The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218: A Hallway Of Stone Psychopaths

There are two types of people in the world: people who see a flooded room with no exit and panic, and people who see a flooded room with no exit and say "hold your breath, Gav" like they are placing a lunch order.

Gav was drowning next to the second type.

Gav: We portal if there’s no air on the other side.

Serena: Don’t worry, Gav. I won’t let you drown.

Gav: That’s not what I said. We make a—

He cut off mid-sentence. The door they were approaching swung inward into dark and the water all around them was sucked through, and they both were pulled with it.

It dragged them with a force that was not natural and was not accidental. The temple wanted them on the other side.

The current pulled them through a jagged archway carved into the rock. Serena’s lungs screamed. The water here was shallower, though, a ceiling of flickering air visible above them. She let go of his hand and kicked hard towards it.

Gavriel stayed on her heels, his strokes sloppy but relentless.

They broke the surface together, gasping, coughing, sucking down air. Serena’s chest heaved as she treaded water, blinking the sting from her eyes.

A low, grinding rumble vibrated through the walls. The waterline was dropping.

"Gav." She grabbed his arm and pointed toward a ledge about ten feet above them. "Swim. Now."

He didn’t argue. They cut through the water side by side, reaching the ledge just as the surface began to fall away beneath them. Serena hauled herself up first, rolling onto cold ground with a grunt, and Gavriel dragged himself up after her, collapsing onto his back beside her.

The water kept sinking. Fifteen feet below them. Thirty. Fifty. The chamber revealed itself in layers: ancient walls etched with symbols, a vaulted ceiling crusted with mineral deposits.

Serena lay on the floor, chest heaving, staring up at the ceiling.

"Interesting," she panted. "They used water to raise us here."

Gavriel propped himself up on one elbow and peered over the edge. The surface was a distant, dark mirror now, still falling.

"Why didn’t they just build steps?"

The question of the century.

Serena turned her head towards him. He turned his towards her. For a full second, they held each other’s gaze with completely straight faces.

Then Gav’s mouth twitched.

Serena’s composure cracked at the same moment, and they both dissolved into laughter, the sound bouncing off the ancient walls like the chamber had never heard anything so stupid in its entire existence.

The laughter faded, leaving them both winded and dripping on the stone. Gavriel shoved his wet hair out of his face and jerked his chin towards a dark opening at the back of the ledge. Serena pushed herself to stand.

A doorway was on the other end of the ledge, half-hidden by shadow. She caught Gav’s eye and tilted her head toward it.

"Lead the way, Frostborne."

They stepped into another room. It lit in gold as soon as Serena entered.

Rows of stone figures stood in formation. Over one hundred. They were staring forward.

Serena: Do not look at them or react to anything they do. Eyes on the door. No talking.

Gav took note. She delivered orders through the mindlink the way Fin delivered orders. Calm. Absolute. Someone was rubbing off on her.

Gav: What happens if I look at them?

As soon as Serena took one step, a stone figure lunged, blade drawn, and swung at Serena’s head. It stopped a centimeter from her ear. She didn’t blink. She kept walking.

Behind her, Gav’s breathing went shallow and controlled. The breathing of a man overriding every combat instinct he had.

As they walked, more broke from the line. One drove a blade towards Serena’s face, stopping a hair’s width from her cheekbone. She didn’t even twitch.

Gav: How did you know to do that?

Serena: I didn’t. I guessed.

Gav: You GUESSED?

Serena: Keep walking, Gav.

The figures grew bolder the closer they got to the door on the other side.

Their feet stomping the floor in loud patterns designed to startle. One reached out and touched her hair.

The next one lunged and stopped with its face an inch from Gav’s. Its eyes stared into his as it walked backwards in front of Gav, matching his pace.

Two massive doors opened at the other end, grinding weight against weight.

The figures returned to their positions in unison, weapons lowering, faces resuming their carved disapproval.

Gav glanced over his shoulder once they crossed through to the next room. The statues looked disappointed.

As soon as the door sealed shut, he exhaled so hard it echoed off the walls. "What in the absolute fuck was that."

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