People like to explain things, to reduce them down to something simple and digestible.
I don’t.
My mother dying in childbirth.
A subconscious attempt to reclaim something I never had.
Or perhaps it’s the opposite.
Growing up under the influence of a man who embodied control without softness, structure without care, leaving me with a… preference for something different.
Something that actually feels alive.
I’m selective, though.
Extremely.
Which is how I ended up with my queens.
I don’t get bored of them.
Yes, they bite, but usually only when approached by something or someone with nefarious intent. They’re not psycho killers going out looking for trouble. They’re just deadly when provoked.
They’re intelligent—building irregular, messy-looking webs that are surprisingly effective. A method underneath the chaos. A design that ensures nothing escapes once it’s caught.
They hang upside down—waiting, patient—using vibrationsignals to detect their prey. As if they’re sayingI will let the world come to me, and then I will end it.
Once they do catch something, they move swiftly. They attack, biting with their venom, wrapping their prey in a cocoon of silk. There’s no hesitation or overthinking.Decision. Action. Done.
There’s a moment, right before the silk sets, where the prey still thinks it can move.
That moment is the most interesting part.
And yes, sometimes they do eat their males after mating. But it’s not guaranteed. It tends to happen if she’s hungry, if he sticks around for too long. If timing is simply… unfortunate.
It’s not their fault if a gentleman caller misreads the room. If someone enters their space without understanding the rules.
My lips curve slightly at the thought.
Because now they’ve done more for me than I expected. More than I planned for.
They led her to me.
And she followed.
My Ivy.
Sooner than expected.
Earlier than I planned.
And now that she’s almost here—now that she’s stepped, however unknowingly, into my orbit—I’m not going to waste that.
Not when she fits so perfectly.
Not when she moves exactly the way I thought she would.
Not when she hasn’t realized yet she’s already inside something she doesn’t understand.