I Slept with the Snake-Man for a Night, But He Said I Came to Take His Life - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My first instinct wasn’t to scream.

It was to look down at my clothes.

Thankfully, my dress was still on.

It was just a wrinkled mess, the straps sliding down my arms as if I’d been in a vicious brawl last night.

When I looked up again, I saw the man leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window. He was tall with long legs, his white shirt buttoned all the way to the top. His wrists were a cold, pale white, but there was a certain loose, seductive elegance in the corners of his eyes.

If I ignored the snake tail slowly sweeping across the carpet behind him, he looked exactly like some predatory elite straight out of an investment bank.

I pinched myself.

It hurt.

This wasn’t a dream.

“Who are you?”

“Kang Shiyu.”

“I’m asking *what* you are.”

He let out a short laugh.

“That’s not how you were asking last night.”

My brain went numb with a sudden buzz.

Fragments of last night’s memories began to crawl back into my mind.

It had rained all night in Gray Harbor.

In order to follow a lead on the Harbor District Serial Disappearance Case, I had snuck into a private bar at the end of the old pier. On the surface, the place sold alcohol; underground, they auctioned off all sorts of bizarre things.

Some said the men and women who had gone missing recently hadn’t been kidnapped-they had been taken by “things beneath the sea.”

I had originally only intended to secretly film some footage, but I was spotted and chased into the back alleys.

The alley was too narrow, the rain too heavy.

I nearly killed myself tripping in my high heels.

A hand had clamped around my waist from behind, dragging me bodily into a black sedan.

The moment the car door closed, the cursing and footsteps outside were cut off.

Still shaken, I turned my head and slammed right into a pair of very cold eyes.

The man looked down at me, his hand still resting across my waist.

“Move again, and I’ll have no choice but to tie you up.”

I’d had a bit to drink then, and the alcohol had bolstered my courage.

Not only was I not afraid, I even stared at the small section of cold, pale collarbone beneath his collar for two seconds before asking, “Sir, do you always grab women this tightly before you tie them up?”

The driver coughed instantly.

He didn’t let go, but he did give me a look.

It was a faint look.

So faint it was like he was looking at someone who was about to die.

The memories after that were even more fractured.

I think I threw up in his car.

I think I grabbed his lapels and cursed at him for being a gorgeous disaster.

And I think when I felt cold, I burrowed into his arms, feeling something smooth and cool. Thinking it was some high-end designer scarf, I had hugged it tight and refused to let go.

Looking at it now…

That wasn’t a scarf.

It was his tail.

My professional composure died a very thorough death in that moment.

Clutching the blanket, I tried my best not to look like a coward who had just slept with a non-human.

“Thank you for saving me last night.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Can I leave now?”

“No.”

I looked at him.

He looked back at me.

Outside the window, the Gray Harbor sky was misty. The distant sound of church bells was faint, striking one after another, grating on my nerves.

“Reason?”

“They’ve targeted you.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

“The people chasing you last night.”

“Then I’ll call the police.”

“You can try.”

He spoke calmly, even gesturing toward the phone on the coffee table.

“But before the police arrive, the scent on you will draw other things in first.”

I frowned.

“What scent?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he walked over and leaned down in front of me.

The distance was far too close.

I could smell a very faint scent of fir and sea salt on him, mixed with a hint of medicine.

His gaze traveled down from my neck, stopping at the left side of my collarbone.

“Someone gave you a Lure Agent last night.”

“It’s harmless to humans.”

“But not to snakes.”

He raised his hand, his fingertip brushing very lightly against the side of my collarbone.

My entire body tensed.

There was a small red mark there.

As if it had been licked by something damp and cold.

“You have a unique constitution.”

“When this substance lands on you, it turns into a very troublesome signal.”

“Especially for an Aberrant like me, whose self-control is already somewhat unstable.”

My throat felt dry.

“So, you brought me back last night to control yourself?”

“Not entirely.”

“What else then?”

Kang Shiyu looked at me, his eyes seemingly suppressed by a deep, heavy tide.

“Because I’ve been looking for you for many years.”

Those words were even scarier than the tail.

I wanted to laugh.

But his expression was too serious-so serious it made the laughter die in my throat.

“Mr. Kang.”

“If this is some new pick-up line in the Aberrant world, I have to say, it’s pretty terrifying.”

“It’s not a pick-up line.”

He paused, his gaze fixed on my face.

“It’s recognition.”

I only found out later that I actually had a chance to run that morning.

But I didn’t.

It wasn’t because I was brave.

It was because when Kang Shiyu turned to pour me some water, a faint bloodstain soaked through the back of his shirt.

It looked like something had just been forcibly retracted from his flesh.

I had always been sensitive to danger.

But in that moment, I smelled something else even more clearly.

It wasn’t desire.

It was the scent of impending death.