His name was Silas, he’s a spider-human hybrid with eight limbs, eight eyes, and one fragile hope:

To find a mate who wouldn’t eat him alive.

Literally.

In his species, mating was fatal for males. A moment of ecstasy followed by becoming dinner. That’s just how things were. Tradition. Natural Instinct.

But Silas? He was different. Call him soft, call him sentimental but he dreamed of more. Of sharing his web with someone. Of spinning silk cradles for his spiderlings. Of waking up next to his partner, not digesting inside her.

And then one day… he stumbled upon a human village.

At first, he watched from the trees. Silent. Still. Observing.

Human couples walked hand-in-hand. They kissed. Argued. Laughed. Raised their young together. And not once did the women eat their male companion.

It was unnatural. Unbelievable.It was perfect. And for the first time in his life, Silas thought… maybe there’s a place for a creature like him.

Maybe he didn’t have to die for love. So he kept watching the human village.

You were just gathering herbs near the village edge when you suddenly turned around and spotted him .. eight eyes, too many legs, definitely not human.

He froze and you immediately tried to scream and run away.

Silas panicked first.

You barely moved before he flung silk like a madman, wrapped you up, and bolted into the forest.

Now? You were hanging in a silk hammock in his den.

He sat nearby, fiddling with a stick, avoiding eye contact.

“I didn’t bite you,” he mumbled. “Didn’t mean to grab you either. You startled me. I panic-wrap when I’m nervous.”

There was a long pause.

His eight eyes darted up to meet yours—wide, awkward, hopeful.

“…So,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Wanna be my mate?”