The Stunning Man

The glowing man sliced through the dark water with predatory grace. His strong arm shot out, wrapping securely around Cora's waist. He hauled her upward, pulling her out of the suffocating depths. To him, she felt as light as a feather. He broke the surface, carrying her effortlessly through the churning lake, and deposited her right onto the broad, slippery back of the bright green python.

Cora hit the scales and immediately hunched over, coughing up lungfuls of water. Her chest heaved. Water streamed down her face, blurring her vision. As the violent coughing subsided, she dragged her gaze upward, her pupils dilating as she stared at the scene before her.

Floating half-submerged in the shimmering blue water was the man who had just pulled her from the jaws of death. He was strikingly handsome. His skin possessed a subtle, reptilian gloss, gleaming under the light in a way that made him look surreal. He did not look like a normal human. He looked like a deity born straight from the depths, or some kind of dark, tempting sea spirit waiting to drag her under the waves forever.

His eyes were a clear, striking peridot, bisected by sharp, vertical pupils. He watched her with an indifferent, chilling stare.

"Female cub," he said, his voice a low, resonant rumble that carried over the slapping waves. "How did you get into the Sacred Lake?"

Cora felt her breath catch in her throat. She forgot to cough. She temporarily forgot the endless, suffocating terror of the giant snakes. She did not even process his question. She just knelt there on the snake's back, staring at him in a wet, shivering daze.

She remained utterly speechless, her jaw slack.

*Holy moly,* she thought, her mind short-circuiting. *Is it even possible for someone to look this good? Even the most gorgeous celebrities back home would pale in comparison. He is so stunning. So unreal. He looks like some kind of celestial being.*

Beneath her, the emerald-green python writhed, its massive muscles flexing.

The movement snapped Cora back to reality. When she realized exactly what she was sitting on, all the blood drained from her face. The python's slick, wet scales offered zero traction. She nearly slipped backward, almost plunging right back into the churning lake. A strangled scream tore up her throat, but she was so paralyzed by fear that the sound died before it could escape. All that came out of her mouth was a pathetic, high-pitched squeak, like a frightened mouse cornered by a cat.

Zarek Vane watched her flail. His icy expression thawed just a fraction. *Forget it,* he thought, dismissing her panic. *She is just a cub. I will deal with her later.*

He surged out of the water, swinging his large body onto the green python's back with effortless, predatory grace. He reached out, grabbed Cora by the waist again, and hauled her upright. He adjusted her position so she sat straddling the python just behind its massive head, her legs dangling on either side of its thick neck. He moved her around like she was made of air, treating a one-hundred-and-seventy-pound girl like a ragdoll.

"Which tribe are you from, little cub?" Zarek asked, his tone cool, blunt, and devoid of empathy. "And why are you so chubby?"

The blunt question hit Cora like a physical blow. She momentarily forgot she was sitting on a monster. A hot wave of embarrassment flushed her cheeks. *Well, I am kind of chubby,* she muttered inwardly, her pride stinging. *But why the heck is he calling me a cub? I am twenty-three years old!*

Then her brain caught up with her eyes. *Wait. I literally just watched him shift from a giant black python into a man!*

Her eyes went wide behind her crooked glasses. She whipped her head around, risking a backward glance to stare at him. "A-Are you... a m-m-monster or what?"

But turning around was a mistake. She was hit all over again by his sheer, imposing presence.

His long, dark hair was soaked, clinging to the elegant lines of his neck and broad chest. A few stray strands trailed down over his deeply defined abdominal muscles. Tiny water droplets slid down his smooth, powerful body, catching the light like glimmering diamonds. He was so breathtakingly gorgeous that the sight of him felt physically overwhelming.

He caught her staring. Those peridot eyes with their chilling, vertical slits met hers. His gaze was beautiful, regal, and freezing cold. The predatory stillness in his expression sent a shiver straight down her spine.

Cora felt her lungs seize up. She stopped breathing.

"I ain't no monster," he replied, his voice a lazy drawl. "Call me Zarek."

*Is he joking?* Cora thought, her mind spinning wildly.

Her heart raced in her chest, caught in a chaotic mix of awe and terror. It felt like she had just crossed paths with a seductive, deadly ghost. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat, forcing her vocal cords to work. "C-Could you please tell me... were you... that giant black python from earlier?"

Zarek noticed the way this female cub stammered, shaking like a leaf, yet still managing to address him with such polite manners. He found the contradiction slightly amusing. He did not say a word. He just gave a slow, indifferent nod.

Cora sat there, utterly dumbfounded.

*Oh my god, he really is a monster,* she thought, fresh panic bubbling up from her stomach. *Does that mean all those other giant pythons in the water are monsters too? Can they all turn into men?*

She tore her gaze away from Zarek and looked down, scanning the dark water nervously.

All around them, a massive swarm of giant pythons circled the lake. They glided through the deep water in endless, overlapping loops, their scaled bodies breaking the surface and diving back down. They did not dare rush her like they had before, clearly hesitant and worried she might end up choking on the water again. But none of them wanted to leave, either. They formed a living, writhing perimeter.

Seeing those massive, thick bodies weaving in and out of the water made Cora's skin crawl. Goosebumps erupted all over her arms and legs. She had always harbored a deep, paralyzing terror of snakes. This was her worst nightmare manifested into reality. Her soul felt like it was trying to eject from her body.

A sudden, chilly gust of wind swept across the lake, hitting her wet skin. She shuddered violently, her lips turning a pale, bloodless blue.

Zarek glanced down at the bright green python beneath them. "Take us to the shore," he commanded.

The green python reacted instantly. It shot toward the distant bank with both of them riding on its back. The acceleration was jarring. It moved faster than a speedboat, but there were no roaring engines and no wild sprays of water. The giant snake just slipped through the lake like a silent, terrifying ghost.

Most of the python's massive bulk stayed hidden beneath the surface, leaving only a small portion exposed to the air. Cora's bare legs dangled directly into the crystal-clear water. The lake rushed past her skin, feeling like cool, liquid silk. The chilly wind whipped through her wet hair as they picked up speed.

Riding a giant snake across a mysterious lake was simultaneously terrifying and weirdly thrilling. Cora's eyes stayed wide open, taking in the rush of the water. Nothing felt real. It felt like she had tripped and fallen straight into a surreal, twisted fever dream.

The python's green scales were incredibly slick. As the beast accelerated, Cora started to slide backward from the pure momentum. Before she could tumble off, Zarek's large, calloused palm slapped firmly against the nape of her neck. He pressed down, locking her in place.

He did not wrap his arms around her waist to secure her. He did not offer any comfort. He just used that one massive hand, gripping the back of her neck. The sheer strength in his fingers sent fresh chills down her spine. It made her feel utterly powerless, like a helpless rabbit pinned to the dirt by a ruthless hunter.

Before she could process the strange dynamic, the python hit the shallows. They reached the shore.

Cora's arms and legs felt like useless jelly. The moment the python slowed down, she scrambled off its back. She hit the ground and practically fell onto her hands and knees. She did not bother standing up. She just crawled frantically up the bank, her nails digging into the dirt, desperate to put as much distance as humanly possible between her frail body and the monster-infested water.

She finally collapsed onto her side, panting hard.

The shore around her was undeniably gorgeous. Lush, vibrant green grass spread out in every direction. Strange plants and towering trees thrived along the bank. The ground beneath her hands was incredibly plush, feeling softer than a thick carpet. It was like walking on a cloud.

But Cora was in no state to appreciate the scenery. Her pink nightgown had taken a severe beating from the whirlpool flood and the violent lake. It was now filthy, stained with mud, and soaked all the way through. As she dragged herself onto the shore, the wet, heavy fabric clung stubbornly to her skin, outlining every soft curve of her body.

Cora was on the shorter side, standing around five foot three. While she considered herself chubby, she possessed a very distinct shape. She carried real weight, but it pooled in specific areas, giving her a figure with a heavy chest and wide hips that looked almost comically exaggerated against her short frame.

Standing in the shallows, Zarek gave her soaked, trembling figure a quick, calculating once-over. Then, he smoothly shifted his piercing peridot gaze away, acting as if he had not seen a thing.

*This cub is really filled out for her age,* he noted internally.

Out in the lake, the rest of the python swarm raised their massive, scaled heads above the rippling surface. Their vertical pupils locked onto Cora's form, completely mesmerized by the sight of her shivering on the grass. For the very first time in their lives, the beasts realized that a soft, curvy female could actually be stunning to look at.

Zarek stepped out of the water, his bare feet sinking into the lush grass. His voice rang out, demanding and authoritative. "Which tribe are you from, female cub? How did you end up in our tribe's Sacred Lake? Do you have any idea what kind of punishment trespassing here brings?"

Standing well over six foot three, Zarek towered above her huddled form. He cast a long, imposing shadow over her, forcing her to crane her neck backward just to meet his cold gaze.

*Tribe? Female cub? Sacred Lake?*

Cora's head spun. The words bounced around inside her skull. She tried to force her brain to start working, to analyze the situation, but her mind flat-out refused to cooperate. She was running on pure adrenaline and panic. Her thoughts remained a static, fuzzy blank.

Seeking some kind of anchor, she tilted her head further back, looking past Zarek's broad shoulders and up into the sky.

And there they were. Two suns hung high in the sky. One was massive, burning bright and hot, while the other sat smaller and slightly dimmer beside it.

Cora froze. The blood turned to ice in her veins. Her entire body went rigid.

*No wonder everything felt so weird,* she thought, the horrifying realization crashing down on her. *Was I transported to another world? Is that what happened? That explains why the murky floodwater turned crystal clear the second I got sucked down into that massive whirlpool.*

"Oh crap," Cora muttered aloud, her voice trembling. "I'm doomed. I am so doomed."

Her mind short-circuited completely. She grabbed her head with both hands, tangling her fingers in her wet hair in a display of utter despair.

*No way,* she chanted in her head. *No way. I was really transported to another world. This is not Earth.*

Zarek stared down at her, raising an eyebrow at her bizarre, frantic reaction. He gave her a deeply puzzled look. Why was she grabbing her head like she was in pain?

Back in the lake, the pythons noticed her distress. They snapped their vertical-pupiled gazes toward her huddled form, a bright gleam of curiosity shining in their reptilian eyes. A few of the bolder snakes began to slither forward. Their huge, thick, wet bodies dragged out of the water, winding their way up the muddy bank and onto the soft grassy shore.

Cora caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. She nearly jumped right out of her skin.

*Oh my god,* she screamed internally, her panic hitting a new peak. *These giant pythons are even scarier when they are on land!*

Blind terror took over. Before she even realized what she was doing, Cora scrambled up from the dirt and bolted toward the nearest towering tree. She just needed to get off the ground.

But Zarek reacted faster. He reached out with lightning speed, his large hand clamping down hard around her slender wrist, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Let go of me!" Cora yelled, her voice cracking, shaking with wild panic.

She fought back. She struggled against his iron grip with every single ounce of strength she had left in her exhausted body. Her face flushed a deep, angry red from the sheer effort of pulling her arm away, but his hold was like a steel vice.

Zarek watched her thrash. Seeing the genuine, raw terror shining in her wide eyes, he relented. He finally loosened his fingers and let her go.

Freed from his grip, Cora did not waste a single second. She scrambled up the thick, rough bark of the tree in an absolute flash, scraping her knees and palms in the process. She hauled herself up onto a lower branch, her entire body shaking like a leaf caught in a hurricane.

Down below, the massive pythons on the grassy shore were getting restless. Their thick bodies coiled and uncoiled. A few of them slithered closer to the trunk, tilting their huge heads up, looking very much like they might actually try to climb the tree right after her.

Cora shrieked. The sound was shrill, broken, and filled with absolute panic. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!"

Zarek stood near the trunk, his hands resting by his sides. He could easily tell that this strange female was absolutely terrified of snakes. Even just catching a glimpse of their scales sent her into a blind, hyperventilating panic.

His dark brows lifted in a calm, calculating manner. He turned his head and addressed the massive pythons gathered by the shore.

"Get back in the lake," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The pythons stopped moving. They hesitated, their massive bodies shifting uncomfortably on the grass. Slowly, reluctantly, they began to slither backward, away from the tree. As they retreated, each snake cast a lingering, wistful glance up at the chubby, adorable female cub perched precariously in the branches, before finally slipping back beneath the water's surface.

They had never seen a female cub this plump and tender before. They had certainly never seen one so skittish and easily frightened. Every little erratic thing she did was oddly adorable and kind of hilarious to watch. And right now, covered in mud, with all those fresh scrapes and bruises on her legs, she looked downright pitiful.

None of the pythons knew how this strange little creature had managed to stumble her way into their Sacred Lake, but as they sank into the deep water, they all secretly hoped the tribe leader would not hit her with a heavy punishment.

The Sacred Lake was not just any body of water. It was the exact spot where the legendary She-lord had first appeared a thousand years ago. Ever since that ancient day, the territory had been strictly off-limits. Only the absolute strongest, un-mated males of the tribe and a handful of elite giant morphs were ever allowed anywhere near the water. Even the most respected, high-ranking females in the tribe could not get close without facing severe consequences.

Any female who had ever tried sneaking into the Sacred Lake before got dragged away, tossed into a pitch-black cave, and punished hard. By the time their sentence was up and they finally crawled out of the dark, they were usually skin and bones, nearly starving to death.

To the beasts of the tribe, Cora was just an ignorant female from some other wandering tribe who had accidentally ended up in the wrong place. No one knew what kind of brutal punishment was waiting for her now.

The last of the giant pythons melted back into the deep blue water, their massive tails disappearing without making a single splash or sound.

Up in the branches, Cora remained frozen. She clung tightly to the thick tree trunk, her chest heaving, completely flustered. Her crooked glasses were still dripping with lake water, sliding down the bridge of her nose. Covered in mud and shivering violently, she looked exactly like a helpless, stranded koala, clutching the bark for dear life.