The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The Worst Liar in Drakenfell

Serena woke to the sun hitting her face. Dex had his head in his hands leaning on the window.

"Dex?" Serena asked.

He looked up sharply and crossed the room in two strides.

"Thank gods."

He started kissing her face everywhere, and she pulled him down on top of her. She could feel his emotions through their matebond. The first time really she’d been able to with this degree of clarity.

He was upset, guilt-ridden, and afraid.

"Hey... it’s okay," she said, giving him a kiss, while she surged calm into him through their matebond.

He jolted in surprise and went still.

"What is wrong?" she asked, brushing his hair back with her fingers.

He swallowed. The touch lingered, slow and gentle, and it felt entirely too good.

"My wolf marked you again," he said quietly. "I am sorry."

Serena’s face flushed at that. They were having sex. Dex felt it and then laughed despite being upset.

"Oh, now you are shy?" he teased. "You were not a few hours ago."

"Dex," Serena said, scandalized, shoving him back. He let her. She flipped them easily until he was on his back and she was straddling him.

She glanced down and froze.

She was wearing a silk chemise.

Her eyes flicked back up to his.

"You act like we haven’t done this song and dance before," he said grinning, entirely too pleased with himself.

Serena stared at him for half a second, unimpressed, then grabbed a pillow and tried to throw it at him.

Dex caught it easily and used the momentum to roll them, flipping her onto her back in one smooth movement.

She screamed high-pitched surprised, and then they both burst into laughter.

He kissed her again, softer this time, then pulled back. The humor faded from his face, replaced by real concern.

"Are you alright?" he said. "I have never heard of someone being marked twice. You were out for half a day."

"I’m fine," Serena said grinning.

That didn’t make Dex feel any better.

Serena gave him a quick kiss on the lips, surprising him.

"When my wolf spoke to me in my dream, she said your venom was helping me fight off the silver poisoning."

Dex grinned, unable to stop it. The expression was boyish and ridiculous, pure pride like he had personally wrestled the problem into submission.

It made Serena laugh.

"Do not let that go to your head," she warned.

He lifted a brow, smug and unapologetic.

"Too late," Dex said. "I am already telling my wolf he is a medical miracle."

Serena looked down, the memory of the burn on her arm surfacing sharp and sudden. Her brow furrowed as she thought.

The library. She needed to go there. The certainty settled deep in her core, heavy and insistent.

She slipped off him without a word and stepped away from the bed.

"What do you need?" Dex asked.

She jumped, realizing he had been watching her the entire time. Heat rushed to her face as another thought followed right on its heels. He had given her clothes every time she changed. Or changed her himself while she was unconscious.

Gods. That was mortifying.

She felt like she was overstepping. It was irrational and she knew it was, but the unease still curled in her stomach at the idea of going into his closet in his quarters.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head once.

Dex did not buy it for a second.

He grabbed a pillow and hurled it at her with enough force that it smacked her square in the side and knocked her right out of her spiral. She startled, then laughed despite herself.

"You are the worst liar in all of Drakenfell," he said, already moving.

A second later he tackled her gently back onto the bed, pinning her beneath him, the tension shattered cleanly by his grin and her inability to stay serious around him for more than five seconds.

✦✦✦

Dex still had not mentioned the mark on her arm. That alone was maddening. She knew others who had it. She had felt them when she channeled into their energy. There was no mistaking that.

And yet, as they walked down the hall with their fingers interlocked, every single one she recognized suddenly developed an urgent interest in the architecture.

No eye contact. Not a glance.

It was ridiculous.

As if she was not supposed to know, despite the small detail that she had literally tunneled into their energy like an uninvited guest and taken notes. There was no version of reality where she did not know exactly who they were.

Dex frowned immediately. He did not like the idea of her being out of his sight, and he especially did not like the vague phrasing of something. He could delegate the paperwork, but would need to organize it first.

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