I Drugged the Snake Beast Alpha… And the System Screamed I Chose the Wrong Mate Chapter 03
My plan for the morning was simple: forage for wild fruit.
But half the settlement was hurrying toward the square in tight clusters, like something had happened.
I followed the crowd and ran into Silas along the way.
His expression was dark, anger simmering in his eyes.
“You drugged me, Sloane.”
Guilt hit me before I could stop it. “I can explain.”
That night, I’d stumbled on a mating blossom along the path, and before I knew what I was doing, I’d crushed its nectar into Silas’s bowl and tricked him into drinking it.
From what the comments told me, the plot itself had been pulling my strings.
Silas scoffed.
“Don’t pull anything like that again. I don’t care what you try. I’ll never want someone like you.”
“Chloe’s the only one I want.”
The words hit, and something behind my ribs ached.
Before Chloe arrived, things between Silas and me hadn’t been like this. Every time he came back from a hunt, he’d leave something at my door: the tenderest cut of venison, a handful of dayblooms.
I thought he liked me.
So when my parents pushed me toward Rowan, I dug my heels in. I’d kept him at arm’s length ever since, cold, distant, unwilling to give an inch.
Then Silas found Chloe in the forest, and he became a different person. His eyes followed her everywhere, and I stopped existing.
I made myself ask.
“If you don’t have feelings for me, why’d you leave the venison and the dayblooms at my door every time you went hunting?”
His brow furrowed. “When did I ever do that?”
[Girl. GIRL. Those were from Rowan the whole time.]
[This man did all the work, and Silas got all the credit. I’m going to CRY.]
They were from Rowan?
Why didn’t he ever tell me?
Impatience flickered across Silas’s face, and his voice went flat.
“Ever since Chloe got here, you’ve been targeting her every chance you get. She’s the chosen one. She’s kind, and she’s never held any of it against you.”
“Maybe try learning something from her. You couldn’t hold a candle to Chloe on your best day.”
[“You couldn’t hold a candle to Chloe”? Sir, that is DISGUSTING. Every ounce of attraction I had for this man just died.]
[Look at him on his high horse. Babe, smack him. Maybe it’ll knock something loose.]
A disbelieving laugh broke out of me.
“Don’t worry. I won’t bother you again. Rowan is ten times the man you are.”
Silas raised an eyebrow.
“Good.”
“If you hadn’t pulled that stunt, Chloe never would’ve fought with me. She wouldn’t have run off.”
“If anything happens to her, it’s on you.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He turned and stormed off.
His words sank in. Chloe had actually left the settlement?
That explained the panic.
Beyond the settlement lay the Whispering Woods, crawling with predators that made even Alpha-tier warriors think twice about going in alone. Someone as fragile as her wouldn’t last out there.
[Rowan DEFINITELY heard what she said to Silas just now. That man is FLOATING.]
[There he goes again. Can’t stop winning.]
[Rowan right now: “Every single day of waiting was worth it.”]
I scanned the crowd, and there he was, standing not far off.
I had no idea how long he’d been there.
Dew clung to his hair and lashes, but his ice-blue eyes, impossibly bright, gave him away. He looked happy.
“I made you breakfast. Come eat.”
I searched his face.
“The venison and the dayblooms that used to show up at my door. That was you, wasn’t it? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
His gaze dropped, and he shrugged like it was nothing.
“You hated me. If you’d known they were from me, you wouldn’t have wanted them.”
[What evil master plan could a puppy possibly have? He just wanted to make you smile. That’s IT.]
[REWARD THIS MAN. Pet the puppy. He’s been WAITING.]
[Who said this ship was angst? This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.]
Something ached behind my ribs. He’d known all along.
I reached for his hand and laced my fingers through his.
“I don’t hate you. No one’s ever treated me like you have.”
