. Inside him, his offspring fluttered. Little wings inside his womb. Tiny wiggles. He ached to feel his belly, to console the unborn brood inside him.
Yes, Mommy is here. Mommy's just a little scared right now. Nothing to worry about. Daddy's going to find Mommy and destroy the mean monster and bring you all home. We'll all be safe and happy and back in the dark warmth of the burrow. Don't you worry, little ones.
The Naga stopped slithering. Sam's eyes popped open and he tensed. The monster moved to put him down on the ground. Sam glanced around at his surroundings. A dozen yards away, there was the outline of a house. Dark and obscure. Like a child's paper cutout. A house deep in the middle of the woods. Secluded.
Where no one can hear you scream, Sam thought.
The second his boots hit the ground, Sam bolted. Just as quickly a hand snapped out and found Sam's forearm, wrenching him back. Sam gasped. Pain flared up his shoulder. Hot. Smoldering. A crackle in the air. A hand on his flesh. White hot pain shot up Sam's spine. Sam's ass cheeks jiggled like Jello.
Sam yelped in shock, his face flushing a deep red. Had this monster just...spanked him?
The Naga's lower half whipped around, a wall of shining muscle blocking his escape route. He snatched Sam back and wrapped his arms around his waist. Sam's back was pressed against the monster's chest. Sam kicked up clots of dirt, teeth bared, scratching at the forearms holding him back.
"That wasn't too smart."
Sam bucked, but the monster was too strong. His grip was like steel wiring. Sam panted, growing increasingly more panicked. The monster's hands wandered down to land on Sam's swollen belly. He just held them there. Fingers splayed over the hill of his stomach.
Sam struggles ceased instantly. The Naga let out a deep sigh, almost a purr.
He buried his nose into the back of Sam's hair and inhaled. Sam's hair was still damp from the river, clinging to the nape of his neck. The Naga hummed and nuzzled his mouth against his locks.
Sam cringed. He tried to shy away from him, but he stiffened when he felt the Naga's palms rub up and down the hill of his belly, the tips of his deadly claws scratching lightly against Sam's shirt, catching in places. A thumb flicked over his belly button. Fury and fear made a horrible cocktail in Sam's throat, clotting his voice. He couldn't speak. Jesus, he was frozen.
"I can feel them kicking," the monster purred, cupping the bottom of his belly, his thumb caressing Sam's engorged belly button.
Sam clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached. "Get the hell off me."
"What did I just say?" he rumbled against Sam's ear. He flicked out his tongue and licked the back of Sam's neck. A shudder of disgust raked Sam's shoulders. "No running."
"Let me go," Sam said, ignoring the tremble in his own voice. "Please. Just let me go, man."
"Let me think about it," the Naga cooed. After a second of false, teasing contemplation, "Uh, no. I don't think I will."
The Naga lifted him. The world spun. The trees. The moon. The stars. Sam found himself being carried towards the house.
Once more, Sam thought, Where no one can hear you scream.