The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 391

Chapter 391: Vitamin F And The Territorial Disaster

SHADOWCLAW — TRAINING ARENA

The arena was built for war and repurposed for embarrassment.

Serena Drakenfell’s training session had drawn an audience that rivaled a tournament.

Both Alpha Kings. Three Master Mages. Two Betas. A Master Healer who had arrived with a flask and the expression of a man attending a catastrophe out of professional obligation. Twelve Shadowclaw warriors handpicked by Fin to serve as training partners. And one Beta Luna, who was sitting in the front row with her legs crossed and a look on her face that communicated she was here for the chaos and would be providing commentary.

Serena stood in the center of the arena floor and wanted to disappear.

Hyran spoke first.

"The dark magic from the lake has been fully purged. All three are clean. The parasitic residue from the spikes has been extracted and neutralized." His eyes moved to Serena, then to Dex, then to Fin.

"Confirmed," Aeron said from his position against the far wall.

"Confirmed," Maelor echoed. "Though I would like it noted that confirming something Hyran already confirmed is redundant, and my time is worth more than redundancy."

"Your time is standing in an arena watching wolves train," Hyran replied. "Adjust your expectations accordingly."

"I am here for the cloak," Maelor said. "If the Gamma’s cloak destabilizes during a shift, I need to be present to recalibrate it. The cloak is the priority. The training is incidental."

"The Gamma is in a coma," Alaric pointed out from his position against the wall, flask in hand.

"The cloak is still active," Maelor countered. "Comas are temporary. Cloaks are forever. I have my priorities."

Four days. They had four days before the next artifact retrieval, and the training Serena had abandoned when Gav started dying needed to resume immediately, which meant today, which meant now, which meant in front of every person whose opinion she cared about and several whose opinions she feared.

Serena pulled her hair back. Her hands gathered the white strands and secured them, and the tension in her shoulders during the process was so visible that both Alpha Kings registered it simultaneously.

Dex saw it from the western wall, where he was leaning with his arms crossed and Aegon rumbling low in his chest.

Fin touched her shoulder.

"Hey." His voice was low. Private. Pitched for her ears and carrying the warmth of a man whose matebond was receiving her anxiety at full volume and whose instinct was to address it before the arena could amplify it. "Serena. What’s wrong?"

She shook her head once.

Fin didn’t move. He didn’t buy the headshake for one second.

"Shifting makes me anxious," she said.

"We will work on that," he said, and the we carried a possessive weight that had nothing to do with grammar and everything to do with the fact that Finnick Shadowclaw had just mentally filed ’Serena’s shifting anxiety’ under ’things I am personally responsible for,’ and the file was going to receive his full attention for as long as the attention was needed.

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