Sam gulped the nausea that rushed through him like a hurricane. His skin crawled. A rabid, foaming part of Sam's mind wanted to scrub at his skin until he bled. He'd do anything to get rid of the feeling of the monster's lips on his scalp, his tongue on his throat, and worse yet, the bastard's hands on his sensitive, aching belly.
But Sam was not stupid. No, he wouldn't have gotten this far if that was the case. So, instead of thrashing and screaming and swinging, he laid dead still in the predator's arms, watching with bated breath as he slithered forward gradually, as if he had all the time in the world. Slowly, the rudimentary outline of the house dissolved into chipped paint, drafty windows, and curling vines. Shadows danced. The trees swayed in the low lying wind, creaking and groaning.
"Home sweet home," the Naga hummed happily.
The structure reminded Sam of so many haunted houses he'd seen over the years, having been dragged along by Dad, and later, battling ghosts by Dean's side. It was as if the earth herself ached to swallow it back up. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return, Sam thought numbly.
The Naga slithered towards the porch. His lower half sashayed over the chipped concrete steps. He grasped the handle and turned the knob. The door swung open, sounding like twisted fingernails dragging across a chalkboard. Sam blinked rapidly, squinting. He could hardly see anything, it was so dark. There were vague outlines on the wooden floor. Soft and full. Blankets, Sam guessed. Aiden ducked and squeezed through the narrow front door. Sam was struck with the fragrance of aged wood, stale sheets, and underneath, the unmistakable tang of blood, fear, and the Naga's musky scales. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood up. There was another scent under that, coiling and green.
Sam tensed. Every one of his senses was screaming for him to get far, far away from this place. This death trap. This hunter's den.
Aiden slithered deeper into the house. Sam could see that the living room and dining room were combined, making a large, square room. His eyes darted. There was no furniture, no pictures, no signs of family life. There were two drafty windows on either side of the door, like a pair of eyes. Whoever had lived here had fled long ago. The Naga shifted Sam in his arms. With his size, he took up the majority of the room.
Sam squinted as the Naga twisted towards an open door leading to the first separate room of the house. Through the door, Sam saw a flash of pale, naked flesh. His eyes widened. Moonlight bled into the room, falling on three figures hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. Long hair in their faces. The slopes of breasts. The dark bush of wiry pubic hair between blood-crusted thighs. Three women. Bite marks etched into their skin. Thighs, arms, belly, calves, wrists. Grimy. Wet. Blood pooled on the wood. Urine.
Holy fuckin' shit! Sam's mind screamed at him, but outwardly he was frozen solid.
The woman furthest to the left shakily raised her head and saw him. Her eyes were dead in the moonlight. Flat. Through cracked lips, she uttered a hoarse, "Help me."
A bang. Sam jumped nearly out of his skin, his gaze shooting to the front door. The Naga had used the bottom of his tail to close the door. The Naga twisted around and coiled his body. Sam could no longer see into the other room.
What the fuck, Sam thought, verging on hysteria. The Naga didn't seem to noticed he'd seen it, but if he had, he didn't show it.
The Naga lowered him onto the dusty floor. The second his ass hit the wooden planks, Sam looked around. He was surrounded by the massive hills of the creature's body. Although it was warm outside, Sam felt cold. He wrapped his arms around himself, battling the terror ravaging his body.
The Naga lowered his body until he was lying on his side, one hand sliding underneath his chin. He gazed at Sam with a kind of dark, quiet reverence.
Sam's skin crawled when he met his glowing eyes. He could just make out the bare minimum of his facial features, but Sam knew what the monster wanted.
Dean's words echoed in Sam's mind. It can smell your fertility, Sammy. It wants to breed you.
Well, fuck that. Sam would fight until he was bruised and bloody before he let this creature take him.
Silence prevailed. All Sam could hear was the grumbles and gurgles emanating from the monster's belly and his blood rushing in his ears.
Finally, Aiden broke eye contact and sighed, letting down his arm and laying his head on his thick bicep, "That ring on your finger...are you married?"
Sam's brows furrowed. He glanced down at the ring his brother gave him and then back up at the Naga. He'd forgotten he even had it. Why was this beast making small talk?
Sam did not answer. Instead, he pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
After a few minutes, the Naga spoke again. "You don't want to talk to me? That's fine."
Sam twisted his fingers into the fabric of his jeans. Several more minutes ticked by. The silence between them was nearly unbearable.
"I'm sorry I slapped you."
Sam licked his lips, sucking his teeth. He met his eyes. "No you're not."
The Naga's mouth bent into a smirk. "I just got caught up in the moment."
Sam ignored him and let out a shaky breath. "Why did you kidnap me? I have a mate."
The Naga's eyes heated, like smoldering embers. Maybe Sam shouldn't have asked, especially since he had a pretty good idea, but he wanted to be totally prepared when no-meant-no did not apply anymore.
"I smelled you," he hissed. "Your scent carries."
All the way out here? Sam thought skeptically.
"You couldn't have smelled me all the way out here."
"No," he said. "One of my slaves came back one day and I smelled your sweet heat on him. He'd gotten close to your mate's burrow."
Sam tensed at the word slave. What the hell was up with Nagas and their love for slavery? And sweet heat? What was this, a harlequin romance?
"That so?"
"Yes." Aiden drew one claw against the wood, creating slow, intricate patterns in the dust. "And I knew I had to have you."
"Don't you have a mate?"
Sam saw the monster stiffen, his broad shoulders forming a tight line. "No."
"Why not?" Sam ventured, and, sure, maybe it wasn't such a great idea to remind the man-eating predator that kidnapped you that he had a weak dating game, but Sam really wanted to know. Why go out of his way to steal him from a pissed off Naga when he could've just found someone?
"I've tried," he said. "Finding a mate is difficult. It helps if you were a turned Naga. Your mate is usually the person you fell in love with before you changed. Sometimes, though, you'll find one while on the hunt. A meal becomes a companion if the chemistry is there. If it's meant to be. I was born this way."
"You...were born a Naga?"
Aiden nodded. "Yeah."
Sam blinked, stunned into silence at this revelation. He subconsciously felt his belly. Did that mean his babies would be like this Naga?
That is, with the same kind of cannibalistic hunger and viciousness? No. No way. He wasn't going to let that happen.
"You're lying." Sam said.
The Naga's face twisted. "You think I'm lying? Why the hell would I lie about that?"
"I don't know, but you're lying. Nagas aren't born, they'd turned. It's like an infection."
The Naga scoffed. "And what do you think those things are cooking in your belly? Sweet little human babies?"
The Naga saw the look on Sam's face. He smiled, open and dark. "Your clutch are gonna grow up to be stone cold predators. Our genes always dominate."
"That so?"
"You should feel honored to be carrying a superior race."
Sam scowled. Superior race my ass, he thought.
"You're lucky. He could've just eaten you. But he chose to claim you." Aiden nodded to the mating claim peeking out from the collar of his shirt. "It was a good choice. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm not into dudes. But I can see why he'd want to dump his load into you."
Sam glared. "What do you mean?"
"You're fit, tall, strong. Healthy." He said, eyes flickering down Sam's body. "And you clearly love him. My question is, was your mate born or made?"
"Shouldn't you know?"
"Can't tell."
"He was turned."
"I had a feeling he was. Were you with him before he turned?"
The back of Sam's neck suddenly felt hot. It had been a long time since he felt ashamed for the relationship he had with his brother; he didn't want to tell him Dean was his sibling. Sam had a feeling that it was too weird, too forbidden and nasty, even for a half snake, half man beast that lived in the forest and ate girls. Sam snorted. How preposterous was that?
"What's so funny?" The Naga's tone was clipped, cold.
"It's nothing. To answer your question, yes, we were together before he turned."
The Naga nodded. "Makes sense."
Sam's mind flashed to the dangling women in the other room. "Can't you just have sex with a woman? Get her pregnant that way?" God forbid the monster did that, but why would he need Sam if he had those women?
"A human who is claimed by a Naga is transformed on the inside. Your body chemistry, your ability to carry children, your ability to take cock," the Naga's eyes darted lustfully down Sam's body, "it changes. The claim lets you carry our offspring. Without this change, no one can carry Naga children, woman or man."
Sam thought back to the bites all over the women in the other room. "Can't you just give someone a claiming bite?"
Aiden's lips pulled back from his teeth in something nothing like a smile. "It's not that simple. Like I said, it's about love. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's just survival. Nature's way of making sure the Naga stays with his partner and takes care of her and the children."
"So, you're telling me you can't claim someone unless you're in love with them?"
"Yes." Aiden growled. "Seems like it."
"If what you're saying is true, if you really were born-"
The Naga licked his teeth, his jaw hardening. "I am telling you the truth. My mother was human, like you. My father was a Naga."
"And you were, what, hatched out of an egg?"
The Naga smirked, "Exactly."
Sam rubbed his hand up and down his belly. There were eggs inside him? Sam tried to picture them, but all he could imagine were a bunch of chicken eggs stuffed into his womb. He swallowed nervously. They had to be much bigger than chicken eggs. He imagined squeezing them out. He thought he might faint.
"I have nine brothers and sisters."
Sam's jaw dropped. "N-nine?"
Aiden smiled, his gaze far off and distant, as if remembering. "Yes. Nine. They're far away now, all probably mated with burrows and snakelets of their own. At least I hope so."
"And your parents? What happened to them?"
Something dark and sad fell across the Naga's face, like a cloud on a sunny day. He pursed his lips together until they were a thin, white line.
"That's enough talking. You get to sleep."
Sam frowned. "What?"
"What do you mean 'what?' You don't want to sleep?" The Naga smiled darkly. "You have something better in mind?"
Sam shook his head sharply. "No. Sleeping is fine."
The Naga yawned, his expression melting into one of raw satisfaction. "Don't think about climbing out of my coils. I'm a very light sleeper. Sleep. Tomorrow, I'll hunt for you. Something small and bloody. I know you're hungry. Those little ones must be starving," the Naga glanced down at his engorged stomach.
Sam cautiously laid down on his side. His head met a soft, folded up blanket. He jumped. He hadn't seen it. He stared into the monster's half-lidden golden eyes.
God, the fucker was terrifying. Sam couldn't sleep. Not with this stranger curled around him.
Sam couldn't believe the Naga wasn't going to take him tonight. What was stopping him? Was he waiting for him to give birth? That made sense. The Naga's batter wouldn't do anything if there were biscuits already baking in his oven.
The Naga closed his eyes. Sam wrapped his arms around his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. He would not be sleeping tonight, but at least he'd gotten some answers.
God, he missed Dean. He imagined being wrapped in his coils, warm and protected. His mating bite throbbed with every beat of his heart, as if scolding him for the wrongness of the situation. Each beat of his heart said, not him, not him, not him.
Dean, please, Sam silently prayed. Find us.