Coral

Part of my brain is wondering just how much of a bad idea all of this is, especially agreeing to the trip in the first place.

Most of the rest of my brain is taken up with the absolutely massive lump in Drasus' pants. I am a doctor. I have seen plenty of penises in my time, but whatever it is Drasus is…not hiding…it goes beyond anything real, surely?

But then, he is not human. He is Sarkarnii and I was warned by my human friends, at least in a round about way about the differences between human and Sarkarnii anatomy. I didn't want to believe them because they made it sound like magic, and if there's one thing I know about, it's bodies. There is no magic.

Drasus's gaze has taken on a feral edge, a long way from the male I thought was going to pass out a short while ago. He doesn't move from his position, but he makes no attempt to hide what is very obviously tenting the material of his trousers. If anything, he seems proud of it.

"That is not going to fit, no matter what you think" I say matter-of-fact.

"We are made for each other. My seed will ensure we fit together as if we were never apart," Drasus rasps, setting the canteen down to one side. "The only thing which is wrong with me, little flame, is my rut. It sends me wild, my scales itch, my blood burns, my mating gland sends the mix flowing through me over and over. And the only thing which can assuage my rut is mating you until you are bred."

I grab the canteen from next to him and take a big gulp of water. This is new territory for me.

"Are you going to let me breed you, little Coral?" Drasus asks, exposing a significant number of fangs.

I mean, my body is reacting to him with heat and tingling I'm sure isn't right. Drasus smells amazing, all smoke, leather, and tobacco, but I remember yesterday.

"You don't want me," I retort, moving to the other side of the fire again. "You made that quite clear when I told you I hadn't been with a man…a male before and why."

Drasus looks confused. Horny and confused. Mostly horny if I'm entirely honest. It's clear the rut is having an effect on how his brain is turning over information.

"I did…what?" He stumbles over the words. "No! You belong to me. I want you untried. I want to claim you, to make you mine, sweet Coral."

I'm shocked into silence. For all my supposed knowledge, I've clearly got Drasus very wrong. Whatever happened yesterday, he meant it, every part of it, except the part where I thought he'd bailed.

"You weren't bothered?" Realization hits me like a hammer to the head.

I got it wrong. I got Drasus wrong because I wanted my feelings for him to be wrong. I am a complete idiot. No wonder Drega, Ruby, and the others had already decided we were a mated pair. They could see what I couldn't.

A Sarkarnii ruts for his female. I am Drasus's female. I open my mouth to tell him, to explain everything, but a sharp snipping sound has his head swiveling towards the nearest passage.

He drops to his hands and knees and gets slowly to his feet. For a second, I think it's due to his injuries, but then I see his eyes. They're fixed on a spot in the dark.

Any injuries he might have had are gone. Drasus is a coiled spring of a male—even his ever shifted tail isn't moving.

He holds out a splayed hand behind him, aimed at me, the claws fully extended. He wants me to hold back. The other hand goes slowly to the ray gun on his hip. I freeze. There is something out there, in the dark.

The fire sends flickering shadows everywhere, and I'm beginning to regret my insistence on camping here as the movement of the vegetation is making the lighting even more wild. I watch Drasus creep forwards, slowly, like a cat stalking until he coils himself down for a final spring.

With a roar, he bursts into the dark, releasing a lick of flame which lights up the entrance to the passage for a brief moment, followed by a horrible burbling and further roars and snarls, along with the sounds of large bodies smacking into each other.

I look around wildly, not sure what I can do. I'm not a dragon warrior. I don't even have a weapon, but I don't want to let Drasus fight whatever he is fighting on his own. I spot a belt with a number of flat explosive devices attached to it and grab one. Maybe Drasus can use it.

As I creep towards the passage, there is another flash of fire and a gurgling which does not sound like a death rattle. I finally stick my head gingerly around the corner to see Drasus grappling with one of the foul squid/crab/lobster creatures the Sarkarnii call a Rak. He's managing to hold its huge pincers away from snipping off body parts, but his ray gun lies in the dirt.

"Drasus!" I call out, throwing the explosive towards him and the Rak.

"Coral!" he cries out as the thing goes off.

I'm blown back and up in the air, my limbs flailing as I realize I'm heading to the water and there is nothing I can do, hitting the surface with enough force it squeezes all the air out of my lungs. I splash, terrified until one of my feet hits a ledge and I splutter my way to the edge, heaving myself out onto the sandy ground, the air around me filled with dust and my ears ringing from the explosion.

I cough out some water and attempt to croak Drasus's name. As the dust settles and my hearing clears, all the sounds are of rocks falling, rolling…and nothing else.

Pulling myself to my feet, I stumble forwards. The passage Drasus was fighting the Rak in is filled with rubble, and my heart leaps into my throat.

"Drasus!" I shout, my voice cracking as I start pulling on the rocks with my bare hands.

Most of them are huge. I can't even imagine budging them, but I have to, I have to get to Drasus. He has to be alive.

He has to be.

"Hello." A voice filled with gravel comes from behind me, and I jump out of my skin, spinning on the spot so fast I'm amazed my head keeps up.

Drasus stands, just in front of me. His hair is undone from its usual braid. He's covered in dirt—it streaks his scales. A wound on his head runs with blood, down the side of his face. One eye is swollen shut.

"Oh, thank god!" I throw my arms around him, breathing in his smoky scent deeply.

Beneath my hands, his hips gyrate.

"Sweet female," Drasus rumbles. "I am enjoying your touch, but do I know you?"