The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19: A Moose, a Kiss, and a Broken Bed

The scent hit her first, before she was fully awake. It smelled like the forest after rain. Familiar. It was the same one that threaded through her dreams.

The second thing she felt was an arm wrapped around her.

Then panic slammed into her chest. Her body knew before her mind caught up: she had almost died.

The arm around her tightened immediately, possessive but careful, as if it had been waiting for that exact moment.

"Hey, Serena," a calm voice whispered. "You’re safe."

Her lashes fluttered open as the room swam into view. She registered the I.V. attached to her arm first, then the silk camisole and shorts she was wearing.

She swallowed, her throat tight.

"Dexmon?" Her voice came out rougher than she expected, as the room finally settled around his face.

"First off, call me Dex."

Color rushed to her cheeks at the simple request. For reasons she could not explain, it felt far more intimate than it had any right to.

"And most importantly," he continued, voice gentler now, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a drunk troll riding a warhorse." She winced, her hand drifting to the bandage covering her sternum.

Dex laughed, a short sound that held more relief than humor.

"Where are we?" she asked, throat raw, like she had swallowed fire.

"Hang on." he said, already moving. He returned with a small jar filled with a cloudy white liquid.

"I am under strict orders to make you drink this. Just so you know, I tried it. Tastes like swamp water mixed with regret."

He twisted the lid off and held it out to her.

Her hands trembled.

Without comment, Dex kept his grip on the jar and lifted it carefully, guiding it to her lips.

She was too thirsty to object and drank it down in seconds. Relief followed almost immediately. The burn in her throat eased and the pounding in her head dulled.

Dex retrieved a second jar and helped her drink that one too.

"Thank you," she said once it was empty.

She eased back down against the pillows.

But to her shock, Dex climbed back onto the bed with her, settling in close, his arm draping easily around her waist as if it had always belonged there.

She froze, eyes flicking to him.

Dex caught the look and huffed softly. "Before you say anything, I’ve decided you’re too weak to escape."

She let out a laugh, the sound light and genuine.

Dex smiled faintly and tightened his arm.

Her hand drifted back to the bandage on her sternum. Everything before waking up was a blur. "What happened?"

Dex hesitated. Just a fraction of a second. Long enough to decide she deserved the truth even if it frightened her.

"You were poisoned." He watched her face for any sign of panic. "I felt a mirror of the poisoning. Not as badly as you, but enough."

It took a moment for the memory to claw its way back. The pain. Coughing. The terror of not being able to breathe, choking on her own blood as everything narrowed to panic and fire. Someone had pulled her upright, understanding she could not breathe like that. No hesitation.

The same scent as the one around her now.

Dex.

He had just known.

Was that because of their dragon bond?

"I think it was Agnes and my mother, but I have no proof," he added.

More confusion crossed her face, the kind she clearly didn’t want him to see. Why was he lying beside her like this when he was betrothed? And why would he tell her any of this if he loved the woman who had done it?

It took her a second to find her voice. "Thank you for telling me. I won’t repeat it to anyone."

She meant it. Silence would be the best policy no matter what came next, but it mattered to her that he understood she could be trusted with something this heavy.

Dexmon swallowed. Emotions he had not invited stirred at her sincerity.

She spoke again before he could find a response.

"I didn’t realize Velkaris was your dragon. When I bonded with him, I wasn’t fully in control. I don’t remember riding him. Just... touching his face." Worry shadowed her expression. "Would you be able to tell her that? I tried, but she didn’t want to hear it."

She bit her lip. "I do hope that can put her mind at ease."

Dexmon frowned. No one had explained dragon bonding to her properly. That should have been his responsibility. He had dropped the ball. And worse, she still thought he was interested in Agnes.

No.

That ended now.

He propped himself up on one elbow, his thumb tracing an absent line along her hip. "Dragons choose who they bond with on a soul level. It would have happened regardless of circumstance."

He took a slow breath, like he was deciding how much to give her at once.

"Your true bonded can read your thoughts and emotions. Deeper than even a fated mate can. That’s why the best dragon riders are always bonded."

His thumb stilled on her hip. "It’s considered sacred in Drakenfell. And extremely rare. Outside of us, there are two others. Everyone else has to build a relationship over time."

"That explains a bit," she said, after a minute. The hospitality. The protection. Why no one had questioned her presence.

The corner of his mouth lifted, the kind of expression that said he knew exactly how much he’d just rearranged her worldview.

"Yes. But our situation is rarer still. A single dragon bonding to two riders only happens when two souls are intertwined at the deepest level. The last time it happened in Drakenfell was forty years ago. The one before that was three centuries ago."

"So you can imagine the shock when Velkaris chose you."

He shifted onto his side to face her fully, studying her the way he studied battle maps.

"Dragons bow to me as Master and Commander of the Draken Forces. When they bowed to you as well, that sealed it. You are ours to protect."

His eyes dropped to where his thumb rested on her hip. "I should have explained all of this to you sooner. I’m sorry that I didn’t."

Serena’s thoughts were racing. But when she opened her mouth, what came out was: "Thank you for the context."

"What are you thinking?" Dex asked, the directness surprising her.

A faint flush crept into her cheeks.

"Truthfully, I’m honored by that. But also surprised. I’d never seen a dragon before or met a dragon rider. Until I met you. And I didn’t even know you were a dragon rider until Agnes mentioned it."

Dex took that in, then nodded. "There are only a handful of families capable of producing true bonds. They are all High Houses in Drakenfell." His gaze sharpened, thoughtful. "That was another reason you were immediately considered ours to protect. Somewhere in your lineage, you are descended from a dragon bloodline."

She didn’t have a response to that. All of her family was dead. She was still turning over the word ’bloodline’ when he spoke again.

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