Chapter 493: The Lamia’s Heart
The mansion itself shuddered, the ceiling caving in chunks, dust exploding outward as the chamber cracked, and through the smoke and ruin, the giant figure of a black bear and werewolf clashing appeared.
"Ryan..." The beautiful Lamia’s tongue flickered as her long, scaled tail unravelled from around Ryan and the girls. She glared towards Black Bear and Nikolai, locked in a brutal melee, and snorted. "This isn’t the best place, follow me."
Despite being enemies, Ryan couldn’t help but nod, cautiously following the lamia who slithered into a distant room, away from the battle. He couldn’t remove his eyes from her figure, the warmth of Clara’s hand in his the only thing keeping him from losing his composure.
Clack!
The next room wasn’t any good, so they continued three rooms down, then, using her dextrous tail, she locked the doors behind them. She turned back, looking down at them with a conflicted look, forked tongue flickering in the air.
The Lamia’s scales scraped against the wooden floor as she coiled near the wall, her eyes darting between the barred door and Ryan’s face. Her chest rose and fell sharply, a mix of fear and resolve in the rhythm.
Ryan swallowed his fear and hesitation, every instinct screaming at him to demand answers, but Clara’s fingers tightened around his wrist, keeping him focused. He could take a breath and observe the room, without letting emotions overwhelm him.
"...Why?" Ryan finally spoke, his voice low and grainy. "If you help us, you’re going to get in trouble! Why did you have to work for them?!"
The Lamia’s tongue flicked, tasting the air. Her eyes softened, a tremor rippling through her shoulders. "Because he saved me. Black Bear. When I was nothing but a runaway, wounded and ready to be sold at a slave market. He tore my chains apart, carried me out. Without him, I’d be dead in some pit."
Ryan’s stomach churned as her voice cracked, the scales along her jaw trembling as she recalled the memory. He felt jealousy towards the bear. A part of him wondered if they were an item, and thoughts that shouldn’t matter flooded his mind.
Have I really fallen for a monster?
Ryan’s chest tightened. He tried to throw away the jealousy and hatred burning inside. "So you repay him by committing a crime? By standing beside trash like the Silver Clan?"
Her eyes darted to Clara, then to Anya, before settling back on him. For a moment, she froze, and then the words tumbled out in an unpolished whine. "I didn’t want you to see me like that."
He froze, unable to control his emotions even with Clara’s fairy magic.
"I... I can’t betray him," she whispered, tail curling tighter. "Not after what he did for me. But every time I see you, Ryan, I... I don’t know what to do anymore. These two weeks—" She stopped herself, biting her lip hard enough to bleed. "I shouldn’t have let it happen. I was supposed to keep you close, keep you distracted. That was my order. But I..."
There was a biting silence...
Clara’s hands trembled, but she didn’t pull away from her brother.
Ryan stepped forward before he even realised, dragging Clara with him, his fists clenched, squeezing her hands while looking up at the beautiful woman. "So everything was fake?"
The Lamia’s eyes widened, glistening with tears she refused to shed. She shook her head violently. "No! That part wasn’t. Not a single word I spoke to you was a lie."
Her voice cracked with desperation, echoing in the locked room. "I... I care for you. That’s why I can’t breathe when you look at me like that. That’s why my chest hurts every time I hear them call you human trash. That’s why—"
BOOM!
The ceiling above groaned as another shockwave from the battle rattled dust loose, cutting her off. Ryan’s pulse roared; Clara’s grip was the only anchor keeping him steady.
The Lamia’s forked tongue flicked once more, her whisper almost too soft to hear. "I don’t want to lose you, Ryan..."
***
Ryan watched her while huffing, the words caught in his throat. The Lamia’s eyes, sharp and yet trembling with desperation, held him still like being stared at by the mythological monster Medusa.
He reached out, but hesitated, and her pupils dilated.
"You don’t understand!" she snapped suddenly, her tail lashing against the floor with a heavy crack. "I can’t just run off with you. Do you think life is that simple? That I can throw away my debt and everything he gave me, just because you—because you make me feel something I never wanted to feel!?"
Her shout ripped through the small chamber, silencing even Clara and Anya.
Sulley sat on the floor, covering his ears while watching the room with hazy eyes.
Ryan flinched, but didn’t back down. "So what, you stay here? With them? Watching from the shadows while they treat you like a tool? Is that the future you want?"
"What tool!?" Her voice broke into a bitter laugh, though her tears finally slipped free. "At least here, I know my place! With you... with you I don’t even know who I am anymore! Every time you smile, every time you touch me. Damn it, Ryan, I lose myself! And it terrifies me!"
He staggered back, her words striking harder than any blow. His heart raced, but he refused to remain silent, to lose.
Not this time.
Ryan let go of Clara’s hand and stepped towards the Lamia, his hands reaching up and grabbing her cheeks, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Then tell me you don’t feel it. Look me in the eyes and say it’s all fake."
She froze, trembling.
Her tongue flickered once before retreating, her voice breaking into a whisper. "I can’t."
The admission from her brought a violent tingle to Ryan’s stomach. He wanted to yell, scream and cheer in happiness. His hands subconsciously brushed and caressed her soft cheeks while gazing at her affectionately.
Her tail tightened around her waist as if she were trying to shield herself. She spoke with a gentle, but fearful voice... it lacked hysteria, but each word rang in Ryan’s ears.
"What happens next time, Ryan? What happens when the SSS come for me again, with their chains and collars? When the Silver Clan calls in their debts? When Black Bear tells me to hurt you to prove my loyalty? What will I do then!?" Her voice cracked into a scream, raw anguish pouring out. "What then!?"
Ryan’s blood boiled.
Jealousy, sorrow, and longing fused until they ignited into something fiercer. He stomped forward, chest hurting, his words bursting from his throat like fire.
"I will save you!"
The Lamia’s breath hitched, her golden eyes widening.
He didn’t know what to say, and just spoke honestly, his hands pulled the Lamia’s face closer, his heart thrumming with deep booming thuds.
"No matter how difficult, or who I have to face!" Ryan’s hands squeezed her cheeks, veins bulging against his skin as his whole body shook with the force of his vow. "I will be the one to take your hand and bring you home! Do you hear me!?"
Clara and Anya’s mouths opened wide.
They looked at the scene as if watching a trashy romantic drama during the daytime.
The Lamia’s lips trembled, her tail slackening against the floor. For the first time, she looked small and nothing like the predator or servant she was before, but a girl caught between chains and freedom.
Ryan’s chest heaved, the weight of his own words still pressing on him. He swallowed hard as the realisation dawned with a strange, almost dazed clarity.
"Ah," he muttered under his breath, his voice breaking into something between awe and exhaustion. "So that’s it..."
The truth had hit him. The playboy, the smooth talker, the charmer, able to get girlfriends with ease, but this was the first time he’d fallen like this.
He loved her.
***
Her face turned bright red, and this spread to her scales.
The Lamia’s eyes shimmered, her golden pupils swimming with disbelief.
"Ryan... you can’t just—"
He didn’t let her finish.
Ryan leaned in, crushing the distance, his lips meeting hers in a desperate, hungry kiss. It wasn’t smooth or practised like the dozens he’d given other girls before. The kiss was rough, clumsy, trembling with everything boiling inside him.
Her eyes widened, tail stiffening in shock, but then her resistance crumbled. Her lips moved against Ryan’s, warm, wet, hesitant and eventually... needy. Her tail uncoiled from her waist and wrapped around his back, pulling him closer with a strength that stole his breath.
Clara gasped, covering her mouth, while Anya only smirked faintly, crossing her arms.
The Lamia broke the kiss with a shuddering breath, tears streaking down her cheeks. Her voice came out ragged, trembling between joy and fear. "You idiot... you’ll regret this. You’ll regret choosing me."
Ryan’s forehead pressed against hers, his eyes locked onto hers with unwavering heat. "No. For the first time in my life... I finally chose right."
He couldn’t help but remember Nikolai’s words....
He said that monster girls were the best.
Brother... you’re so damn right.
Her lips parted, a tiny, broken laugh slipping free before she kissed him again, harder this time.
Outside, the mansion quaked under the clash of monsters, but in that hidden room, the storm was theirs alone, and neither of them really cared.