The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate-Chapter 134: She Splashed. He Dunked.

Serena jumped off Velkaris, boots hitting stone before Dex could help her.

"Where are we?"

"This is where I come to clear my mind," Dex answered, landing next to her.

He grabbed her hand again and began walking.

A laugh escaped her lips at his persistence.

She laced her fingers in his fully. Dex pretended not to notice. But Serena could feel his elation through their matebond as soon as she did that.

He led her through a narrow path, cliffs pressing in tight on either side. The close stone swallowed sound.

When the path opened, they stood on a wide cliff with a basin stretching beneath them, too warm to be natural at this altitude. A waterfall poured like silver fire from the rock face, vanishing into a crystal pool below.

Steam drifted from the surface, lazy and glowing. Vines glittered along the stone.

Serena exhaled. "It’s beautiful."

Dex’s eyes didn’t leave her. He watched the way her breath caught, the way the glow from the basin framed her stunning face, and it struck him again with brutal clarity that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He would never get used to it, not in a thousand lifetimes.

His gaze lingered on her a moment too long, heavy with words he wanted to say.

When she finally noticed and met his eyes, he tore his attention away too fast, clearing his throat as if that could mask it.

"The Drakenvault Falls. Only accessible by Dragon," he said with a grin that tried to play off the moment.

Serena couldn’t help but grin back at him. His smile was contagious.

Dex stepped forward, and looked over his shoulder. "It’s also deep."

"We’re jumping," he said with a smirk. "No parachutes. Your favorite way to do it."

Her mouth parted but no words came out, realizing he was serious.

She stepped to the edge, looking down. The basin lay a hundred feet below, maybe more.

"You are mad," she said.

Dex laughed. "You’ll survive. Probably."

She huffed, unimpressed. But the mist kissed her skin like a dare.

Then, without warning, he leapt.

"Dex!"

Serena cursed under her breath and followed.

Her body cut through the air like a blade. The wind screamed past her.

Cold water hit her like a wall, knocking the breath from her lungs.

The current was far stronger than she expected. It seized her instantly, yanking her sideways and twisting her thin body. Lungs burning, she kicked upward. But the water curved against her like it meant to keep her. She felt herself being dragged under and panic flared in her chest.

And then she felt a hand. Sturdy. Strong. Warm. Dex had found her in the dark. But he didn’t pull. He only held her hand for a heartbeat, just long enough to say that she wasn’t alone.

Then he let go. She could feel that through their matebond, the effort it cost him to open his fingers.

She stopped fighting, letting the current move her. Not against it. Through it. She turned her body, shifted her limbs, rolled with the pull. Magic flickered under her skin. Like her soul aligned with the water.

She broke the surface with a gasping breath, water streaming down her face. Dex surfaced an arm’s length away.

"You might be the craziest woman I’ve ever met," he panted. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

She started to laugh, the sound bursting from her like something untethered. It wasn’t polite or controlled, nothing like the soft smiles she usually gave the world. It was wild and full and aching, the kind of laugh that came from somewhere deep.

Dex joined her, their laughter crashing over the water until both of them were breathless, lungs burning like they were children who had forgotten what limits felt like.

Then he noticed the warmth spreading through him, sinking deep. Soothing places he didn’t let anyone see. The water around them had turned gold. The light shimmered outward from her skin. The raw place left behind from Viper’s Kiss and False Mate Tincture. The cut of almost losing her. Warmth rolled through all of it, untying knots he hadn’t managed to loosen on his own.

He swallowed hard as unwanted emotion swelled in his chest. He forced it down, refusing to let it rise.

Serena watched him, puzzled by his expression.

He didn’t speak for a moment. Her green eyes stayed fixed on him, brows drawn with gentle concern.

She blinked, her lips parting in a soft oh. "Oh... that’s why. Some water turns gold when I enter it."

He gave her a flat look. "I’m well aware, Serena." Then he shook his head with a grin. "And you act like it is completely normal."

"Coming from the man that just jumped off a cliff."

"Coming from the woman that followed me."

"Good point. You seem to be a very bad influence."

"I’m the bad influence?" Dex scoffed. "You got into two fist fights. And seriously tried to play the one off today like it was intentional."

"She hit first," Serena sighed. "What can I say. One of the many protocols I’ve broken."

"Exactly," Dex said flatly.

"Dex!" Serena splashed him.

"What?" He lifted his hands with an innocent expression.

"Stop making me laugh!"

"Impossible. I have that effect on women," he said with a pleased grin.

Before she could respond, he vanished underwater. In the next breath, his hand wrapped around her ankle and tugged her straight down.

Serena screamed and went under.

She surfaced a second later. She pushed her wet hair back, trying to glare at him, failing miserably.

"Dex, if you drag me under again, I swear I will personally inform every dragon in Skardos that you taste like chicken."

They made their way to shore and Serena was smiling again unable to not. Dex kept making her laugh and she couldn’t stop. And Dex felt that through their matebond, warm as sunlight spreading through him.

When she was waist-deep and almost to shore, he stopped abruptly. His voice dropped into something low and serious. "Serena..."

She turned, the glow of the water catching the soft lines of her face. His expression was sober enough to make her smile fade.

Dex’s eyes narrowed. "You tracked mud into my sacred waterfall."

She blinked, stunned, then sputtered, "Dex!"

He laughed, his grin bright and unrepentant as he moved through the glowing gold water toward her. But when he reached her, the humor softened.

He reached up and brushed a soaked strand of her long white hair from her brow.

"You’re the most impossible woman I’ve ever met." His voice started light but didn’t stay there. "And I need you to know that’s not a complaint."

He kissed her before she could say a word.

Fierce and slow. The kind of kiss he’d been dying to give her.

Serena kissed him back.

He picked her up, and her legs wrapped around him, as their kiss deepened.