Alex stared up at the cave ceiling, the mossy stalactites blurring through his unshed tears. The system's words echoed in his head like a bad remix: Beastmen can have only one mate for life. Great. Just great. Not only had he been yanked from his biology exam prep into some fantasy fever dream, but now he was hitched for eternity to a giant snake dude who probably thought "foreplay" meant coiling around your prey before eating it.
One mate, he thought, his mind spinning like a hamster on espresso. I'm a guy. A straight guy—or at least I was, before this stupid heat turned me into a walking thirst trap. He glanced down at the serpent tattoo, its inked coils mocking him with their permanence. What did this even mean for him? Could he really... get pregnant? The system had said it nonchalantly, like it was no big deal, but the idea twisted his gut into knots tighter than Naga's tail. Kids? With a man? No, not just any man—a freaking mythical serpent beast who could probably bench-press a boulder.
Alex's family back home—his sister with her ABO novels, his parents who still nagged him about finding a "nice girl"—what would they think? Hell, what did he think? Last night had been... intense. Mind-blowing, even. But was that him, or the venom? The heat? Some cosmic prank rewriting his wiring?
He sat up abruptly, ignoring the pleasant ache in his muscles that only made the confusion worse. I liked it. A lot. The admission burned in his chest. Girls had always been his type—soft curves, sweet smiles, the whole rom-com package.
But Naga's scales against his skin, that deep rumble of a voice, the way those emerald eyes pinned him like he was the most precious thing in the world... it stirred something unfamiliar, terrifying. Am I gay now? Bi? Omega-whatever? Or is this just the system's fault, turning me into some breedable puppet? The thought made him want to punch the air—or the system cat, if it ever showed its furry face again.
He wasn't ready for this. Not the mating, not the tattoo, not the lifetime commitment to someone he barely knew. What if he hated it here? What if he wanted to go home? But deep down, a traitorous whisper wondered: What if this feels... right?
*****
Naga watched his little mate—his male mate—pace the cave floor like a trapped animal, that ridiculous leaf still clutched in front of him for modesty. The sight should have been amusing, but it only deepened the storm brewing in Naga's chest. He coiled tighter around himself, the tip of his tail twitching with unspent energy. A male. I have claimed a male as my eternal bond. The words repeated in his mind, each one a thorn digging into his pride.
In his world, mates were sacred—chosen by scent, by instinct, by the gods themselves. Females were the bearers of life, the heart of the tribe, soft and fertile to ensure the clan's survival. Naga had wandered these forests for seasons, evading the calls of his kin, waiting for that one perfect scent to draw him from solitude. And when it came—citrus-sweet, intoxicating, laced with heat—it had overridden everything. He'd assumed. Gods, how he'd assumed. The heat, the slick, the desperate pleas... it had screamed female to his beast senses. But now, in the clear light of dawn, the truth stared back: flat chest, broader shoulders, that intriguing appendage between his legs that Naga's eyes kept drifting to despite himself.
What have I done? The mark had accepted Alex—the stars had lit, the bond sealed. There was no undoing it. Beastmen mated once, fiercely, for life. To reject a mate was to invite madness, a slow withering of the soul until death claimed you. But a male? His tribe—the scattered Naga clans hidden in the misty valleys—would scoff, or worse, exile him. No heirs. No legacy. How could he return with a mate who couldn't swell with his young?
The thought clawed at him: empty nests, silent caves, a bloodline ending with him. I am the last of my line, he reminded himself bitterly. Father's scales turned dull from loneliness after Mother left him. I swore I would not follow that path. Yet here he was, bound to a strange, spirit-talking human male who yelled at invisible cats and blushed like ripe fruit.
And yet... Naga's gaze softened as Alex muttered to himself, curls tousled from their night together. The boy's scent still lingered on his scales—warm, addictive, his. Last night's memories flooded back: the tight heat enveloping him, those broken moans, the way Alex had clung like Naga was his anchor in a storm. It had felt right. Primal. More fulfilling than any fleeting encounter with a wandering female. He responded to me. Arched for me. Begged. A low rumble built in Naga's throat, possessive and conflicted. Was this the gods' jest? Or a gift in disguise? Males didn't mate males in his world—not that he'd heard.
Perhaps that changed everything. Or nothing. Doubt gnawed at him: What if Alex resented him? What if the bond forced feelings where none grew naturally? Naga's claws dug into the stone floor, cracking it slightly. He wanted to protect this fragile, loud creature—to coil around him forever.
But the warrior in him rebelled: I am no nursemaid to a male. I am a hunter, a guardian. What am I now?
Finally, Naga slithered forward, his massive form casting a shadow over Alex. "Little one," he said, voice low and strained, belying the turmoil inside.
"This bond... it troubles you. As it does me." He reached out, hesitating before tracing a claw along Alex's arm—gentle, testing. "In my kind, males do not... join like this. It defies the natural order. My blood screams for heirs, for a full nest. Yet the mark chose you. I chose you, in the haze." His emerald eyes darkened, flickering with vulnerability he rarely showed. "Do you... regret? Wish to flee this coil of fate?"
Alex stopped pacing, meeting Naga's gaze. His heart hammered—fear, anger, a spark of something warmer clashing like thunder. "Regret? Hell yeah, parts of it. I didn't sign up for... for this." He gestured vaguely at his body, the tattoo, the whole damn cave. "I'm not supposed to be some omega baby factory. Back home, I was just a guy cramming for exams, not... not getting railed by a sexy snake-man and liking it!" The admission slipped out, and Alex's cheeks flamed. "But fleeing? Where? The system's got me stuck here, and apparently, you're my 'one and only' now. What if I can't give you kids? What if I'm not enough? Or worse—what if I start wanting this too much, and forget who I was?"
Naga's tail lashed once, betraying his frustration. "Enough? You question your worth?" He pulled Alex closer, coils looping loosely around his waist—not trapping, but holding. "I am torn, yes. My instincts war: protect the mate, but mourn the lost future. No young to teach the hunt, no daughters to weave the clan stories. My tribe would mock us—call me weak for yielding to a male's scent." He paused, forked tongue flicking out to taste the air, Alex's anxiety sharp on it. "But you are no weakness. You burned brighter than any female I've scented. Perhaps the gods mock us both... or test us. I will not abandon you. But this conflict—it festers."
Alex leaned into the touch despite himself, the cool scales grounding him. "Yeah, well, same here. I'm freaking out about... everything. Being 'breedable,' the heat hijacking my brain, wondering if I'm still me or just some system's plaything. And you—you're hot, okay? Like, unfairly. But I never pictured my life with a guy, let alone a lifetime sentence." He sighed, resting his forehead against Naga's chest. "We need to talk. Like, actually talk. No more venom surprises or system meddling."
Naga nodded slowly, his hand carding through Alex's curls—a soothing gesture that belied the storm in his eyes. "Agreed. We face this chaos together. But know this, little mate: the bond pulls me to you, male or not. Fighting it... may break us both."
The cave fell quiet, the weight of their unspoken fears hanging heavy, even as the system's portal flickered open nearby with a cheerful ding—blissfully ignorant of the mess it had made.