I Drugged the Snake Beast Alpha… And the System Screamed I Chose the Wrong Mate Chapter 10
The feral stampede had leveled more than half the settlement’s cabins. Ours was gone.
Rowan brought it up like it had just occurred to him.
“What if we went somewhere new?”
I looked at him. “Like where?”
He shrugged, keeping it light.
“I’ve heard Silverpeak Citadel up north is worth seeing. Big city, all kinds of shifter clans. Want to
see it with me?”
[Oh my God. This is a meet-the-family trip.]
[This man moves in SILENCE. Just casually tricking her into coming home with him. King
behavior.]
Rowan was from Silverpeak Citadel. He’d never mentioned that. Not once.
I smiled. “All right.”
Silverpeak Citadel lived up to its name. The streets were packed with shifters from every clan imaginable, trading, bargaining, and shouting over each other.
We’d barely stepped through the gates when a patrol unit fell into step around us.
“The High Alpha has asked to see both of you.”
He looked so much like Rowan it stopped me cold. The same build, the same face, but where Rowan
was all sharp angles, Jasper Thorne ‘s features ran softer.
Jasper looked me up and down, taking his time.
“So you’re Rowan’s wife. Not bad looking, though the women of our silver wolf pack have higher
standards.”
The warmth left my face.
“And you must be Jasper. Looks, personality, all of it. You couldn’t hold a candle to Rowan.”
[Sloane and Jasper at each other’s throats within five seconds. Rowan’s going to spend his whole life playing referee.]
[Tsundere brother-in-law vs. sharp-tongued wife? I’d ship it. Sorry not sorry.]
[Multi-shipping will be your downfall. Stay strong.]
Jasper’s expression curdled. “You…”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish. I ducked behind Rowan and switched to my sweetest voice.
“Rowan, he’s being mean to me. We just got here and he’s already picking on me.”
“I guess your family doesn’t want me here. Maybe I should just go back.”
Rowan turned on Jasper without missing a beat.
“Sloane’s my wife. Watch your mouth.”
Jasper shot me a look sour enough to curdle milk, but he swallowed whatever he wanted to say.
[Sloane: “I have your brother wrapped around my finger. What chance do YOU have?” Absolute queen behavior.]
[Sloane went “Rowan, tell him” and Rowan said “YES MA’AM” without a second’s hesitation.
Whipped beyond repair.]
Then Rowan’s face turned serious.
“I came back for two reasons. First, I wanted Sloane to meet you.’
“Second, I want to give her the bonding ceremony she deserves.”
Jasper clicked his tongue.
“And here I thought you actually missed me. But no, it’s still all about her.”
“When Dad was dying, I begged you to come back and take the Alpha title. You wouldn’t. All because
of her.”
“How did I not know any of this?”
Jasper shot me a flat look. “Ask Rowan yourself.”
Rowan’s father had been the High Alpha of Silverpeak Citadel, with two mates. Rowan’s mother was
one of them.
The other, a silver wolf female, had grown jealous of the favor Rowan’s mother received. While the
old Alpha was away, she sent people to kill all three of them, his mother and both sons.
Jasper had been off visiting the tiger clan that day, which saved his life. Their mother grabbed
Rowan and fled the city, disappearing into the wilds.
By the time my father pulled Rowan from the jaws of that beast, his mother was already dead.
He’d carried that bitterness ever since, against his father, against the city, against everything he’d
come from. He never wanted to go back.
Last year,
title.
the old Alpha died. Jasper tracked Rowan down and asked him to come home and take the
But my parents had just died too, and Rowan wouldn’t leave me. He stayed.
Jasper’s voice cut sharp. “Rowan turned down the Alpha title for you. And you treated him like he
was dirt.”
[Deadbeat father. A mother who died protecting him. A brother who roasts him daily. Girl, if you don’t love this man, WHO WILL?]
The guilt landed before I could argue. He was right. I’d treated Rowan terribly.
But Rowan just took my hand, steady as always.
“I never wanted to be High Alpha anyway. The job’s endless. Jasper handles it better than I ever
would.”
Jasper looked like a man watching his own funeral.
“Thanks for that, Rowan. Really.”
[Jasper’s inner monologue right now: “Why am I here? Why did I agree to this? I want to crawl
under a rock and never come out.”]
[Confirmed: Jasper is an overworked single brother-in-law who has to watch these two flirt right in front of him. Thoughts and prayers.]
[Someone check on Jasper. I’m genuinely worried about him at this point.]
