The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142: I’m A Bitch Not An Idiot: A Bellatrix Memoir

"Talk to me, Frostborne," Elara said, coaching voice on.

Serena paced the underground chamber beneath the library. She wasn’t a blatant rule breaker. But they had to do this and she wasn’t going to back out now.

"We’ve tried everything."

"Yes we have," Elara agreed. "Look at me."

She placed both her hands on Serena’s shoulders. "I’m not a little bitch. Let me hear you say it."

"I’m not a little bitch," Serena echoed. She took a breath. "Worst case, if we’re captured by rogues, I will make another portal back here."

"Make the damn portal. Don’t be a little bitch," Elara said firmly.

"I’m doing it. If we get banned from the library then so be it," Serena said, squaring her shoulders.

Elara snorted. "Gods we need to get you a social life if that’s your worst fear."

Serena raised her arm. She felt her familiar magic stir inside her, golden and warm.

"What exactly do you think you’re doing?"

Serena and Elara screamed, both jumping.

Serena spun around to see Queen Bellatrix descending the stone staircase into the chamber. Her expression was unreadable, and her heels clicked against the steps with deliberate precision.

"Your Majesty," she gasped, lowering her arm. "I was just—"

"About to do something monumentally stupid without proper support or planning?" Bellatrix reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped, her sharp eyes taking in the scene. "Yes, I gathered."

Serena opened her mouth to defend herself, but no words came out.

Bellatrix studied them both for a long moment. Then she asked a question that Serena did not expect.

"What do you need to get there?"

Serena and Elara both stared at her.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at their gawking expressions.

"Oh, close your mouths. You look like fish gasping for air." She folded her arms across her chest. "Did you think I was going to let my son and husband rot in enemy territory while I sat here planning dinner menus? I’m a bitch, not an idiot."

Serena blinked. She wasn’t sure which part of that statement surprised her more.

"I need a mage," she finally managed to say. "One who isn’t obsessed with protecting me."

Bellatrix laughed.

It was a real laugh, sharp and short, and it transformed her face into something almost human.

"I have contacts in Shadowclaw territory," Bellatrix said. "I already sent word to Shadowclaw’s Master Mage this morning."

Before she finished her sentence, the air in the chamber rippled.

A portal tore open in the center of the room, its edges crackling with silver energy.

Aeron stepped through.

He looked exhausted. His robes were travel-stained, his hair was disheveled, and there were dark circles under his eyes. But what caught Serena’s attention was the creature clinging to his chest.

It was a dragon.

A baby dragon.

It couldn’t have weighed more than sixty pounds, with scales obsidian black and eyes bright gold. Its tiny wings were wrapped around Aeron’s torso, and its claws were hooked into his robes with desperate determination.

"Thank the gods," Aeron breathed. He crossed the chamber in three quick strides and thrust the dragon toward Bellatrix. "Hold this."

Bellatrix’s eyes went wide.

"What— I don’t— Why would you—"

The dragon latched onto her before she could finish her sentence. Its claws dug into her expensive silk gown, and its tail wrapped around her waist. It pressed its face against her chest and made a high-pitched keening sound.

Bellatrix screamed bloody murder.

The dragon screamed with her, clearly terrified, and clutched onto her even tighter.

"Get it off!" Bellatrix shrieked, her composure shattering completely. "Get this thing off of me! It’s ruining my dress! It’s— why is it so sticky? Why is it making that noise? What is wrong with it?"

"He’s scared," Aeron answered calmly.

The baby dragon let out another wail and buried its face in Bellatrix’s cleavage.

Bellatrix looked down at it with an expression of pure horror.

"This is assault," she declared. "This is assault, and I will have someone executed for it."

"His name is Onyx. He’s Shadowclaw’s bonded, and has been inconsolable ever since he left," Aeron said, completely unfazed. "We’ve tried everything, but he won’t eat, he won’t sleep, and he keeps jumping off furniture trying to fly away to find him. But he can’t fly yet."

"And you thought bringing him to me was the solution?"

"I won’t be able to take him when I take Serena to Orosia," Aeron said.

"I am not a guardian. I am a queen. Queens do not babysit infant dragons."

Onyx lifted his head and looked at Bellatrix with enormous, watery gold eyes. He made a soft chirping sound, somewhere between a purr and a whimper.

Bellatrix’s expression flickered.

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