Chapter 4

Instead of explaining to Amelia directly, I pulled out my phone and aimed it at the little black snake in the bathtub, planning to snap a photo and send it to her.

Through the lens, the snake's body was entirely black, and its smooth, glossy scales gave off a faint blue shimmer under the dim bathroom light.

But just as my finger hovered over the send button, something made me glance down at the little black snake.

It was desperately curling itself into a tight ball of black yarn, refusing to show its face no matter what.

I could swear I saw a mix of shame and fury in those tiny bead-like green eyes.

I had no idea what was going on.

But the comments figured it out instantly. [OH MY GOD, you're about to send your fiancé's nudes to Amelia! Summer, use your noodle!]

My noodle? What noodle?

[Blake: A man's virtue is his greatest wedding gift. As long as I don't show my face, nobody will know the snake in the photo is me.]

I was speechless.

Then it hit me that there was actually something I had been curious about for a long time, and today was the perfect chance to find out.

It would finally put to rest a question that had bugged me for years. And with Blake stuck in his true form like this, completely helpless, the timing couldn't have been better.

I reached out with two fingers, pinched the snake right below its head, and lifted it up. Its tail instinctively coiled tight around my wrist.

Before it could react, I leaned in for a closer look.

Wow, the novels didn't lie.

The comments absolutely exploded.

[OH MY GOD, there really is an extra one!]

[And they're one on each side?? I can't unsee this!]

I was stunned too. My first thought was whether Blake looked the same way in human form.

Please no. I wouldn't survive.

After a flurry of snapshots, I had dozens of photos of the little black snake saved on my phone.

But after thinking it over, I decided not to send them to Amelia.

It wasn't that I felt any obligation to protect Blake's virtue. I didn't see any reason to share.

*****

I assumed Blake would leave once I fell asleep that night.

But when I woke up the next morning, the little black snake was curled up right next to my pillow, staring at me with those intense, unblinking eyes.

Even though I knew it was Blake, I still screamed and nearly rolled right off the bed.

Seriously, did he have zero self-awareness about how he looked? Did he think he was some cute little corn snake or a hognose? He was huge, long, and pitch-black, and at first glance, he was absolutely terrifying.

The little black snake's eyes filled with hurt, and he turned his head away in a sulk.

He really did think of himself as a pet snake.

I knew snakes weren't exactly known for their intelligence, and their brains were barely the size of a peanut.

But I was so used to Blake in his polished human form that seeing him act this adorably dumb as a snake was hard to wrap my head around.

I tapped the black snake on the head and said, "Who told you to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night? Keep misbehaving and I'll throw you in a pot for dinner. Scared yet?"

[Don't do it, Summer! We wanna see you eat Blake up, but not like THAT!]

[Don't eat the snakey! The snakey is so cute! How could you eat the snakey?]

The little black snake wiggled his sleek body and wagged his tail pitifully, as if begging me to let him off the hook.

The comments exploded.

[Where did this adorable little puppy come from... wait, little snake!]

[Blake, do you even remember you're a king snake and not a puppy? What has Summer turned you into?]

I didn't want to admit it, but even knowing this was Blake, that insufferable jerk, I was completely charmed. It was even harder to believe they were the same person, or rather, the same snake.

So why would a perfectly good snake ruin everything by turning into a human? He could have stayed a snake and lived the easy life, but no, he had to go and complicate things. I really couldn't figure him out.