The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Two Marks And A Meltdown

Serena stood in a corridor she didn’t recognize. Stone walls stretched in both directions, lined with torches.

She could hear breathing, but not her own.

It was ragged. Wet. The kind of breathing that came after a rib was broken.

She followed the sound.

The corridor narrowed. The ceiling lowered. The air tasted of iron and something astringent that burned the back of her throat.

Then she saw him and her hand flew to her mouth.

Fin.

He was hanging, wrists bound above his head by chains that glowed with runes she couldn’t read. His shirt was gone and his body was a ruin of bloody lacerations.

His head hung forward.

He wasn’t alone.

A figure stood behind him, she couldn’t see a face. Only its hands holding a thin blade with the edge wet.

The figure leaned close to Fin’s ear and whispered something.

Fin’s jaw clenched. His whole body locked rigid.

He didn’t scream or beg. He lifted his head, and even through the blood and the bruising and the hollowed look of a man who hadn’t slept in days, his eyes were steady.

Defiant.

"Go to hell. I’ll hold the door."

The figure laughed.

Fin looked down at a puddle of water and saw Serena in the reflection. His eyes widened in disbelief. He shook his head, eyes snapping to where she would be standing if her reflection was real. His expression changed to fear immediately. For a second, Serena wondered if he could see her.

Serena tried to move closer, but the floor shifted beneath her. Green light surged, swallowing everything.

When the green light stopped, she was standing in a room with obsidian floors and marble columns.

At the far end of the room, a man sat at a long table, writing something. Serena recognized him from earlier. The High Emperor of Orosia.

He looked up at her, studying her face. Serena wasn’t sure if he could see her or not. She didn’t move.

"Hello, Frostborne." He set down the quill. "I wondered when you’d find your way here."

The green in his eyes flared. The warm air turned to ice.

Something inside her chest seized, the same pain from earlier. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t scream.

He tilted his head, almost inhuman, and smiled, moving towards her.

✦✦✦

Serena’s scream tore through the silence like a blade.

Dex was awake instantly, heart slamming against his ribs. Her eyes were shut, still asleep, and her absolute terror was bleeding through their matebond with clarity.

"Serena," Dex whispered.

She jolted awake, startled.

"Hey, hey. It’s me. You’re safe."

She was trembling. Her skin was clammy, her pulse racing beneath his fingers.

"It’s just a dream." He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her tight. "You’re okay. I’ve got you."

Dex held her for a long moment, murmuring soft reassurances against her hair. Gradually, her breathing steadied. The trembling stopped.

"What was it about?" he asked quietly.

Serena’s brow furrowed.

"I don’t... I can’t remember." She swallowed. She knew that wasn’t normal. Nightmares usually left fragments, at least. Images. Something to hold onto. This was just... nothing.

Dex’s concern deepened, but he kept his voice calm. "It’s okay. You don’t have to remember."

He held her close, one hand stroking her hair, the other pressed flat against her back so he could feel every breath she took. He didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

Morning came gray and overcast, clouds threatening rain.

Serena felt Dex’s absence before she opened her eyes. The bed was cold beside her, but there was a note on his pillow.

Meetings with my father. Didn’t want to wake you.

She lay there for a moment, staring at the vaulted ceiling, her mind drifting.

Fin.

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