STILL AT THE LIZARD ALPHA'S SWAMP
The party was still in full swing when Kayden found her.
Mira stood at the edge of the clearing, half-hidden by a hanging vine, watching the celebration with hollow eyes. She couldn't join because humans weren't allowed to join except it was an orgy.
Lizard folk danced around bonfires, singing and chanting happily.
Kayden approached slowly. He stopped a few feet away and simply looked at her.
"You are not dancing," he said.
Mira did not meet his eyes. "I am not in the mood."
He was still in his Lizard form when he became quiet for a long moment. Then his bones cracked, his scales receded and his snout shortened.
The shift was slower this time—deliberate, controlled. When it finished, a man stood before her.
He stepped closer.
"I owe you an apology," he said.
Mira's head snapped up. "For what?"
"My words earlier. At the throne." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was cruel and I was harsh. I spoke to you like you were nothing."
"You always speak to me like I am nothing."
"You are right," he said. "And I am sorry."
He leaned in and kissed her forehead. Then her cheek and her lips.
"I won't chase you away or discard you when I finally take the cure," Kayden proclaimed.
Mira didn't believe any word. She knew how men were. They always lied.
"I don't believe you."
"Mmmm…" Kayden mused.
"I know you too well, Alpha Kayden. You'd chase all the beautiful women in the world and bask in vanity. You don't have to promise me anything. I understand that I am a lowly prisoner."
Kayden sighed. "I have been chasing this cure for three hundred years," he murmured against her mouth. "Three hundred years of failure. Of hope dying. Of watching my people suffer." He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. "And now, suddenly, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can almost taste it. I can almost feel what it is like to stay human. To wake up as a man and go to sleep as a man. To not feel scales crawling across my skin every time I get angry or scared or... hopeful."
Mira said nothing.
"You cannot understand what that feels like," Kayden continued. "To be trapped in a body that is not yours. To look in the mirror and see a monster staring back. To have children who will never know what it means to feel the sun on human skin."
His mouth found hers in a scorching kiss. Longer this time.
"I was cruel because I was scared," he admitted. "Scared that it might still fail. Scared that the lycan might die before we reach her. Scared that even if we get her blood, the witch's curse might be too strong to break."
Mira placed a hand on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat beneath his human skin.
"You have never apologized to me before," she said quietly.
Kayden smiled. It was not his usual cruel smile.
"There is a first time for everything."
He shifted again and scales returned. The man disappeared, and the lizard stood in his place. But his eyes were still soft.
Mira hated when he turned. Everyone did. "I will be fully human soon," he said. "Truly human. Not just for minutes. Forever, perhaps." He took her clawed hand in his. "And when that day comes, I want you there. Standing beside me."
"As What?" Mira asked. "Your servant? Your slave? Your toy?"
Kayden's grip tightened. "As my companion. The one who stayed when everyone else feared me. The one who asked hard questions when everyone else just nodded."
Mira searched his reptilian face for lies. She found none.
"Cheer up," Kayden said gently. "Do not take the things I said earlier seriously. I was a fool. A scared, desperate fool."
He tugged her hand.
"Come, let's have fun." Kayden said and led her into the center of the clearing.
Mira rolled her eyes. She knew what time it was. Orgy time!?!
The drums welcomed them and the fires parted. Lizard folk stepped aside to let their Alpha pass.
Kayden pulled Mira close and ripped her clothes apart from her body.
He always did this. Thankfully, he was rich enough to buy her as many dresses as he wanted.
He grabbed her breasts sharply. Her hardened nipples shone in the light for all to see. Mira closed her eyes.
Alpha Kayden took his loincloth off, then the torches went out.
The clearing plunged into darkness and all lizards entered into formation. Sex. Sperm. Vagina fluid all filled the air.
Gasps rippled through the crowd and claws scraped against stone. Someone screamed. Probably a human girl being penetrated by a 10-inch penis.
Then light glowed. Not firelight, something else. Glowing orbs descended from the canopy above.
They floated down like stars falling from the sky. The stage at the far end of the clearing began to move.
Music. Music was going to play. The lizards could be very dramatic when they wanted to be.
It rose on mechanical vines, lifted by unseen pulleys, until it hovered several feet above the ground. Smoke billowed from its edges and the music started.
It was something sensual. A string instrument Mira had never heard before, accompanied by the soft hiss of snake charmers.
And then the sex dancers appeared.
Female lizards descended from the canopy on silk ropes. They were half-naked—bikinis made of iridescent scales covered only what was necessary.
They landed on the stage and began to sing.
The female lizards swayed and spun. Their tails wrapped around the poles. Their claws traced patterns in the air.
Then the male lizards joined.
They emerged from the shadows at the edges of the clearing, climbing onto the stage with fluid grace.
While dancing, the bikinis were thrown off the stage and they went into full blown sexual intercourse.
The crowd cheered.
Kayden pulled Mira closer. He grabbed her and made her sit on his 13-inch dick. While he held her up, making her bounce relentlessly on him.
"Fuck, I'm almost cumming," Mira declared looking up at him. His golden eyes were fixed on the stage, but his hand was warm in hers.
"Will you really let me go?" she asked. "When you are human? Will you free me?"
Kayden did not answer immediately. It was risky to promise a woman anything during intimacy.
"Let us not think about tomorrow," Kayden said finally. "We should celebrate only tonight."
He twirled her, turning her reverse. She stumbled and caught her and while enjoying themselves, the stage lights flickered. And went out.
The singers stopped mid-note and the crowd fell silent.
In the darkness, someone screamed. The lizards paused their orgy. Everyone was now alert.
Mira turned toward the sound and Kayden's hand tightened around hers.
"Stay close," he whispered.
Was something wrapped in shadows.
Perhaps a hidden face? A spy?