The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Skeletor Grew A Pair (Part 2)

Bellatrix slid off Velkaris’s back with all the grace of a collapsing marionette.

"You," she snapped, pointing a trembling finger at Serena. "Wolfless menace. You and your overgrown flying abomination are a disgrace to this kingdom."

Velkaris huffed, deeply offended.

Bellatrix glared up at him. "And don’t look at me like that."

That was when Gavriel arrived at the field having witnessed precisely none of the buildup.

"...What," he said slowly, eyes flicking between Bellatrix, Velkaris, and Serena.

Bellatrix rounded on him instantly. "Skeletor Silver-Whore kidnapped me with a dragon. You will be arrested within the hour. You better start running now."

Velkaris rumbled. With impeccable timing, he gently but firmly picked Bellatrix up by the back of her cloak.

"I DID NOT AGREE TO STOP CALLING HER NAMES." Bellatrix flailed. "PUT ME DOWN."

"Tell him to put me down!" Bellatrix screamed at Serena.

"SKELETOR. TELL HIM."

Velkaris launched into the air, not bothering to put Bellatrix on his back, holding onto her only by her cloak.

He made a slow, lazy circle over the field, as if reconsidering his life choices, while Bellatrix’s yells could be heard from the ground.

He landed with a satisfied thump.

"FINE," Bellatrix screeched, ripping her cloak from Velkaris’s mouth. Like he wasn’t a literal dragon. "PSYCHOS. Satanic sociopath!"

She turned on her heel and marched toward the castle, muttering viciously under her breath about dragons, skeletal whores, ginger demons, and the complete moral collapse of Drakenfell.

Gavriel turned slowly toward Serena with a mischievous grin. "You menace. Someone tries to kill you, and you take them on a dragon ride to negotiate?"

Serena looked back at him, expression utterly innocent.

Mostly.

He laughed and scooped up a nearby folded training mat, tossing it lightly at her shoulder. "I leave you alone for one afternoon."

Velkaris rumbled in deep, smug satisfaction.

Gavriel sniffed the air suddenly and squinted at Serena.

"Why do you smell like an ashtray?"

Serena blinked. "Oh right, we found a dragon egg this morning in a volcano."

"You found a what in a what?" Gavriel asked.

✦✦✦

Serena and Gavriel strolled back up toward the castle, their conversation easy that made the walk feel shorter than it was.

Then Serena halted mid-step.

"Oh no! Shoot. I was supposed to meet Elara," she gasped, spinning on her heel. "You’ll have to excuse me!"

She bolted off at alpha speed, flustered.

Gavriel stared after her for far too long.

"...Hells," he muttered to himself, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I’m in trouble."

✦✦✦

Across the castle, the double doors to King Tiberon’s study slammed open so hard one of them rebounded off the stone.

Bellatrix stormed in, eyes wild.

Dex was seated, mid-briefing with King Tiberon, both of them calmly reviewing maps and reports.

That peace shattered immediately.

"YOU!" Bellatrix shrieked, storming toward Dex like a banshee with an axe to grind. "Get your SKELETOR WHORE on a leash and your oversized gold-scaled menace under control before I burn this entire goddamned castle to the ground"

King Tiberon didn’t even look up from his report.

"I was curious about your emotional state," he said mildly. "Did you happen to go on a little dragon ride today?"

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