The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Cat-In-A-Bath Energy & Basic Fabrication (Embarrassing)

Black sand. As far as she could see in every direction, nothing but black sand and a full moon.

The portal she made snapped shut behind them. The second it closed, the pressure in her chest lifted.

Fin set her down. The jarring impact of her boots hitting the sand was the only thing that made her realize he’d been carrying her at all.

"Portals take more magic. It’s normal," Aeron commented.

His words registered but she was still dazed.

She looked down, startled to find both blades still gripped in her hands. Fin had carried her through the portal while she was a literal torch.

She released the flames and glanced at him.

He was already watching her.

She looked away immediately, face heating. Too fast.

Gav stepped in, grabbing the High General’s blade out of her hand. It flashed white the second his fingers touched it. He held it up, eyeing the steel.

"When did she get a real sword?"

"Long story," Aeron answered.

Gav’s gaze flicked from the blade down to his own waist, then back to Aeron with a devastatingly slow smirk. "Longer than mine?"

Aeron didn’t even blink. "Significantly."

Hale took the fabricated one a second later. He’d just confiscated Elara’s, who had been gesturing with both blades mid-sentence and apparently forgot she was armed.

Serena blinked and shook her head, her thoughts coming back into focus.

"Serena, where are we?" Hyran asked.

"I was aiming for Skardos."

Aeron started laughing. "Even prodigies struggle with creating portals."

"I did it in fae magic. Which is a lot—"

Fin pulled her against his chest before she could finish her sentence.

He wrapped himself around her, holding her as if she were the only thing keeping him from drifting away. With his face buried in her hair, he let out a jagged exhale, his body trembling with the sheer force of his relief.

Through the matebond, his emotions washed into her. Gratitude so deep it ached. Relief that bordered on collapse. And underneath it all, a fierce, burning love that stole her breath.

She hugged him with equal fervor. When she breathed him in, his scent hit her like a punch in the chest. She swallowed, eyes reddening. She’d thought about him every day and wondered if she’d ever see him again. And he was here now. Battered and bruised and thinner than he should be, but alive. Breathing.

And that gnawing feeling started to fade. The one she had since waking up after the battle. An insecurity she would never admit, but one she’d cried over more than once.

He didn’t ghost her. As Elara had so elegantly put it, fucked her then chucked her. She hadn’t imagined all of what happened between them. She didn’t misread the situation completely.

She cared for him. The pull was deeper than she remembered. There was no denying it.

But then she thought of Dex, and her heart cracked. Because she’d felt this same pull towards him. Her chest ached for two different men in two different ways, and she had no answers.

She forced herself to let go of him, stepping back.

But he didn’t let go of her. He looked in her eyes then at her lips. The air between them was electric. She knew it. He knew it. She turned her head away first, face flushing. Swallowing down all the unwanted emotions that seemed to be in the driver’s seat of her mind.

"Serena..." His voice came out rough. Pained.

Then he glanced up and noticed every pair of eyes watching them. Everyone looked away in different directions at the same time.

Fin shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching and let go of her.

There would be time for that later. Preferably not in front of an audience. But right now, they were stranded in a desert.

Serena turned to Hyran.

He stood a few feet away, squinting against the wind. Black sand was already collecting in the folds of his clothing, and his expression suggested he was contemplating murder.

Serena opened her arms wide.

"Oh no," Hyran said immediately. He took a step backward, nearly tripping over a small dune. "You don’t come near me."

Serena advanced on him.

"I mean it," Hyran said, retreating further. "I am dehydrated and standing in the middle of a desert because your portal skills are apparently as reliable as a drunk cartographer."

Serena wrapped her arms around him anyway. "I missed your joyful comments."

Hyran went completely rigid. His arms stayed pressed against his sides, and his entire body radiated the energy of a cat being forced into a bath.

"This is undignified," he said flatly.

"Serena, can you remove my cuffs?" Aeron asked, breaking up the hug Hyran hated.

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