I wrenched my arm from my "grandmother's" grasp and growled. "What the actual fuck?" I seethed. "What the fuck was that for?"

My "grandmother's" grin grew wider, more sadistic, and she dipped her head. Their heartbeat was going at the same pace it should, but I knew that I made them extremely nervous. "Language, Dearie," she said. "Is that how you speak to your grandmother?"

"Well, I guess it is a good thing that you aren't my grandmother, Salem," I seethed with a soft growl. "Now, can you shift back into your normal form so that I can beat your face in?"

"I'd rather not."

I growled and stormed into the kitchen. My whole body was tense, and I felt hot and stuck in my skin.

It had been a while since I had let the beast out, and boy was she letting me know it.

She wanted out. She wanted to be free, to taste the blood of those that provoked me, starting with the Shifter that always got on my nerves every time that they came around.

I walked to the fridge, opened it, and shuddered. I gripped the top of the fridge hard while my skin rolled and dipped as the beast pushed past her limits, wanting to shed this skin like a snake and become the shadow.

"Alex?" their "sultry" voice asked in concern, and I know that they had shed out of my grandmother's skin to look like their own.

I growled in response and shut my eyes while I grimaced. I gritted my teeth together and gripped the fridge tighter while I shoved the beast further and further into her hole.

Not yet, I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Later. I promise.

My beast growled but released control, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was getting harder and harder to control, and I knew that one of the reasons why was because Levi was near and yet so far.

"Alex?" they asked, and I could tell that they were concerned about me.

"I'm fine," I said, even though we both knew that I wasn't; I wasn't fine. "What are you doing here, Salem?" I asked, not looking at them.

"Well, so you can see me," they purred. "We don't need you to not see me after such a long time apart."

I sighed and laid my head on my hand while I closed my eyes. "It was a month ago, Salem," I grunted. "It was not long enough."

"Well, it was long enough for me," they purred. "Tell me, why must you always treat me like this?"

"Well, why must you always be a dick," I shot back, earning a gasp of shock from them. I took a deep breath and released the fridge, grateful that it didn't break.

They shrugged. "I don't know what you are talking about," they replied. "I don't have a dick."

"You don't need one to be one," I grunted. I sighed and closed the fridge, my whole body aching. I flexed my fingers and bit back a groan before I turned around and looked at the person that had "played" my grandmother.

They stood taller than six feet tall and had very pale skin that would have normally been a fire hazard if it wasn't for the fact that they are different. They had long, pale blonde hair that reached past their butt and was able to change the length of it if they wanted to.

Their eyes were a very pale blue color that almost looked white and was always shaped like a cat to a snake if they weren't portraying someone else. Their teeth were sharp and pointed and looked like a shark, especially when they smiled that smile that reached their ears.

They were always dressed in black suits that were a mixture of men's and women's clothing, depending on how they felt that day, and it was always paired with black boots that had a heel that made them taller than they normally were.

"So," I said and raised an eyebrow, and they grinned. I held back an eye roll, annoyed that they were only smiling at me and not telling me what was going, but I knew that they weren't going to tell me. "Are you going to tell me why you are here?" I asked and turned my attention back to the fridge.

"Nope," they replied, and I growled in annoyance. "All you have to know is that I will be here until your grandmother gets back."

"And where is my grandmother?" I asked and folded my arms across my chest. I scowled, getting a little worried about her because I had no idea what she was planning or if Levi would try to find her.

They shrugged, and I bit back a growl of warning because I knew that they would only make fun of me and get underneath my skin more. "Safe," they replied. They smirked and looked me up and down, and I bristled and bared my teeth. "Now," they said and met my gaze again. "Why were you out late tonight?"

I huffed and turned my attention back to the fridge. I didn't respond while I looked through it, craving the poison that I knew wasn't good for me.

I wanted to find a bottle unopened and drink my woes and problems away, even though I knew that it'd lead to more.

"Alex?" they asked, their voice filled with concern when I didn't answer them off the bat. They took a step toward me but didn't move close to me.

"I'm fine," I said, even though we both knew that I wasn't. I took a sharp breath and moved a hand through my hair before I released and closed the fridge door. "I'm fine," I repeated myself, but it was just as believable as the first time.

"Hmph," they replied, and I knew that they didn't believe me. "Well?" they asked with a raised eyebrow. "What were you doing?"

"Getting information," I replied and looked at them. "I was getting information."

They scowled and placed their hands on their hips. "Well?" they asked and raised an eyebrow when I didn't give them what information I had found out right off the bat. "What information did you receive?" they asked. "Or are you going to tell me?"

I smirked, and their scowl deepened. "Well, you are the one that is not telling me where my grandmother is, so I don't think I have to give you that information, Salem."

Salem scoffed and rolled their eyes. "Very funny, Alex," they said. They cocked their head and studied me. "So, how did you get the information?" they asked, and I scowled and didn't reply. They gasped in shock and then grinned. "Ooh, did you go as the Viper?" they asked and shifted into what I would look like as the Viper. "Is she back?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes while I scowled. "It is none of your damn business if she is back or not, Salem," I grunted coldly. I opened the fridge one last time and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Awww, come on, Alex," Salem purred, and I rolled my eyes and scowled further. They sauntered over to me, mimicking the way that I walked when I was the Viper. "You can't keep that a secret for long."

"Even if I was keeping it a secret from you, it doesn't mean that I am keeping it a secret from others." I opened my water bottle and took a deep gulp from it.

Salem snorted and rolled their eyes. "Of course not," they said and pouted.

They looked at me through their eyelids, and I bristled slightly. "So why are you keeping it from me? I thought we were friends."

I rolled my eyes again and didn't say a word. I capped my bottle and waited for them to be closer to me than they were.

Once they were at arm's length to me, I became what I was known for, the Viper. I made no motion of me attacking them until they were close to me and struck fast and quick before they had time to react.

Their head went back when I struck them right in the nose with a closed fist, and they quickly moved away from me while they grabbed their nose. "Oooow," they howled. "I think you broke my nose."

"Get over yourself," I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Your nose is fine." I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, bristling.

Goddess, I hated Shifters whose noses could withstand a lot of pressure without breaking.

"No, it's broken. It's bleeding something terrible. Why aren't you getting me a towel or something to clean it up?"

"There was no crunch, you fucking idiot," I seethed. "Now, stop your acting before I do some real damage to you."

Salem stopped their blubbering and pulled their hand away from their nose to show that it wasn't broken. They smiled and shifted back into their normal form. "Oh, you know me too well, Alex," they said and placed a hand over their heart, and I rolled my eyes and scowled while they swooned. "How did you know?"

I gave them a blank look, and they grinned innocently, even though they were far from innocent. "You're a bigger idiot than I thought you were if you don't know how I know."

They gasped and placed a hand over their mouth. "Oh, my," they said with their hand over their mouth. "Well, I never."

I rolled my eyes and scowled, annoyed with this person's behavior. "You are sometimes, and you know it, Salem," I said. "So stop playing games with me." I moved a hand across my face and sighed tiredly. "Why are you even here, Salem?" I asked, not able to hide the tiredness in my voice any longer.

Salem frowned when they heard the tiredness in my voice and studied me. "Are you ok?" they asked, ignoring the question that I sent in their direction.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes before I scowled. "What do you think, Salem?" I asked and walked over to the kitchen table. "I thought you were able to "pick up" on someone's emotions or was that a lie you told me."

Salem scoffed and rolled their eyes while they scowled. "It was not a lie, Love," they said and followed me to the kitchen table. "I can pick up on people's emotions, and to some, I use them against the person. You know that."

I didn't reply and sighed while I sat down before I rubbed my face again. I knew that they used others' emotions against them because they had tried that with me when we first met, and I almost killed them because I was so mad at them.

"However, I will not use it against you, Love," they said, and I rolled my eyes and scowled. "I do not want to get almost killed again." They sat down across from me and placed their feet on my grandmother's table. "I still don't know how you almost killed me, but I am super happy that you didn't."

"Get your damn feet off of the table," I warned and narrowed my eyes at them, "before I cut them off of your body."

Salem's face grew pale, but they did what I told them to do and took their feet off of the table.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes before I scowled. "And I almost killed you because you had pissed me way off so that I almost lost control of her."

They shrugged and smirked, not saying a word. "So, the Viper is back?" Salem asked, changing the subject back to what we were talking about beforehand.

I huffed but nodded in confirmation. "Yes," I said gravely, "she's back."

Salem's eyes grew wide, and they grinned. "Oooh," they said. "Does that mean I can pull a you?"

"I might need you to play either the Viper or me."

Salem's grin grew wider, and I pressed my lips into a thin line, still unamused about their behavior. "Oooh," they said, pleased with the turn of events. They played their chin on their hand while they rested their elbow on the table.

A smirk appeared on their face, and I scowled, getting annoyed. "So when do I need to play them?" they asked and raised an eyebrow. "Now? Shall I seduce that handsome fellow that came by?"

I growled and gritted my teeth together. I narrowed my eyes and scowled. "Seduce him, and then what is left of your dick is mine," I growled, setting my jaw.

Salem's eyes grew wide, and they cleared their throat before they shifted in their seat. "Well... that'd be hard to do..." they said. "You know tha-"

"I don't care," I said, interrupting them. "I will find a way to do it, so do not push me."

Salem huffed and leaned back in their seat while they folded their arms across their chest. "Fine," they said, "but why not?"

I didn't reply and took a deep breath to calm my nerves and make sure that I did not go after them.

Salem studied me before their eyes went wide. They knew about my first mate and knew that I hadn't had the chance to even meet them properly. "Wait," they said, the shock evident in their voice while they leaned forward to study me further. "He isn't, is he?"

Is he your second chance?

Gravely, I nodded. "He is," I confirmed and leaned back in my seat, answering the unasked question that they wanted to know, "and I am his."

Salem frowned and cocked their head when they furrowed their brows. "What do you mean by his?" they asked, and I raised an eyebrow and looked at them as if they were stupid. "What?" they defended themself. "It's an honest question. What do you mean?"

"You are so stupid sometimes, Salem," I said and narrowed my eyes at them while I scowled. "Think. What do you think I mean by that?"

Salem furrowed their brows further and cocked their head more to one side while they thought over everything.

Finally, realization dawned in their eyes before they turned to sadness. "Oh," they said softly.

I nodded grimly and pressed my lips into a thin line. "Ya," I said and moved a hand across my face. I bit back a sigh and cleared my throat. "Oh, is right."

"Do you think that you two will be able to be together?" they asked.

I shrugged and leaned further back in my seat. My heart ached, and I yearned to be by Levi's side, wanting my best friend back. "Don't know," I said instead. "I want to be, but at this moment, I don't know."