The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Baby, Don’t Look

That night, Serena fell asleep in Dex’s arms again.

She found herself standing in a crowd. Then she turned and saw a black wolf.

"Dex?" she asked. The wolf shifted to Dex immediately and pulled her into his arms kissing her all over.

She started to laugh, and gave him a kiss back.

"I love it when you do that," Dex said, pressing his forehead on hers. "Where are we?"

"I don’t know..." Serena said. "I feel like I’ve been here before."

Guards dragged Viremont to the execution block at the front of the hall.

Serena screamed, jumping back, hand covering her mouth.

A massive executioner stepped forward, his face hidden behind a black hood, his blade gleaming in the torchlight.

Viremont was forced to his knees.

His head was pushed down onto the block, the wood dark with old stains.

"This isn’t real. I recognize this room now too. This is in Drakenfell. And he wouldn’t be tried in our court alone," Dexmon said, pulling her back against his chest.

Before the blade could fall, Viremont twisted his neck, finding Serena in the crowd. His eyes locked onto hers. It was like he could see her.

"He’s closer than you think," he spat, blood from a split lip flecking his chin. "Watching. Waiting." His smile was grotesque, too wide. "And when he comes for you, little princess, he’ll do things to you that will make what I did look like a kindness. He’ll break you apart piece by piece." His eyes flicked to Dexmon. "And he’ll make you watch Dragon Prince."

"Baby, don’t look." Dexmon put his hand over her eyes. He could feel her absolute terror through their matebond. Identical to the other night when she screamed.

The executioner raised his blade.

It came down with a whistle of displaced air.

It didn’t sever cleanly.

The blade bit into Viremont’s neck but stopped halfway, lodged in bone and gristle. His body jerked. A wet, gurgling sound escaped his ruined throat. His legs kicked against the stone floor, chains rattling.

Blood sprayed across the execution block in thick arterial spurts. It pooled beneath him, spreading outward in a dark tide.

The executioner wrenched the blade free with a sickening crunch.

Viremont was still alive. Still twitching. His mouth opened and closed like a fish pulled from water, sounds that weren’t quite words bubbling up through the blood.

The crowd gasped. Some looked away, hands pressed to mouths. Others stared with morbid fascination.

The blade came down again.

This time it went through.

His head rolled across the floor, coming to rest face-up, his eyes still open, that terrible smile frozen in place.

Then it spoke, "You can’t escape me."

Dexmon woke up gasping this time, sweating.

"Fuck." He rubbed his hand through his hair. Was this what she was dreaming about? He didn’t want to scare her about Viremont. He didn’t want to tell her about it at all until he was captured again. And he wanted to go do that himself for good reason."

Serena had a pained expression on her face, asleep still. Then she screamed. A high-pitched scream that caused Dexmon’s soul to leave his body temporarily.

"Serena, wake up," he whispered, cradling her. She didn’t stir. "Serena?"

Nothing.

"Please no..." She gasped like she was coming up for air from being under water. Her eyes were still closed.

"Serena... it’s a dream." Still holding her, he cupped her face.

She didn’t wake up.

"Serena." Dex shook her shoulders more forcefully.

Nothing.

"Shit... you are burning up..." He felt her forehead, alarm bells ringing.

His wolf spoke in his mind.

Aegon: Get Alaric. I don’t like this.

She jolted awake at that moment. Her heart was pounding, skin drenched in sweat. The echo of something terrible lingered at the edges of her mind, just out of reach.

"Serena," Dex said, relieved. "You weren’t waking up ..."

"S-s-sorry," she whispered.

He pulled her on top of him. "It’s okay, baby," he whispered, heart cracking. He heard her stutter only once before, when she was shattered.

He hadn’t heard it from fear. Her self-directed frustration cut into him through their matebond.

"You don’t ever need to apologize."

He rubbed her back and she slowly started relaxing into him.

"Do you remember anything?"

She tried. She reached for the nightmare, tried to grab hold of whatever had terrified her so badly. But it slipped through her fingers like smoke.

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