The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88: SHE’S MINE

The scent hit him like a fist to the chest.

A black wolf tore through the forest, golden eyes blazing, paws slamming wet earth. Every breath pulled more of her in.

Serena.

The wolf ran faster than any Alpha had a right to. Faster than bone and muscle should allow, because none of that mattered. He needed to get to her.

He’d been searching for what felt like hours. He’d been so worried.

And when he saw her, his heart cracked open. She stood by a stream, head in her hands.

He shifted mid lunge, hands replacing paws just as he reached her.

"Serena! Are you alright?"

Her sadness bled through the matebond before he even touched her, so sharp it stole his breath.

He pulled her into his arms tightly, catching her off guard.

His scent and touch calmed her. He could feel her through their matebond.

Electricity danced everywhere their skin met.

She stiffened and pushed him away.

His expression was of pure confusion. Then the hurt crept in underneath, the kind he didn’t know how to hide.

"Serena, I was so worried," he breathed, grabbing her hand.

She looked at him with absolute devastation in her eyes, and it shocked him.

"Baby, what’s wrong?" he asked, trying to pull her back into his arms. He was successful, but she didn’t hug him back. She stood rigid against him like a statue.

"Dex, you lied to me," she whispered.

She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her.

"Never. I promise you, Serena," he insisted, kissing her temple. "I love you more than anything. I would never."

She put her face in her hands, silent tears falling. She tried to move away from him again, but he held her tighter.

"Just let me be, Dex." She took a deep breath, voice cracking. "P-please."

"No." His voice broke. "I am not letting you go when you’re this sad. Tell me what happened."

Wrong thing to say.

Serena was at her limit.

She started to cry. Not the silent tears from before. Real crying. The kind that shook her shoulders and stole her breath. The kind Dex had never seen from her.

This gutted him.

His knees almost buckled. Her grief crashed through the matebond and flooded his chest, so thick he couldn’t tell where hers ended and his started.

"Don’t cry, Serena," he said, kissing her head, voice desperate now. "Whatever it is, I’ll fix it. If you’re crying, it must be bad. Tell me. Please."

That made it worse. Dex’s eyes burned, heart cracking. Her emotions washed into him and he didn’t fully understand.

"Hey..... I’m here," he managed, forcing calm into his voice when there was none left in his body. "Hang on." He picked her up in one motion, moved to a tree, and sat down against it with her in his lap.

Her sobs didn’t stop for awhile. Dex tried to soothe her. Then he just held her so tight his arms ached. He pressed kisses into her forehead, her temple, her hair. None of it was enough.

Gods, he needed to fix this.

This was killing him.

Eventually, her sobs turned into hiccups and wheezes.

Dream or not, it felt real, and she couldn’t get a full breath.

"Hey... match your breathing with me," Dex said. "In." He did an exaggerated inhale. "Out." He exhaled.

She tried for a minute. It barely helped.

His eyes darkened. Whatever had done this to her, he was going to destroy it.

Then he remembered. He surged calm into her through the matebond. She jolted against him, eyes wide.

"Y-y-you shouldn’t b-be able to d-d-do..." Her stutters trailed off.

"Serena..." He kissed her shoulder, then her head, pulling her tighter. "Tell me what happened. I can’t stand this." His voice was pained, cracking. "Please."

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