Serpent Husband Pursued Me Again After Losing His Memory

My serpent husband lost his memory and insisted on a divorce. He couldn't believe that someone of his status, the rarest purebred serpent alive, would ever marry a human. "Ms. Cassandra, I'm sorry, but I'd appreciate your cooperation in having the mate mark removed." "The billion is compensation. No need to return it." Hearing that, I actually felt relieved. I mean, sure, my husband was gorgeous and filthy rich… But he had two dicks! And each one was so huge. It was just too much. After the divorce, if I ever look for another husband... I would definitely find someone a bit gentler, the kind where just one is plenty! Chapter 1 "No problem." I replied instantly, without a second of hesitation. The businesslike voice on the other end relaxed a little. "A wise decision." "In addition to the money, all marital assets will be transferred to your name. If you'd like to leave Serpent territory, I'll arrange someone to handle the transition." "Sounds good." I said. The call ended with a beep, and seconds later, the bank notification came through. One billion, deposited. I stared at that long string of zeros until my vision blurred. Then I ran to the safe. It was packed with gemstones, glittering like a dragon's hoard. "Heh heh heh." Jackpot. As the most powerful purebred serpent, Victor had inherited the entire Serpent Clan the moment he came of age. Five years of marriage, and he'd not only bought me an estate that rivaled a palace, but because I liked shiny things, he'd hoarded enough gemstones to fill a vault. And now? All mine. I rolled across the bed several times, giddy, already mapping out my brilliant future. Step one, sell all the gems. Step two, find a gentler shifter and live the rest of my life in blissful comfort. Anyway, absolutely no more two-dick guys. I grabbed my phone, ready to browse which clan territories were nice to live in. My eyes landed on the lock screen. One of the few photos we had together: Victor, stone-faced as always, but with his arm locked tight around my waist. My fingertip traced across his face on the screen. The phone rang. Louis. Victor's younger brother and the Serpent Clan's famously elegant second-in-command. Right now, though, his voice had lost every trace of composure. He sounded like he was falling apart. "You can't divorce him just because he got hurt." "He's the one who insisted," I reminded him quietly. "Ever since he lost his memory, he's been pushing for it. Honestly, I figured you'd be happy about this." "That's because he forgot." Louis's voice shot up. "Think about how he was before. He was crazy about you." "The first time he saw you, he broke clan law to mark you on the spot. He nearly died from the punishment." "The bonding ceremony? He obsessed over every single detail. You mentioned you liked the night sky, and he almost emptied half the clan treasury to build that starlight dome." "Work? Clan duties? Did he give a damn about anything besides you back then? He dumped it all on me." Louis's voice was angry and frantic, with a hint of genuine hurt underneath. "Last month, he told me you'd agreed to try for a baby. I already built the crib. And now you're just leaving him? Then what was the point of everything I did? What was the point of him?" "You humans are so heartless." Okay. I did feel a little guilty. But the moment he mentioned babies, my brain flashed to a certain night before Victor lost his memory. He'd pulled me into his arms, lips brushing my ear, laughing low. "You're amazing, baby. How about round seven?" The guilt vanished without a trace. Victor loved me, yes, but his love was overwhelming, suffocating, all-consuming. Maybe some distance would be good for both of us. I sighed. "He doesn't remember anything right now. Let's just take a break and cool off." "Then make him remember." Louis was desperate. "Just give me two more weeks. I'll find a way to restore his memory, I swear." I sighed again. "Louis." He was practically begging now. "What guy out there is as devoted and loaded as my brother? It's just two weeks. Can you really stand to watch him get his memories back and realize what he lost? Can you imagine the look on his face?" Devastated and full of regret. The Victor I knew, dominant, unyielding—would he really make that kind of face? The thought of him in that kind of pain made something twist in my chest. Outside the bedroom door, there was the faintest click. The sound of high-clearance authorization being accepted. My breath caught. I turned toward the door as it slowly swung open. A tall man stood there, golden hair, green eyes, staring straight at me. "So you're my mate." Chapter 2 Strange, seeing him like this. Since the amnesia, this was the first time we'd come face to face. He stood in front of me, and reality finally sank in. This was a different Victor. He didn't step inside right away. His gaze swept from my neck all the way down to my ankles. I hung up the phone, fidgeting with the lace trim of my nightgown. "Yeah, that's me. Though 'ex-wife' might be more accurate soon." He didn't respond. One hand in his trouser pocket, the other casually adjusting a cuff, moving with an elegance that didn't belong to a man who'd been severely injured. "Louis tells me I used to love you very much." His voice was still a little hoarse. Used to. Tells me. Something about the phrasing made me angry, though I couldn't quite say why. "And?" I looked up. "Is Mr. Victor saying this because he finds his past self ridiculous?" He didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted to the nightstand. There sat a photo from last year at the sapphire mine. In it, I was hugging a massive uncut stone, beaming. Victor stood behind me, arms around my waist, chin resting on top of my head. Cold expression, impossibly soft eyes. Now, Victor looked at that photo and frowned. "Not ridiculous," he said after a few seconds. "Just hard to understand." "I don't understand why I would've fallen in love with a human." I turned away with a scoff. That wasn't what he said when he was chasing me. The day we first met, I'd just gotten off work, so exhausted I was practically floating. I looked up and was blinded by the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. He stared at me. I stared back. Five seconds passed. Just as I was starting to wonder if I was hallucinating from fatigue, he smiled. It was the kind of smile where his entire face lit up, full of shock and joy and deep, overwhelming satisfaction. "Found you," he said, his voice like a cello. "Huh?" "My mate." He closed the distance in one stride and pulled me into his arms without asking. I was so startled I dropped my files everywhere. "Wait, wait. Sir, you've got the wrong person." "No, I don't." He dipped his head, his nose almost brushing my cheek, and inhaled deeply. "This is the scent. It's you." "I've been looking for you for twenty-seven years." I found out later that serpents have an instinct to mark their destined mates. After coming of age, they're driven to seek out a specific scent that belongs to them alone. No one expected that Victor would feel nothing for any female shifter, and that he'd find what he was looking for in a dirty corner of a human city. He told me that in that moment, twenty-seven years of restless, churning blood went still. "Marry me, Cassandra. I'll give you everything." ***** "Cassandra?" Victor's voice yanked me out of the memory. I blinked. He was still watching me. "Sorry." I forced the corners of my mouth up. "Just remembering some things from before." Like how he'd swept into my life with that absolute certainty and dragged me into the world of shifters. And how he was now using amnesia as an excuse to say he didn't need me as his mate anymore. "Mr. Victor," I met his eyes. "When you get your memories back, will you regret this?" His gaze held mine. "I don't regret any decision I've made." "Even if my memories return, I won't change my mind. Monday. I expect you at the Mark Removal Center. Don't be late." I nodded. "Fine." He didn't say another word and turned to leave. My head was a mess, but old habits kicked in and I instinctively moved to walk him out. I tripped on the edge of the rug. "Careful." A force caught me around the waist and pulled me back. I crashed into a solid, warm chest. That familiar cool scent wrapped around me instantly. Through the thin fabric of my nightgown, I felt the steady thud of his heartbeat against my back. One beat, then another—strong and sure. Then he let go as if he'd been burned. I turned. He was staring at his own hand, the one that had just held me, looking confused. "Sorry." His voice was even rougher now. "That was out of line." He turned and left quickly, almost stumbling. I watched him disappear down the stairs. The spot on my waist where his hand had been still felt warm. I touched it, then reached back to feel the faint raised outline of the serpent-shaped mark on the nape of my neck. "Liar," I whispered at the empty doorway. Chapter 3 I spent an entire week packing. The walk-in closet was full of clothes Victor had bought me over the years, and half of them still had the tags on. The night before the signing, I sat by the massive floor-to-ceiling window, hugging my knees, staring up at the starlight dome Victor had built for me. Somewhere between waking and dreaming, I felt myself sink into a scorching embrace. "Baby, wearing this little?" Victor's voice curled against my ear, low and rough with laughter. I looked down and found myself wearing nothing but one of his white dress shirts. His hand was broad and burning hot, sliding from my waist down to my thigh. "Didn't we agree on resting tonight?" I protested weakly, even as my body melted against him. "Mmhm. Resting." He laughed softly, nuzzling into the curve of my neck. "Just holding you while we rest." But his fingers were already slipping under the hem of the shirt. Serpents ran colder than humans, but his fingertips felt like fire, drawing shivers everywhere they touched. "Victor," I curled into myself. "Shh, don't be scared." He kissed my shoulder, his words slurring against my skin. "I'll be gentle tonight." Liar. He didn't know the meaning of the word. Especially when those two cocks slid inside me at the same time, I felt completely filled up I was stretched to the absolute limit and I nearly melted right there in his arms. He held me in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and made me watch the sky he'd built for me. My body rocked with his, and the stars in my vision swayed and blurred. "Like it?" He caught my earlobe between his teeth, breathing hot. I moaned and nodded. His laugh was low, but he moved harder. "Good." "My star should always stay right beside me." ***** The alarm shrieked, and I jolted awake. Pale morning light seeped through the window. The room was empty. I lay there for a few minutes, stunned, then slowly sat up. What in the world was I dreaming about? I took a deep breath and shoved the word "forever" out of my head. We were about to be done. No business dreaming about him like that. While brushing my teeth, I stared at the dark circles under my eyes in the mirror and sighed. Today was a big day. I changed into a white button-down and jeans—the same outfit I'd been wearing the day we first met. Full circle. When I arrived at the Center, Louis was already waiting outside. He looked rough, with two massive dark circles under his eyes. "Cassandra," he started to say something, then stopped himself. "Don't." I cut him off. "It's happening today." Louis sighed and led me inside without another word. Victor was already there. He heard our footsteps and turned. His eyes landed on me, and he went completely rigid. "You," his voice came out shredded, "who told you to leave the house dressed like that?" "What?" I looked down at myself. "What's wrong with it?" He said nothing. His gaze traced from the collar of my shirt all the way down to where the jeans hugged my legs, and stayed there for a long time. "Nothing." He finally tore his eyes away, his voice tight. "Let's go in." He turned first and walked toward the Mark Removal room. I followed. At the door, the doctor gestured for me to lie on the exam bed. The moment I lay down, something cold pressed against the back of my neck. "Removing a mate mark is quite painful," the doctor said gently, "especially for humans. You'll need to rest for a while afterward." I nodded. "Go ahead." I closed my eyes and braced for the pain. "Wait." Victor's voice. My eyes flew open. He was standing right beside the bed. "What is it?" the doctor asked. "I just remembered," he said, "I have an important meeting today." "What meeting?" Louis frowned. "I don't know about any meeting." "It was last-minute." Victor grabbed Louis's arm. "I'm sorry, Ms. Cassandra. We'll have to reschedule." And just like that, he left. I lay on the exam bed, staring blankly at the empty doorway. "Well," the doctor looked at me, "we can't proceed with only one party present." I sat up and touched the back of my neck. What was Victor playing at? He'd insisted on the divorce, then ran when the moment came. Serpents were impossible to read. Chapter 4 "This next song goes out to a brave lady who's just decided to start a brand new life." The spotlight snapped onto me. I threw up a hand to shield my eyes. Through my fingers, I saw the fox shifter onstage winking at me, his fluffy tail swaying lazily behind him. The crowd erupted in friendly whistles and laughter. I froze in my booth, ears burning. I shouldn't have come tonight. The mark hadn't been removed, and the back of my neck still felt hot. When the fox shifter texted me, my head had been a mess. He was someone I'd connected with after posting online yesterday, asking which clan's territory was best to settle in. A fox. Friendly. Maybe too friendly. By the time I came to my senses, I was already sitting in a bar. Halfway through his song, Alex jumped off the stage and walked straight toward me. The crowd went wilder. He slid into the seat across from me, setting his guitar aside. "I was starting to think you'd stand me up." He propped his chin on his hand and studied me. "Especially since you smell so strongly of snake that I picked it up two blocks away." I touched the back of my neck on reflex. "There was a complication." I kept it vague. "The divorce didn't go through." "Got it." He nodded graciously. "So, does that mean it's my turn now?" "Mind if I sit a little closer? Easier to talk." Before I could answer, he was already up and settling in next to me. "You're" I started, but I was struggling to keep up with this level of enthusiasm. He leaned in. Two fluffy fox ears popped up on top of his head. "Wanna touch?" The tips twitched invitingly. "Way softer than snake scales." Who could say no to twitching fox ears? By the time I caught myself, my fingers were already buried in the fur, rubbing like my life depended on it. "Rough hands, babe." He said it like a complaint, but he ducked his head to make it easier for me. His bushy tail quietly curled around my waist. Warm, soft, impossibly fluffy. "Alex," I tried to pull my hand back. "Hmm?" He caught my wrist and pressed my palm gently back onto his ear. "Keep going. Serpents don't know how to treat a lady right. We foxes? We do." For one fleeting moment, I felt guilty. Two voices were screaming in my head at the same time. One yelled that even if Victor lost his memory, the mark was still there, and what I was doing was no different from cheating. The other shot right back that he'd said he'd never regret it, so why couldn't I start a new life? "What are you thinking about?" Alex leaned even closer, his breath warm on my face. "About that snake?" I snapped back. "No." "Liar." He laughed softly, his tail tip drawing circles on my waist. "Your heart rate just spiked." Suddenly, his tail puffed out to twice its size. "Shit." He jerked upright. "Something's watching us." A chill ripped through me. I looked where he was staring. Victor stood in the shadows by the bar shelves. I had no idea when he'd arrived. All I saw was that his eyes were locked on my hand, the one that had been buried in Alex's ear. He crossed the room in long, hard strides, pupils narrowing to vertical slits. "Darling." "Who is he?"