The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5: This Is Why Elara Drinks - The Dragon Chose Her

Just as they were turning to head back inside, Elara and Serena both gasped.

"Ah yes, Prince Dexmon will have my head if I let you close to them. But as you can see, those are the dragons—"

The largest dragon in the fleet lifted its head and his eyes locked on Serena.

King Tiberon Drakenfell was on the field at that moment and followed the dragon’s gaze.

He did not know her. Which meant only one thing.

That had to be the girl his son had brought back.

His attention sharpened as it settled on her, instinctively cataloging details the way a king did threats and assets alike. He had been hearing mindlinks about her all morning. Whispers. Fractured impressions. None of them sufficient.

Then he noticed the light.

Her hair. Was it gold? White? Both?

He blinked once. Then again.

Her eyes were solid gold light. No pupil. No white. Her hair glowed in answer, the same radiance bleeding through her skin.

In a lifetime as a king, he had never seen anything like it.

And he was not the only one. Every dragon and rider on the field went still.

"Serena!" Elara hissed, pulling the hood of Serena’s cloak over her hair and face, not missed by anyone.

The dragon who had been watching Serena began moving towards her.

Gasps rippled outward as his eyes began to glow gold. The same gold that burned in hers.

Serena was moving. She didn’t remember deciding to.

They met.

Her hand lifted without her awareness. She touched the space between its eyes.

Light detonated.

Gold flared outward in a blinding pulse. The shockwave followed instantly, vibrating through the field and the castle alike and knocking everyone to the ground.

For a heartbeat, nothing moved. No one breathed.

Then the dragon made a sound, almost a purr, and nuzzled into her palm.

Velkaris.

The name filled her mind without permission. She knew this dragon. Somehow. He was hers.

Velkaris shifted and nudged her gently, insistently, toward his massive front leg.

There were shouts somewhere behind her. Voices raised in alarm. But Serena did not hear them.

She climbed the dragon, in a swift motion, as if she had done it a thousand times.

Velkaris growled low, then shot straight into the air, wings slicing like blades.

Below, the field froze. Servants spilled from doorways. Riders stood rooted in place. The city beyond the castle went still.

All eyes lifted to the sky.

"Shit." The word slipped from Elara’s mouth before she could stop it.

Several heads turned toward her. She went pale.

She had not sounded surprised.

That was the problem.

A ripple of tension passed through the crowd, whispers breaking out at the edges as understanding began to take shape. Elara shut her eyes for a brief moment, jaw tight, forcing herself to breathe through the surge of frustration.

The damage was done.

The moment Serena had touched that dragon, everything had changed.

Too much attention invited questions. Questions they were not prepared to answer.

They had only just escaped and would have to leave here immediately to avoid going back.

Velkaris folded his wings mid-fall, then exploded outward in a blinding surge—not to slow their descent, but to drive them faster.

The air screamed as they vanished into a streak of gold, so fast the eye couldn’t track them.

Alarm rippled across the field.

Everyone was on their feet now. Dragon riders shouted in panic. Even King Tiberon had gone still, his color draining as he tracked the arc of gold through the sky.

"That’s a Truebond Veil," someone whispered, voice shaking.

It was meant only for the purest bonds.

If either rider or dragon lost focus, even for a moment, they would die.

No one had attempted it in over a century.

King Tiberon had seen enough.

"Eron. Now."

A black-scaled dragon reared at the sound of his name, answering instantly. Tiberon vaulted onto his back in one practiced motion, crown abandoned, cloak snapping violently as they launched skyward.

"Block her if she falls," he commanded. "Understand?"

Eron rumbled once and surged forward, wings tearing into the wind.

Below them, the field fell silent.

They could only watch as their king tore across the sky, reckless with speed, eyes locked on the streak of gold ahead.

He was not trying to save a woman.

His instincts had already named her and his instincts were never wrong.

Dex never brought anyone home.

This woman was his son’s fated mate.

Dex had not admitted it yet. But he would.

And of all dragons it could have been... It was THAT dragon.

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