Chapter 2

Evelyn

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.

Adrian narrowed his eyes. Serena stared at me in blatant confusion.

"Dissolve the match," I repeated. "Yep. Totally on board. Wishing you guys a long, happy life together."

I found the signature field.

"And a bunch of cute kids, too. If that's your thing."

I scrawled my name before my mouth could say anything stupider, tossed the pen down, and stood up.

"Guess we're done here. I'll let myself out."

I didn't wait for them to blink. I bolted straight to my room, slammed the door shut, and instantly slid down the wood as my trembling knees finally caved.

Adrian hadn't shifted. Apart from his eyes, he'd looked human the entire time: tall, handsome, impeccably controlled. No scales, no coils, no enormous tail sweeping across the floor.

That hadn't stopped me imagining all three every time his expression changed.

I couldn't look at a photograph of a snake without going cold. At the zoo, I gave the reptile house a wide berth. Even the little snake emoji on my phone made my skin crawl.

Evelyn had felt very differently. The memories I'd inherited included her watching Adrian's combat footage and admiring his tail. She'd thought it was gorgeous.

I pulled my knees to my chest just thinking about it.

Shifters generally lived in human form. They took their animal forms in battle, in courtship, or whenever else they chose. On the Imperial capital planet, a snake shifter was considered an excellent match. Powerful, formidable, the sort of partner other people would envy.

Adrian's animal form was a black snake thicker than a person's waist.

An eighty-percent match with him had been Evelyn's dream. I wouldn't have even survived being in the same zip code, let alone the same room.

Once my breathing settled, I got up and double-checked the lock on the door.

I wished the happy couple every possible joy. I hoped they stayed together forever.

Preferably while entirely forgetting I existed.