The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104: He’s Temporary. Next Fucking Question.

Dex’s fist went through the bedpost before his eyes were fully open.

A sharp pain jabbed through his skull. More memories surfaced.

Agnes on top of him. Serena in the doorway. Her knees giving out. The word omega leaving his mouth.

He hit the wood again. And again. Until his knuckles split and the memories had somewhere to go.

He stared at the blood on his hand.

He had work to do.

✦✦✦

Dex stood outside Elara and Hale’s tent, fist raised to knock against the support beam.

Aegon: You faced a battalion of dragons yesterday. You can face one redhead.

Dex: The redhead is scarier.

Aegon: Lead with the apology. Not charm. She will see through it and it will make things worse.

Dex: I know how to talk to people.

Aegon: You know how to talk to people who like you. She does not like you.

He knocked.

The flap pulled back. Elara was there, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

"Elara." Dex’s voice was quieter than he intended. "Can I have a word? Please."

The please landed heavy. Dex didn’t say please, not like that, not stripped of charm or deflection.

Elara studied him for a long moment.

"Yes," she answered finally. "But let’s go to your tent."

The walk was silent. Aegon, for once, had the good sense not to fill it.

When they reached his tent, he held the flap open for her. She walked in but remained standing. She wasn’t going to make this easy.

Good. He didn’t come here for easy.

Dex let the flap fall closed behind him. "The memories are coming back."

Elara’s expression didn’t change. "Which ones?"

"All of them. The Battle Address. The Draken Forces meeting." His jaw tightened. "You, in my doorway. What came out of my mouth."

"You called me omega," Elara said, voice flat.

"I know." He didn’t look away. "That wasn’t me. Agnes put two forms of dark magic in my system and I couldn’t stop it, but you still had to stand there and hear it, and that’s not something I can undo."

"No, you can’t."

"I’m sorry, Elara."

Elara sighed, taking a seat at the table. Dex moved to sit across from her.

"I know it wasn’t you, Dex," Elara said after a few heartbeats. "I watched you try to remember Serena’s name and not be able to. That’s not something you fake."

He swallowed. Hearing it described back to him was worse than the memory itself.

"But she doesn’t process things the way I do," Elara continued. "I can separate what Agnes did from who you are. But Serena is still trying to reconcile what she knows with what she saw."

"I know. Agnes puppeteered my body like a goddamn weapon, and she pointed it at the person who matters most."

He exhaled.

Aegon: Good. That was honest. Now stop talking before you ruin it.

Elara’s expression didn’t soften, but something behind her eyes shifted, like a wall that had stopped actively pushing him out.

"What do you want, Dex?"

"I want to fix what Agnes broke."

"How?"

"I don’t know yet," he answered. "But I know it starts here, with you, because if you don’t trust me, she won’t either."

Elara was quiet for a long moment.

"She’s not in my tent."

Dex blinked. "What?"

"Serena. She’s not asleep in my tent." Elara held his gaze, steady. "That’s why I wanted to come here instead. I didn’t want you walking in on something that would make this harder."

The words hit him like a fist to the sternum.

She’s with Finnick Shadowclaw. She’s sleeping in his arms.

Dex stood very still.

The jealousy didn’t creep in. It detonated. Hot. Vicious. Immediate. His wolf surged forward so hard his vision flickered gold, and somewhere behind him a tent pole groaned under pressure that had nothing to do with wind.

Aegon: She’s OURS.

Dex: I know.

Aegon: Go get her. Right now. Pick her up and carry her out of his tent.

Dex: That is not a plan. That is a kidnapping.

Aegon: It’s not kidnapping if she belongs to us. It’s retrieval. There’s a legal distinction.

Aegon: Tell her about the bedpost. Show her the blood. Women respect property damage done in their honor.

Dex: Absolutely not.

Aegon: At minimum, break something of his. A chair. A table. His jaw. Start small and escalate.

Aegon: And yet you continue to stand here instead of going to get her.

Dex: Because I am trying to do this correctly.

Aegon: Correctly is overrated. Speed is underrated. She is in another man’s bed right now.

Dex: I am aware. Thank you for that image.

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