I used to tell myself that snakes were cold-blooded creatures, which was why my adopted shifter didn't want to be close to me.

It wasn't until later that I realized she liked my brother.

Because my brother, Caleb, was tall and well-built, with long arms and legsthe ideal human for any snake shifter.

And I? I was a short freak who would never grow.

Unworthy of a grand snake like her.


Vivienne was a little sick snake Id adopted.

It was no longer uncommon for humans and shifters to bond and unite.

Our family had bonded with snake shifters for generations. From childhood, each of us would have a snake shifter, either gifted by our parents or found ourselves.

But I was out of favor, so I consciously sought out a little snake for myself.

When I found Vivienne in a storm drain, she was tiny and weak, barely clinging to life after shedding her skin.

I saved her and raised her for twelve years.

Raising a snake shifter required a lot of effort, resources, and money. Raising a sick one was even harder. Plus, I was an unloved, broke mess, making it hellishly difficult.

Fortunately, Vivienne grew up healthy. Her slender, graceful muscles contoured her tightened waist, yet her serpentine nature prevented her from appearing bulky, instead lending her a delicate softness.

Many in the family said I was lucky to have found such a beautiful snake.

I'd just smile, never responding.

Only I knew the truth. Vivienne rarely had physical contact with me.

Even when I tried to train with her, she rarely cooperated.

Shed just wrap around my arm with a cold, impatient expression, her scales scratching my skin painfully.

I kept telling myself that snakes were cold-blooded, which was why she didn't want to be close.

Until that one time, I saw her, blushing, carefully wrap around my brother Calebs calf and softly ask him:

"Does it hurt?"

Caleb looked helpless, gently pushing her head.

"Vivienne, I know you like me, but David found you. This isn't right for us."

Her face instantly changed, and she scoffed coldly.

"I don't care! I only like you. Who would ever like that short freak?"

Caleb tried to reason with her, but Vivienne pressed further, wrapping around his waist, her scales retracting their barbs to tickle him.

Vivienne was being openly flirtatious.

Scene after scene from the past twelve years flashed through my mind. Vivienne rarely smiled for me.

But at family dinners, sitting across from me, her face always held a faint smile.

Looking back now, her gaze was never on me. It was always on Caleb, sitting beside me.

The signs had been there all along, I just hadn't seen them.

I thought my short, "freak" self adopting this sick little snake was a mutual salvation, a destined meeting. But it turned out that it was precisely because I was a "freak" that she disliked me.

My heart was wrenched. The feather that had tickled my heart for years suddenly transformed into a sharp sword, piercing me deep.




On my way home, I passed a clothing store and couldn't help but stop.

Caleb owned a shirt just like the one displayed in the window.

The sales associate looked hesitant, but seeing my insistence, she eventually handed me the outfit.

The boy in the fitting room was short, barely reaching halfway up the full-length mirror. His limbs were slender and weaknot the build to bond with a snake shifter.

It looked perfect on Caleb, but on me, it was like a precocious kid trying on his dad's suit.

Scenes of Caleb bonding with shifters involuntarily flashed in my mind.

Caleb, tall and well-built with long arms and legs, looked incredibly handsome bonding with shifters. Vivienne wrapped around him looked particularly fitting.

No wonder Vivienne didn't like me.

From birth, even my own parents didn't care for me.

I hadn't developed well in the womb and was born with a chronic weakness. I grew slower and was shorter than everyone else.

Even as an adult, I looked like an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, making others laugh:

"A snake-bonding family producing such a freak. Don't go breaking your arm trying to bond with one."

Those laughs were like thorns stuck in my heart, and they embarrassed my parents too.

They learned their lesson and were especially attentive during my mom's pregnancy with Caleb. That careful attention resulted in a child who was the ideal human for snake shifters.

He grew fast and tall.

With Caleb, they cared for me even less.

It was as if they were a perfect family of three, and I was just an underdeveloped burden.

I looked at my small hands, hating myself, pinching my palm. Then, I couldn't help but clench my fists and softly cry.




I returned home.

Vivienne sat on the sofa, her face impatient, chillingly cold.

"What took you so long? Do you know I'm starving to death?"

I sniffed, and the emotions Id just managed to suppress surged back.

"Ill order takeout for you later. I'm a bit tired."

She let out a cold laugh.

"Ha, you want me to eat takeout?"

Not wanting to argue, I sighed.

The foot Id just placed in the bathroom pivoted, and I walked towards the kitchen.

I had always cooked for Vivienne. The fridge was fully stocked, but even if she was starving, she wouldn't deign to lift a finger.

Once before, I'd come home late, and Vivienne, famished, had thrown a huge fit.

I thought she was specifically waiting for me to eat, so, feeling guilty and a little hopeful, I cooked a huge feast for her.

But just as I pulled out a chair to sit down, she threw a bucket of cold water on me.

"You reek of cooking oil. Go take a shower."

My thoughts snapped back. I placed the cooked meal in front of her, but Vivienne didn't move.

"Why do you smell of another shifter?"

I lifted my arm and sniffed. It was probably from the clothing store earlier.

Suddenly, I remembered how, when I was young and broke, Id hike up the mountain to catch wild rabbits and pheasants to feed her.

Shed unwillingly nibble at the scrawny meat.

Shed complain about the dirt on my face and the smell of other shifters on me, keeping her distance.

"I'll go shower right now."

I placed the utensils on the table and headed for the bathroom, but Vivienne suddenly swept the entire meal onto the floor.

"David, aren't you going to explain yourself?"

A shard from the broken bowl splashed up and cut my calf. The sharp pain brought me back to reality.

Some people are strange. They don't love you, but they want to possess you, giving you the illusion of being loved and cared for, when really they just want to take more from you. Vivienne was exactly like that.

For the first time, I gave her a cold stare.

"Explain what?

"You get to smell of other people, but I can't smell of other shifters?"

A flicker of surprise crossed her face.

But it was quickly replaced by anger.

"You're questioning me?

"Don't forget who self-righteously 'saved' me in the first place!"

I didn't answer. I walked past her to get the first-aid kit.

I barely brushed her arm, and she immediately recoiled, the barbs on her forearm scales scratching me.

Her voice was even colder than her face.

"Don't touch me."

That was it. She barely let me touch her even during training. If she wouldn't let me touch her even for training, any other kind of touch was pure fantasy.