Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 23

I waited for Oso to say something else, for him to crack a smile and say that he was kidding about what he said.

It never came.

My surprise twisted into horror as the seconds passed by, unable to look away from the krait naga who began moving towards me, his red-and-black eyes staring right into my own colored hues as I took a few steps back from him. I felt terrified of him -- more scared than when I thought he was going to kill me on the island. My mental image of the smiling red-headed naga who liked to joke about things was torn asunder, replaced by the reality I faced.

Oso...was a monster. He always was, but I was taken in by the innocent-looking face that was now leering down at me, his predatory eyes regarding me like I was some kind of prey as the feeling in the air grew heavy with tension. Some small part of me didn't want it to be true, that this entire thing was just an act that he was doing for some twisted reason, but the deadly intent I saw in his eyes had spread to his face and that small wish shriveled into dust.

"Oso--" I cried out as I tripped over something, falling down into the undergrowth of his enclosure. Oso reared over me, his eyes intensely focused on mine as I felt tears start to run down my cheeks, "Why would you do that...? Why would you kill them?!"

"You already know why!" His eyes flashed with anger, slamming his hands down above my shoulders and digging his fingers deep into the dirt, "You'd think I'd let those worthless vermin get away with harming my brothers?!"

I bit down a scream as I raised my hands over my face in self-defense, putting up a small barrier between the furious naga and myself. I knew that it didn't matter to the naga if my hands were in the way or not, "You promised...! You promised me that you wouldn't kill anyone!"

"I told you on my island that I would do what any animal would when protecting their family!" Oso's voice grew louder, startling me as he began to shout at me for the first time, "If you think that I'd just sit back and watch disgusting creatures like you wound my brothers, then you're sadly mistaken about who I am!"

Silence grew between us as I registered his pointed words, sucking in my bottom lip and biting it to keep from crying out loud. His lips twisted into a nasty snarl, revealing his pointed teeth and the two gaps where his fangs were still folded back.

"I refuse to give your measly promise any length of thought. If words were all it took for creatures like you to leave my family alone, we would've been home by now," Oso's voice deepened into a growl as his head lowered to mine, using his chin to shove my hands aside as I tried to get some space between us, "You've got until the end of the week."

"But Oso...!"

"Did I not speak your language?!" His teeth snapped together mere inches from my face, the sound resonating in my ears like bones cracking apart, "Either you find a way out for us, or we're leaving on our own."

"Fine!" I screamed in response, closing my eyes tightly as I couldn't fight back the tears or cry in my voice, "I'll do it...! Just leave me alone...!"

It was a long while before I heard him move away from me, not saying a word further as the noises around me stopped. When I opened my eyes, I was alone where I had fallen. Scrambling up and out of Oso's enclosure, I slammed the door shut before falling to the concrete floor, my mind and emotions reeling from the unexpected confrontation.

I don't know how long I cried on the ground.

Finally able to take a deep breath without sniffling, I blinked a few times before wiping my palms over my eyes. Settling the eyepatch back into place, I glared at my sleeping room, swiftly standing up and roughly pulling out the laptop. It booted up quickly and I sent the urgent e-mail to Jeff, telling him that the nagas would need extraction before the end of the week. Sending detailed information about where the nagas were being housed, I attached a screenshot of an empty looking field that was near the park he had suggested. I was able to get a good look at it when I was brought back this morning, not finding any kind of lighting pointed at the large field. It should be big enough for a pick-up in the chosen helicopter.