The Serpent King's Unwilling Human Mate

Fallon shoved the giant fern frond out of her face, the rough edge scratching her cheek. "This is so not what I signed up for," she muttered, swatting at a bug buzzing near her ear.

She looked down at her feet, a groan escaping her lips. Her limited-edition Balenciaga sneakers, the ones she waited three months on the waitlist for, were caked in thick, oozing mud. The pristine white leather was ruined, swallowed by the brown sludge that seemed to cover every inch of the forest floor.

"Great. Just great." She pulled her phone from her pocket, the sleek black surface reflecting the dim green light filtering through the canopy. She held it up high, waving it around like a beacon. No signal. Not even a single bar. The little antenna icon just stared back at her, mocking her existence.

"This is all your fault, Chad," she seethed, her voice echoing through the dense trees before being swallowed by the silence. "If I ever get back, I'm keying your Porsche."

Only the rustle of leaves answered her. The tour group was gone. She was alone.

She kicked a rotting log, ignoring the squelch of the mud. "'Reconnect with nature with a guided group,' he said. 'It'll be good for your soul,' he said. I hope you step on a Lego every day for the rest of your life."

A sudden gust of wind hit her from behind, carrying a stench so foul it made her eyes water. It smelled like rotting meat left out in the sun, mixed with something metallic and sharp. The hair on the back of her neck stood up instantly, a primal warning screaming in her brain.

Fallon froze. The forest went quiet. No bugs. No birds. Just the sound of her own ragged breathing.

She turned around slowly, her muscles tight with dread. The bushes directly behind her shook violently, the leaves whipping back and forth as if something massive was pushing through them.

She stumbled backward, her spine hitting the rough bark of a tree. "Who's there?" Her voice came out as a shaky whisper, completely unlike her.

From the shadows, a monster stepped into the dim light. It was huge, the size of a delivery truck. It had thick, matted fur and a head that looked like a cross between a boar and a nightmare. Drool hung from its yellowed fangs, sizzling slightly where it hit the ground.

Fallon's brain short-circuited. Her pupils dilated, her lungs refusing to pull in air. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

The beast threw its head back and roared. The sound was a physical force, slamming into her chest and shaking the leaves above her head. Her phone slipped from her numb fingers, landing with a soft splash in the mud below.

The creature's muscles bunched under its hide. It leaped, a terrifying blur of fur and teeth hurtling toward her.

Fallon threw her arms up over her face, a scream trapped in her throat. This was it. She was going to die in the middle of nowhere, eaten by a monster.

Then, a sound cut through the roar. A loud, rasping hiss, like sandpaper scraping against stone, echoed from the canopy above. It was a sound that made the beast's roar sound like a whimper.

A pressure heavier than gravity slammed down on the clearing. It was cold, suffocating, and utterly terrifying. The beast froze in mid-air, its body locking up as if an invisible hand had caught it by the throat.

A blur of silver and black dropped from the trees like a lightning strike. It collided with the beast mid-leap, the impact creating a sickening crack that echoed through the forest. Bones shattering.

A spray of hot liquid hit Fallon's cheek. She gasped, the coppery smell of blood flooding her nose.

She opened her eyes a crack, her heart hammering against her ribs. Through the haze of dust and blood, she saw it. A tail-thicker than a car tire, covered in scales-was wrapped tightly around the beast's neck, crushing the life out of it.

The beast hung limp, its head twisted at an impossible angle.

The tail moved, uncoiling slowly. It was attached to something massive, something that slid through the shadows with a terrifying grace.

A fear beyond logic, beyond comprehension, sliced through Fallon's mind. This wasn't a bear. This wasn't anything she had ever seen on the Discovery Channel. This was something else entirely.

Her vision swam. The edges of the world turned black. Her legs gave out, and she slid down the rough bark of the tree, her eyes rolling back in her head as she crumpled into the mud.