Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 18

Water swirled around my ears as Choro pressed his lips against mine, holding me tightly within his coils while a flurry of emotions surged through my head. His lips felt odd against mine, a hidden need driving his actions as the surface of the water remained tantalizingly close. Wrenching my head away from his, I fought against his body wrapped around mine before the last of my air escaped my lungs. A look of worry crossed his face as darkness swallowed my vision, my mind drifting off into a comfortable numbness.

My chest hurt, something pressing down repeatedly in a quick motion before something covered my mouth. I tried to take a breath in, only to feel my lungs spasm and cough out something that was blocking my airway, sucking down more air before another coughing fit. Something warm passed between my lips as I felt my body shift.

There was yelling...or maybe it was talking.

Another deep breath passed into my lungs easily, the oxygen rousing my mind as the voices grew louder in my ears. My eyes slowly opened to see leaves and dirt underneath me, the ground warm to my fingers as I looked up towards the trees. Was I back on the island?

No...I was still at the zoo and in one of the enclosures. I looked around me to see a dark haired man pointing a finger at me before jabbing it towards a green snake-human hybrid.

Naga, my mind corrected itself. How long had I been out to forget what they were?

The green naga...Choro...looked towards the dark haired man defensively, part of his tail curled around a thick tree trunk like he was clinging to it for some kind of support. His dark green eyes darted over towards me, his voice dying in his throat as he stared at me with widening eyes. The man glanced over to see what Choro was reacting to, rushing over when I started to move into a sitting position.

"(Y/n), slow down," The man...Raoul...his voice was deep and sounded tense, his hands moving towards my shoulders to steady me, "You've been out for a while, so take it slow."

"Define 'a while'," I shifted my gaze towards Raoul, wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand and noticing that my hair and clothes were soaking wet.

"About two minutes. I performed CPR but didn't call for medical assistance considering...who tried to drown you," The corner of his lip curled into a sneer as his blue eyes darted towards Choro. The naga hissed and shot a withering look back at the man, not moving from his spot.

"Thanks for the help," I spat out a foul taste in my mouth, "but I'd like for you to leave, Raoul. Choro and I need to have a talk..."

Choro's eyes met mine as I sent him a harsh glare, not moving from my spot as Raoul hesitated to leave. Heaving a sigh, the man stood up and left through the access door before closing it fully.

Choro didn't move.

"I...am appalled at what happened, Choro," I cut in before he had a chance to speak, "I'm going to safely guess that your intention wasn't to try and kill me, but I need to know...what the hell that was about?!"

The volume in my voice raised unintentionally, confusion turning into fear and then to anger as the reality of the situation set in. A look of remorse settled on Choro's face as he sat back on his coils, his eyes darting from side to side as he covered his mouth with a hand. After a few moments, Choro looked back to me and lowered his hand to his side.

"I'm sorry, (y/n). I didn't want to drown you, but what you did to me...was maddening," Choro dropped his gaze from mine, "The way your fingers pressed on my skin...it was intoxicating..."