I Drugged the Snake Beast Alpha… And the System Screamed I Chose the Wrong Mate Chapter 01
I was in the middle of slipping a dose to the obsessive snake-shifter male lead when a stream of live comments started scrolling across my vision.
[This side character is unreal. She’s got a devoted wolf-shifter husband waiting at home, and she’s out here dosing the FL’s man? Girl, tag me in if you can’t handle the role.]
[Run. The FL and your wolf-shifter are almost there. Once he snaps, it’s over. He’ll lock you up and never let you out.]
[Babe, it’s a shifter world. “Locked up” is basically a Tuesday. If she’s into it, that wolf can come up with a thousand ways to keep her busy. I’m just saying.]
***
“Sloane, you drugged Silas? That’s disgusting.”
A mob of settlement members filled the doorway of the stone cabin. Chloe Radcliff, Silas Radcliff ‘s mate, led the charge, with my husband Rowan Thorne right behind her.
“The whole settlement’s at the bonfire tonight, and you’re the only one missing. I knew you were up to something. So what do you have to say for yourself?”
Chloe’s face was flushed, her eyes brimming, her voice shaking with righteous fury. She looked fragile enough to shatter.
Every man in the room bought it.
A month ago, Silas had found Chloe alone in the forest. She claimed she’d come from another world, sent by the Moon Goddess to save this continent, and the settlement swallowed it whole, treating her like the chosen one.
I looked at Silas on the ground, flushed and barely conscious, then at the mating blossom still in my hand.
There was no talking my way out of this.
“So… if I said it was an accident, would anybody believe me?”
Every pair of eyes in the room narrowed.
Right. Nobody bought that.
[Girl, your only move right now is to shut up and look at Rowan with those big sad eyes. Just cry. Trust the process.]
[Can we talk about Rowan right now? The jealousy is pouring off this man. He wishes YOU were the one who dosed HIM.]
[Side character, were you a nun in your past life? How are you resisting this obsessive, ride-or-die, hopelessly devoted mate? I would’ve ruined that man already. Zero hesitation.]
The comments drew my attention away, and I glanced at Rowan before I could stop myself.
There it was. Cold fury simmering under the surface, edged with something rawer. Jealousy.
Our eyes locked. His jaw tightened, and he looked away.
“Elder, Sloane drugged my mate. Settlement law says she gets banished.”
Chloe’s voice rang through the cabin, sharp and clear.
Banished. The word landed like a punch, and before I could think, Rowan’s name was already out of my mouth.
He moved.
No hesitation. He stepped between me and the crowd, his voice cutting through the room.
“That snake is cold-blooded and slick. You really think my wife wants to curl up next to that?”
“My wife prefers my fur. It’s warm, and it’s soft. End of story.”
“So back off, and stop pinning this on her.”
I blinked.
Was I hearing things? Since when did Rowan talk like that?
[AHHHHH HE LOVES HER SO MUCH I CAN’T.]
[She throws one punch and this man shows up with the whole arsenal. He came PREPARED.]
[That kind of devotion? That’s the real prize right there.]
The weathered elder cleared his throat.
“Be that as it may, Sloane drugged Silas. That’s a fact. Settlement law is clear. She has to be banished.”
Rowan didn’t flinch.
“Sloane’s my wife. You banish her, I leave with her.”
The elder went pale. “Rowan, you’re our only Alpha-tier warrior. If you leave, who protects this settlement?”
Rowan’s face didn’t change.
“I protect my wife. The rest of you aren’t my problem.”
[YES. The so-called villain finally showed up. Someone finally grew a spine. I can breathe again.]
[This boy EARNED that wife.]
