The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate-Chapter 19: A Moose, a Kiss, and a Broken Bed

The scent hit her first, before she was fully awake. It smelled like the forest after rain. Familiar. It was the same one that threaded through her dreams.

The second thing she felt was an arm wrapped around her.

Then panic slammed into her chest. Her body knew before her mind caught up: she had almost died.

The arm around her tightened immediately, possessive but careful, as if it had been waiting for that exact moment.

"Hey, Serena," a calm voice whispered. "You’re safe."

Her lashes fluttered open as the room swam into view. She registered the I.V. attached to her arm first, then the silk camisole and shorts she was wearing.

She swallowed, her throat tight.

"Dexmon?" Her voice came out rougher than she expected, as the room finally settled around his face.

"First off, call me Dex."

Color rushed to her cheeks at the simple request. For reasons she could not explain, it felt far more intimate than it had any right to.

"And most importantly," he continued, voice gentler now, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a drunk troll riding a warhorse." She winced, her hand drifting to the bandage covering her sternum.

Dex laughed, a short sound that held more relief than humor.

"Where are we?" she asked, throat raw, like she had swallowed fire.

"Hang on." he said, already moving. He returned with a small jar filled with a cloudy white liquid.

"I am under strict orders to make you drink this. Just so you know, I tried it. Tastes like swamp water mixed with regret."

He twisted the lid off and held it out to her.

Her hands trembled.

Without comment, Dex kept his grip on the jar and lifted it carefully, guiding it to her lips.

She was too thirsty to object and drank it down in seconds. Relief followed almost immediately. The burn in her throat eased and the pounding in her head dulled.

Dex retrieved a second jar and helped her drink that one too.

"Thank you," she said once it was empty.

She eased back down against the pillows.

But to her shock, Dex climbed back onto the bed with her, settling in close, his arm draping easily around her waist as if it had always belonged there.

She froze, eyes flicking to him.

Dex caught the look and huffed softly. "Before you say anything, I’ve decided you’re too weak to escape."

She let out a laugh, the sound light and genuine.

Dex smiled faintly and tightened his arm.

Her hand drifted back to the bandage on her sternum. Everything before waking up was a blur. "What happened?"

Dex hesitated. Just a fraction of a second. Long enough to decide she deserved the truth even if it frightened her.

"You were poisoned." He watched her face for any sign of panic. "I felt a mirror of the poisoning. Not as badly as you, but enough."

It took a moment for the memory to claw its way back. The pain. Coughing. The terror of not being able to breathe, choking on her own blood as everything narrowed to panic and fire. Someone had pulled her upright, understanding she could not breathe like that. No hesitation.

The same scent as the one around her now.

Dex.

He had just known.

Was that because of their dragon bond?

"I think it was Agnes and my mother, but I have no proof," he added.

More confusion crossed her face, the kind she clearly didn’t want him to see. Why was he lying beside her like this when he was betrothed? And why would he tell her any of this if he loved the woman who had done it?

It took her a second to find her voice. "Thank you for telling me. I won’t repeat it to anyone."

She meant it. Silence would be the best policy no matter what came next, but it mattered to her that he understood she could be trusted with something this heavy.

Dexmon swallowed. Emotions he had not invited stirred at her sincerity.

She spoke again before he could find a response.

"I didn’t realize Velkaris was your dragon. When I bonded with him, I wasn’t fully in control. I don’t remember riding him. Just... touching his face." Worry shadowed her expression. "Would you be able to tell her that? I tried, but she didn’t want to hear it."

She bit her lip. "I do hope that can put her mind at ease."

Dexmon frowned. No one had explained dragon bonding to her properly. That should have been his responsibility. He had dropped the ball. And worse, she still thought he was interested in Agnes.

No.

That ended now.

He propped himself up on one elbow, his thumb tracing an absent line along her hip. "Dragons choose who they bond with on a soul level. It would have happened regardless of circumstance."

He took a slow breath, like he was deciding how much to give her at once.

"Your true bonded can read your thoughts and emotions. Deeper than even a fated mate can. That’s why the best dragon riders are always bonded."

His thumb stilled on her hip. "It’s considered sacred in Drakenfell. And extremely rare. Outside of us, there are two others. Everyone else has to build a relationship over time."

"That explains a bit," she said, after a minute. The hospitality. The protection. Why no one had questioned her presence.

The corner of his mouth lifted, the kind of expression that said he knew exactly how much he’d just rearranged her worldview.

"Yes. But our situation is rarer still. A single dragon bonding to two riders only happens when two souls are intertwined at the deepest level. The last time it happened in Drakenfell was forty years ago. The one before that was three centuries ago."

"So you can imagine the shock when Velkaris chose you."

He shifted onto his side to face her fully, studying her the way he studied battle maps.

"Dragons bow to me as Master and Commander of the Draken Forces. When they bowed to you as well, that sealed it. You are ours to protect."

His eyes dropped to where his thumb rested on her hip. "I should have explained all of this to you sooner. I’m sorry that I didn’t."

Serena’s thoughts were racing. But when she opened her mouth, what came out was: "Thank you for the context."

"What are you thinking?" Dex asked, the directness surprising her.

A faint flush crept into her cheeks.

"Truthfully, I’m honored by that. But also surprised. I’d never seen a dragon before or met a dragon rider. Until I met you. And I didn’t even know you were a dragon rider until Agnes mentioned it."

Dex took that in, then nodded. "There are only a handful of families capable of producing true bonds. They are all High Houses in Drakenfell." His gaze sharpened, thoughtful. "That was another reason you were immediately considered ours to protect. Somewhere in your lineage, you are descended from a dragon bloodline."

She didn’t have a response to that. All of her family was dead. She was still turning over the word ’bloodline’ when he spoke again.

"I need to clarify something," he said, meeting her eyes directly. "I ended things with Agnes two weeks ago. I continued to publicly court her for the sake of diplomacy. It was against my better judgment, and last night proved exactly why." His expression hardened. "I ended it again. This time publicly."

Serena blinked, caught off guard. Agnes and Dex kissed last night. He didn’t pull away.

"Oh," she said softly. "I’m sorry to hear that."

"I’m not," Dex said immediately.

He was watching her now, really watching her, his expression stripped of humor or pretense.

"Cruelty is not a trait I want in my queen."

Serena considered his words. No, she did not like the way Agnes had spoken to her or the actions she had taken, but she could not help wondering how much of it had been shaped by Queen Bellatrix’s influence.

"Perhaps there is a chance she was not involved in the poisoning and simply acted out of character yesterday," she said, choosing her words with care.

Dexmon stared at her. His mouth opened, then closed.

"I’m lying here ready to go to war and you’re suggesting mediation."

She laughed. "Good point."

Dex grinned, openly pleased with himself for managing to make her laugh.

He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, the cockiness was gone. "I wanted to speak with you sooner. But I was publicly courting her, and out of respect for you, I wanted to end that completely first."

Serena’s brows knit together, not understanding.

"You are not just my bonded, Serena." He swallowed. "You are my fated mate. You don’t feel it yet because your wolf is still healing."

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Nothing came out.

"I don’t want you to feel pressured," he added quickly. "And if you choose Gavriel, I won’t stand in your way." He flashed a devilish smirk. "I do reserve the right to be insufferably smug."

The smirk was gone when he said the next part. "I want you to choose what makes you happy. I’m just hoping I’m part of that choice."

"Gav is my friend," Serena said. "I promise. I’ve known you both for the same amount of time, so let me clear that up."

She tried not to smile. Failed. "And I’ve only kissed one of you."

Dex grinned back, the kind that took over his whole face before his brain could intervene.

"But...are you sure we’re fated mates?" The words tumbled out

Dex gave a dark laugh. "Yes. I’m sure."

An understatement of the year. She didn’t know the half of it.

Serena looked at him. Every logical part of her brain listed reasons to be careful: she barely knew him, his world was foreign, his ex had tried to kill her, and she’d been wrong about people before. Being wrong about this one would cost more than the others combined.

It should have terrified her. It didn’t.

"Then of course, Dex. I wish I would have known."

This time, Dex blinked.

That easy.

He stared at her, incredulous, warmth blooming in his chest so fast it almost hurt. Why in the gods’ names had he waited two weeks?

Elated did not even begin to cover it.

He lifted his hand and traced her jaw with his thumb, slow and reverent, as if committing the shape of her to memory.

He leaned in, careful, stopping just an inch from her lips.

She did not pull away.

Instead, to his surprise, she leaned forward and closed the distance. Her lips met his.

The instant their mouths touched, a jolt snapped through him. Like a lock clicking into place.

The kiss quieted the storm inside him, one that had been building for over two weeks. It brought warmth. Grounding. Relief.

And with it, something else began to stir. A different storm. Sharper. More dangerous.

He pulled her closer. The kiss deepened, turning more urgent, more charged. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, testing, asking.

She parted for him, her body answering his touch with a heat that was both exhilarating and unsettling.

The hunger clawed beneath his skin. A need so fierce it bordered on desperation.

He burned for her.

His wolf surged with the overwhelming urge to mark her.

At that same moment, the sound of the door opening snapped them apart.

Dex closed his eyes, breathing hard, pushing his wolf down.

Hale and Elara burst through the door.

"You’re awake!" she gasped, before turning into a blur of red hair and recklessness, launching herself across the room with the grace of a flying squirrel.

She landed squarely on top of Serena and Dexmon, full body contact, zero hesitation, zero fucks given.

Serena grunted on impact, her ribs protesting.

"I was so worried," Elara said, voice cracking.

Before Serena could wheeze out a reply, Hale made a noise like a delighted bear and launched himself straight for the bed.

"WAIT—" Dex said sharply.

Too late.

Hale misunderstood the situation by an entire continent. He knocked the wind clean out of Serena and elbowed her sternum in the process.

Dexmon caught Hale’s elbow mid-air before it could do any more damage.

"Hale," Dex said calmly, through clenched teeth, "if you crush her again, I will kill you."

"Oh." Hale’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if that would help. "Right. Sorry, Serena."

At that exact moment, Gavriel stepped into the doorway and froze.

He took in the scene in one horrified sweep.

Dex half-propped against the headboard. Serena flattened and wheezing beneath a pile of limbs. Elara sprawled across them like a feral blanket with no intention of moving. Hale somehow on top of all of it, knees on the mattress, looking proud of himself.

Then the bed let out a sharp, traitorous crack.

One of its legs gave out and the entire structure lurched sideways.

Gavriel backed up slowly.

"Nope."

He turned around and walked out.