Mahnoor lay in the bed of feathers, her body utterly spent and drenched in the aftermath of Rudra's relentless desire. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her lungs struggling to draw in enough air to catch her breath. Sweat clung to her skin, mixing with the heat that still radiated from Rudra's body as he finally collapsed beside her, spent.
But he wasn't human anymore.
In his place was a snake, much smaller than the monstrous form he had shifted into earlier—a serpent no larger than one you'd find hiding in a garden. He lay curled up beside her, his scales cool against her flushed skin. His usual strength and size had vanished, leaving him in a vulnerable, limp state.
Mahnoor blinked, her eyes wide with disbelief, her mind whirling as she tried to process what had just happened. Hours had passed, hours of intense, unrelenting passion that had taken her far beyond the brink of what she thought she could survive. Rudra had been true to his word—he had taken her again and again, breaking her only to heal her, each cycle pushing her body to the absolute limit.
She could still feel the lingering sensation of him inside her, her body sore and aching despite the healing energy he had poured into her. Her muscles trembled from exhaustion, her skin tingling with the aftermath of his serpentine power. Yet, she wasn't broken—at least not physically.
She turned her head slowly to gaze at the small, coiled form of Rudra beside her. His breathing was shallow, his scales glinting faintly in the dim light of the chamber. The once powerful serpent prince, reduced to a frail, vulnerable creature. It was surreal, almost laughable—after everything he had put her through, here he lay, defenseless.
Mahnoor stared at him, her mind racing with thoughts she hadn't had the strength to entertain earlier. Now, with her body finally at rest and her senses no longer overwhelmed, a flood of questions filled her head.
Is this what happened 400 years ago? she wondered, her gaze lingering on Rudra's tiny, motionless form. Is this how the serpent man drained his human mate of life? Did he push her beyond her limits, take her body until there was nothing left, and then…?
Her heart clenched at the thought. She had heard the ancient story many times before—about the serpent man who dared to mate with a human woman, and how their union had ended in tragedy. The woman had died, her life force drained completely, while the serpent had been skinned alive, his body reduced to nothingness as punishment for breaking the sacred laws.
Mahnoor had always thought it was just a legend, a cautionary tale meant to keep humans and serpents apart. But now, lying here beside a serpent prince, after having experienced firsthand the intensity of their union, she couldn't help but wonder how much of the story was true.
Did the woman die because the serpent drained her life away? Or was it because she couldn't endure it?
Her fingers absentmindedly grazed the smooth, cool scales of Rudra's snake form, feeling the faint pulse of his heartbeat beneath her touch. He had healed her, again and again, making sure she could survive what no normal human could. But what if he hadn't? What if he hadn't stopped?
Her mind drifted to the countless hours they had spent together, the way his body had overwhelmed hers, filling her, stretching her to the brink of breaking. She shivered at the memory, her body still tingling from the aftermath of it all. If he hadn't used his healing powers on her, she would have been destroyed—drained, broken, left with nothing but an empty shell of herself.
And then there was the matter of his own body. The shift from powerful, towering serpent to this small, harmless creature.
He's spent. Completely.
Mahnoor turned her head to gaze at the limp serpent again, her thoughts growing darker. The serpent man from the ancient story had been hunted down by humans, his skin torn from his body and used for snake skin bags and shoes. Was it out of revenge? Was it because of the way he had taken from the human woman without remorse?
She had never thought much about the poaching of snakes before, but now… now it all felt different. Was this what happened to those serpents who had dared to mix with humans, to seek them out in the forbidden thrill of mating? Did the humans find them when they were weak, when they had given everything and were left defenseless?
She could almost see it—the image of a serpent prince, much like Rudra, left in a weakened state after draining his human lover. And then the humans, driven by hatred or fear, hunting him down, their weapons sharp and deadly, stripping him of his scales, his skin torn away like a prize.
Mahnoor shuddered at the thought, her fingers tightening around the edge of the feathered bed. She had been in control of the situation earlier, despite the overwhelming power Rudra had wielded over her. But now… now she was the one left whole and he was the one who lay vulnerable, fragile.
The weight of it all settled over her like a suffocating blanket.
If I wanted to, I could leave him here. If I wanted to…
The thought lingered, unspoken, heavy in the air between them. She could leave. She could walk away from this entire, strange, forbidden experience and never look back. Rudra would be left to recover on his own, vulnerable in this secluded place where no other Naga or human could find him.
But something kept her from moving. Something deeper, more complex than mere exhaustion or curiosity. Despite everything, despite the intensity of their union, she couldn't bring herself to abandon him—not yet.
There was more to this story, more to Rudra than just his hunger and his power. She had felt it in the way he looked at her, the way his body had moved with hers, as if something more primal than lust was driving him. As if, somewhere beneath that hardened exterior, there was a being just as complex, just as torn as she was.
Why me? she thought again, her fingers tracing the delicate curve of his scales. Why did he choose me?
Rudra lay still beside her, his small, limp body coiled in the soft feathers of the bed, his breathing shallow but steady.
Mahnoor stared at him for a long time, her mind swirling with questions, uncertainties, and the lingering ache of their forbidden union. In the end, the serpent prince hadn't drained her life away. He hadn't broken her—at least not in the way the old story had warned.
But that didn't mean the danger was gone.