Betrayed by My Wife, I Became the Serpent Lord

Snow fell steadily outside as Nick Pugh sat before a Christmas Eve dinner that had long since gone cold. He picked up his phone and called his wife, Alison Stokes, yet again. She had only gone to visit her parents. What was taking her so long?

Her phone was switched off.

Frowning, Nick pulled on his coat, intending to go over to her parents' place himself. Before he could leave, however, shouting erupted in the yard.

He stepped outside to find Michael Davis standing by the gate in a mink coat, a thick cigar between his teeth. Michael was one of the wealthier men in Cedar Hollow, and he was looking down his nose at Nick despite being a full head shorter.

"Hey, Nick! I know it's Christmas, but I've got relatives coming to stay. Time for you to clear out of my house."

"Your house?" Nick stared at him. "This is my home. Since when do you get to tell me to leave?"

Michael stepped back and pulled a document from inside his coat. He unfolded it in Nick's face.

"Since your wife sold it to me. Forty-five hundred dollars for the house, plus another three thousand for the animals you keep out back. Seventy-five hundred altogether. I could've kicked you out three days ago, but I let you stay out of the goodness of my heart. Didn't even charge rent. Now get lost."

Nick's ears rang as he stared at the deed. The signature at the bottom was unmistakable. Alison had signed it.

So that was how she'd found the money to help her younger brother buy a place. She'd sold their home without even discussing it with him.

Clinging to one last hope, Nick opened his banking app. His balance was down to forty-five dollars. More than ten thousand dollars in savings, money he'd spent years working for, had vanished. Alison had taken every last bit of it.

No wonder she'd switched off her phone. She knew exactly what she'd done.

"What a wife you've got, Nick." Michael rose onto his toes to pat Nick's shoulder, grinning. "Your family sure struck gold with that one."

"Get your hand off me."

Something in Nick's expression made Michael pull away.

"Don't give me that look. Her signature and fingerprint are right here. If you don't leave tonight, my boys will help you out."

The men behind him picked up their clubs and shovels.

Nick clenched his jaw but said nothing. Instead, he went into the storage shed and returned carrying a memorial urn wrapped in red cloth. Michael followed at a cautious distance.

Nick stopped in front of him. "Look after my house, Michael. One day, you'll be begging me to take it back."

He walked through the gate with the urn held carefully in both hands. The men blocking his way moved aside without being told.

Michael waited until Nick had put some distance between them before shouting, "Who does that loser think he is? A lifelong cuckold, and now he's threatening me!"

Nick stopped and shot him a murderous glare. For a moment, he was ready to turn back. Then he forced himself to keep walking.

Part of him wanted to storm into his in-laws' house and make the entire family pay. But a fight would only land him in trouble, and those people weren't worth ruining his life over.

The snow grew heavier. Cedar Hollow had plenty of houses, but not a single one where Nick was welcome tonight.

He headed for the Pugh Family Burial Plot, carrying the red-covered urn against his chest. He'd spent some of his savings restoring the small family shrine there. At the time, he'd wondered whether it was money wasted. Now he was grateful he'd done it.

By the time he trudged through the snow to the burial plot, he was exhausted. Then he noticed a light burning inside the shrine.

That was strange. He was certain he'd turned it off that morning.

Nick approached quietly and stopped beneath a window. From inside came the unmistakable sounds of a man and woman enjoying themselves.

"Alison, I had no idea you were this good," a man laughed. "Being stuck with that dull bastard Nick must've been torture. If you'd chosen me back then, you'd never have had to worry about money."

Nick recognized the voice. Joseph Sloan, the richest man in Cedar Hollow.

"Tell me about it," the woman replied sweetly. "My little brother needed money for a house. What was I supposed to do, refuse to help him? Nick's broke and stingy, but you handed me three thousand dollars without even blinking."

Alison.

Nick felt the blood rush to his head. His wife had stolen his savings, sold their home, and now she was sleeping with Joseph in his family's own shrine. Michael's crack about him being a cuckold suddenly made perfect sense.

His grip tightened around the memorial urn. A sharp edge sliced his finger, but he was too furious to notice. Blood ran down its surface, and the urn seemed to drink it in, as though something inside had been starving.

Nick strode toward the door, ready to kick it open. Before his foot could connect, dizziness swept over him and his vision went black.

An overwhelming flood of unfamiliar knowledge poured into his mind. A strange force raced through his limbs and settled deep within his body. He stood frozen for what felt like an eternity before he could finally draw a steady breath.

When Nick opened his eyes, the rage hadn't disappeared, but something about him had changed. A cold smile touched his lips.

He pushed open the shrine door without a sound, carried the urn to the altar, and carefully placed it in the center, still wrapped in its red cloth.

As he turned, he noticed several snakes coiled beneath the altar. An idle thought crossed his mind, and to his astonishment, they slithered forward as though obeying a command. He silently ordered them back. Immediately, they returned to their places.

Nick tried it again. The snakes obeyed again.

Excitement surged through him, followed by the memory of the voices in the next room. He took a slow breath and approached the door.

Moving so quietly he barely made a sound, Nick opened it a crack. The scene inside was exactly what he'd expected.

He smiled and reached out with his mind. Within moments, snakes began emerging from every corner of the shrine, until hundreds were gathering around him. One had a strange red crest along its neck. It slid to his feet and dipped its head, almost like a bow.

"Go on," Nick murmured, pointing toward the room. "Make sure those two get a proper welcome."

The snakes poured through the doorway.