The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 110

Chapter 110: They Clapped. CLAPPED.

The muscle in Fin’s neck was tight as a wire. He could feel Serena’s insides burning through their matebond.

Every arrow she shot was taking another fistful of whatever was keeping her alive, and she was spending it like a woman who had already decided she wasn’t coming back.

Her nose bled. She was vaguely aware, but not fully in control.

Two more arrows. Two more Commanders. Ash before the bodies hit the ground.

Fin looked up to see the final Dark Fae Commander still on his water dragon, coming for her. The dragon opened its mouth.

"Serena!" he roared, wolf surging so hard he started to shift. He stiffened, catching the shift before it took hold, and shoved Xeon down through sheer will.

Too late. The water dragon’s power-shot of boiling acid collided with Serena’s gold orb of magic. The orb cracked on impact. Velkaris did a Truebond Veil.

Warriors and mages from other packs froze mid-battle. About half clapped. Clapped.

Velkaris gave a proud roar, soaring parallel to the field, Serena still on his head.

"Would you believe me if I told you she did that on her first damn dragon ride?" Gav said, clapping Fin on the back. As if what was happening was as normal as learning how to swim.

He was covered in ash, head to toe, and he left an ash hand-print on Fin’s battle suit.

"Don’t," Fin said darkly, eyes still on her.

The Dark Fae Commander raised both hands, and a concentrated beam of dark magic erupted from his palms, blasting towards her.

Before anyone had time to process, Velkaris opened his mouth and fired a gold beam directly into the dark magic mid-air.

The two forces locked, gold pressing against black in a roaring column that split the sky. The air itself vibrated. Heat rolled off the collision in waves.

Below, wolves and mages scrambled back from the shockwaves. One captain grabbed two soldiers by their collars and physically dragged them clear.

For three seconds, it held.

Then the dark magic pushed forward. Inch by inch, the black ate into the gold, compressing it, swallowing it. Velkaris growled, his entire body shuddering with effort. His beam flickered.

The Commander laughed. The kind of laugh reserved for a man who believed he’d already won.

Serena notched another arrow, so quickly her movements were a blur.

She fired.

Bullseye. Square in his chest.

His dark magic died the instant it hit, collapsing in on itself. Velkaris’s gold beam tore through empty air before he shut his jaw with a snap.

The Dark Fae Commander looked down, stunned. By the time his eyes found Serena again, he was already turning to ash.

Silence hit the field like a physical thing.

Aeron let out a low whistle.

Then the field erupted. Mages and wolves roared, banging their fists against their chests. The sound hit like a second shockwave.

Fin exhaled for what felt like the first time in minutes. His hands were shaking.

But the water dragon was still airborne, and affected by dark magic. It roared, moving towards Serena.

Dexmon, who had just grounded the fire dragons, looked up in time to see this.

"STOP," he commanded from the ground.

But the water dragon didn’t stop.

Velkaris groaned, already seeing where this was headed. He flew towards the black, volatile water dragon. Serena jumped as they passed.

Somewhere between Velkaris’s head and the water dragon’s back, she came back into full awareness and control. She was unfazed. Standard protocol. Muscle memory.

For the second time today, Fin fell to his knees. "Serena ... what are you doing ..."

He’d heard the mindlinks. He knew she was jumping from dragon to dragon last night. But he’d not seen it fully. And Gods, this was much worse than he’d imagined.

After this, he was going to have a conversation with her about risk assessment. A long one with diagrams and arrows pointing to the parts where she should have stopped and didn’t.

The water dragon roared, bucking hard. Serena went airborne, but managed to catch herself on its leg. She attempted to shove her magic into it with all her strength, but didn’t get very far.

The water dragon opened its mouth and power-shot boiling acid at her. Not caring if it burned itself in the process.

A gold orb of magic snapped around her instantly, on instinct alone.

It shattered on impact and some of the water dragon’s boiling acid got on her, burning holes in her combat suit. A high-pitched scream tore from her throat at the pain before she could stop it. It bled through the mindlink and everyone’s hidden flame mark flared hot.

She took a steadying breath. She needed to get a better grip on it and her muscles were shaking from trying to hold onto its leg.

In her hands, a glider formed, twin sheets of gold light. She pushed off the dragon and let the wind do the rest.

Hyran looked up in time to see this. He brushed ash from his sleeves with sharp, irritated motions.

"That," he snapped, "was curiosity having an orgasm."

Aeron stared up in awe. "By the gods ... she’s innovating with it."

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