The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 48

Chapter 48: She Cracked That Shit

Elara yanked Serena out of Dex’s arms. Harder than she meant to.

Serena registered the pressure, the urgency, and knew Elara would not have done that unless it mattered.

"Please excuse us," Elara said smoothly, already pulling Serena down the corridor.

They didn’t speak until they were out of earshot.

"You have a rash on your neck," Elara commented. "I know you heard something. Where do you need to go?"

Serena smiled faintly. "Damn, you’re too good sometimes."

She turned without explanation, taking a narrow passage that led downward, toward the library. Elara followed immediately, close enough to be a shadow.

Alert. Tense. Already halfway to violence on Serena’s behalf.

It was only then that Serena became aware of the heat. And not just the mark burning on her arm. All of her. She was burning up.

She slipped her cloak off and draped it over the back of a chair just inside the library entrance. Elara did the same without comment.

Serena spoke in Draken-Vorah and reopened the vault, ignoring Elara’s stunned expression.

She entered, not bothering to check for dark magic.

Sure enough, she felt a hum coming from a large treasure chest.

She tried to lift it, but it was extremely heavy. Even with the strength Dex’s venom gave her.

So she began to push. She shoved her full body weight against it, moving it an inch.

"Shit, this is heavy," she muttered, panting.

Elara entered the vault, trying to help her. The two of them in full makeup, hair done, wearing closed-toe high-heeled pumps in skin-tight, long-sleeve gowns adorned with jewels, trying to shove a damn treasure chest. Their faces were red.

"You look like you’re in labour," Elara wheezed.

"You sound like a nun who just saw her first dick," Serena snapped back.

"You have sex twice and now you’re making dick jokes," Elara said, heaving air in between every word.

They tried for another minute. Stopped. Looked at one another. Looked back at the chest. And tried again.

Two future leaders of Drakenfell. Currently defeated by a chest and too stubborn to mindlink their mates for help.

Another minute went by of them struggling.

Dex, Tiberon, and Hyran entered the vault. Both girls were too focused to notice.

"Fascinating," Hyran remarked dryly.

Both girls screamed at the same time. Serena’s hand flew to her chest, heart pounding.

"Two women in formalwear attempting to relocate a five-hundred-pound artifact. Truly the pinnacle of strategic planning," Hyran continued unbothered.

"We almost had it," Serena said.

"You did not almost have it," Hyran replied rolling his eyes.

"Don’t stop on our account." Dex grinned and shook his head. "That was genuinely the most entertaining thing I’ve seen all week."

Hyran looked at Serena, eyes sharp. "You left a treasure vault fully unlocked, allowed three people to enter without detection, and didn’t bother to have me scan. You’re lucky I don’t sense any dark magic in here." He paused. "Protocol exists for a reason."

"Oh. Right. That," Serena replied. "Understood."

Only then did Dex take in how red Serena’s face was from trying to move the chest.

"You moved it what, two inches?" He crossed his arms, still grinning. "At this rate, you’d have it out by next winter."

He made his way over to the chest, treading carefully with his blood oath. He couldn’t reveal he heard, not yet. As long as he didn’t ask or mention it, he was in the clear.

"Step aside," Tiberon instructed. "We’ll handle it."

Dex nodded, already positioning himself on one side. "Try not to swoon."

"I’ll contain myself," Serena replied flatly.

Elara stepped back immediately, looking entirely too relieved. "Take it. Take all of it. I’m done."

Dexmon and Tiberon gripped either side of the chest and lifted. It was heavy, but they were both Alphas. Muscles strained, but they carried it out into the main part of the library without ceremony, setting it down with a solid thud.

Serena followed, then knelt down in front of it. Her breath hitched.

"Well, I’ll be damned," Elara breathed, also noticing it. "I never thought I’d see it."

Both girls looked up, just now realizing the three men were watching them.

"You have ten minutes," Hyran stated, not elaborating. Serena had a hunch why.

She nodded and began reading the inscription on the chest. The ancient writings snaked and shifted, changing form, showing a dragon.

She read aloud the Draken-Vorah fluently, her eyes staying green. Tiberon glanced at Hyran, surprised. He thought she only could speak this language when she fell in a trance. So clearly she’d learned it.

"I am a flame born of the southern sun, keeper of fire that cannot be undone. What am I that burns but does not consume, that lights the dark but needs no room?"

Gods, this was going to hurt like a motherfucker.

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