The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20: That Bitch Brought Flowers

Queen Bellatrix swept into the room holding a bouquet of flowers, and every wolf in it went still.

King Tiberon followed a step behind her, his eyes sharp with open skepticism.

It was the most un-Bellatrix thing imaginable. So wrong it drew every eye like a snapped thread.

Serena was asleep and completely unaware of Dex and Gavriel flanking her like a pair of extremely tense, stupidly good-looking bookends.

"Poor dear." Bellatrix’s voice came out motherly. She turned her attention to Alaric. "Are you certain it wasn’t the flu? Or some little bug?" Her lips curved. "Perhaps she caught something from one of the beds she warms."

Alaric didn’t look up from Serena’s chart. "It was poison."

Dex went rigid, jaw tight and he didn’t bother hiding his agitation. "She does not warm anyone’s bed. Spare us the bullshit and stop insulting her."

His eyes narrowed at his mother.

"And considering you are the one who poisoned her, I am struggling to understand why you are here at all."

Aegon: I am not struggling. I understand perfectly. She came to finish the job.

The air went taut, like a drawn bowstring.

Bellatrix gasped softly, one hand flying to her chest. "Has she poisoned your mind with these lies? I was nowhere near her when the incident occurred."

As she spoke, she set the bouquet into a vase on the nightstand beside the bed.

Fine pollen shook loose, drifting lazily into the air. It caught the sunlight in thin, glimmering threads. Dex’s gaze snagged on it immediately. Something about it felt wrong.

Surely she would not poison all of them.

No, that would be crazy, even for Bellatrix.

Gavriel watched the flowers like they owed him money.

All color drained from Elara’s face. "Is that Nightvein Lily?"

"I’m not sure," Bellatrix answered lightly, turning to Elara with a pleasant, friendly smile. "I’m terrible with plant names."

A hard, knowing stillness settled over Tiberon’s features. Bellatrix was nothing but precise. There was no chance she did not know exactly what she had brought.

Serena’s eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply, her breath catching wrong. Then she started coughing, her windpipe tightening as panic bubbled in her chest.

Dex felt it instantly through their matebond.

Alaric was already in motion, hands steady as he pushed a syringe in Serena’s arm, delivering the shot to stop an allergic reaction.

Her breathing eased, gradually, painfully.

"Antidote and epipen in twenty-four hours," he muttered, checking her vitals. "On top of silver in her blood still. I swear to the gods."

Serena tried to stand, but Dex swept in before she could find her balance, catching her up in his arms and stalking out of the room.

Aegon: Good. Carry mate. Do not put her down. Ever.

"I can walk," Serena muttered against his chest.

"You could barely lift a jar," he shot back, grinning.

That earned a reluctant laugh, soft and raspy, and his smile widened.

The rest of the room moved carefully, following Dex and Alaric into the next chamber like a procession of very tense nobles trying not to step on a landmine. Everyone checked their clothes for pollen.

King Tiberon lingered behind, watching Bellatrix.

She rolled her eyes and shrugged like she’d been accused of bringing spoiled wine. "Oh, come off it. Only a buffoon would do that on purpose. I’m not an idiot," she said breezily.

Then, louder—too loud—as the door began to close, she called down the hall.

"Alaric, do make sure she eats more. Half the castle calls her Skeletor instead of Serena behind her back. Thought you should be made aware. Among other colorful words: breeding stock, harlot, rat, bedwench, grotesque... but I probably don’t need to tell you the list."

The door clicked shut.

Elara snorted. "Skeletor was a new one yesterday. The first thing Agnes called her."

Gav gave a shrug. "If you play your cards right, that could replace slut."

Dex, torn between murder and hysteria, launched a pillow at him hard enough to knock a lesser man unconscious.

It bounced off Gav’s face.

"What?"

Dex pinched the bridge of his nose. "One day. I am asking for one day where you do not say the worst possible thing at the worst possible time."

Gavriel considered this. "That sounds boring." He claimed the chair nearest the bed unapologetically.

Dex began to pace the length of the room like a caged wolf, which wasn’t far from the truth.

Alaric caught his arm before he left. "Two attacks in twenty-four hours. A third, and an antidote may not hold."

Dex’s voice dropped low enough to scrape the floor. "There won’t be a third."

Alaric studied him, decided he meant it, and left without another word.

Another few hours passed.

Dex hadn’t moved to leave. Neither had Gavriel. She woke briefly to the feel of a hand adjusting her blanket and a weight on the edge of the bed.

Sleep tugged her back down before it even fully registered.

Dex had already mindlinked his colonels, captains, and the elders, delegating his responsibilities for the next week without ceremony. Orders were issued. Schedules shifted. No one argued. He wasn’t going anywhere.

He didn’t trust leaving Serena alone. More than that, he did not want to.

Being near her calmed something volatile inside him, a storm he had been carrying since the moment he laid eyes on her. He wanted her in sight at all times, within reach, and preferably touching.

Aegon: Touching is non-negotiable. I want our scent on her at all times. Other wolves need to know.

Unknown to Serena, he had also already mindlinked omegas to move her belongings into his room. She did not have much and that realization irritated him more than it should have.

Aegon: About damn time.

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