The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate-Chapter 119: Bite Me Three Times, Shame On Me

Serena stirred, Dex’s arms tightly wrapped around her.

She didn’t open her eyes right away.

But then, without warning, a surge of love—deep, unwavering, and fierce—pulsed into her through their matebond. Devotion. Adoration. So raw and overwhelming, it jolted her.

She opened her eyes, and saw Dex watching her, his eyes filled with so much love that it brought a lump to her throat.

"I almost lost you," he said, voice rough. "So you’re going to let me take care of you. Whatever this is, I’ve got you. Let me carry some of it."

He pulled her up for a kiss and pressed his forehead into hers.

She didn’t realize how heavy the weight on her chest was until he did that.

Serena rested for three days, and Dex refused to leave her side for any of them. He brought her meals she didn’t ask for and refilled her water before she noticed it was empty. He was relentlessly proactive, always two steps ahead. He took care of her without hesitation, calling for Alaric and her tonic before she even realized she needed one.

Dex was becoming more and more in tune with her thoughts—reading her, anticipating her, always reassuring her before she even had the chance to spiral.

On the second day, he started being Dex again. Playful and making her laugh. He helped her feel like herself again, piece by piece.

And she realized, she was helping him too.

But by day five, Dex needed to attend to his duties. He insisted Serena rest another day.

Serena had lasted exactly fourteen minutes in bed before the walls started closing in. Fourteen minutes of staring at the ceiling, replaying every detonation, every fall, every set of hands that had caught her midair. Fourteen minutes of feeling Dexmon’s guilt and worry over her still bleeding through their matebond. Fourteen minutes of Shadowclaw’s face surfacing and her own guilt there.

She swung her legs off the bed, moving to put on a training suit. She wouldn’t work, fine, but she couldn’t stay in bed another minute.

She was on her way to meet Elara in the east wing of the castle. She was halfway there when the War Room doors groaned open.

Garrett Darkhowler walked out first. His dark hair was shorter than the last time she’d seen him.

Dexmon, King Tiberon, Gav, Hale, Archibald, Colonel Morholt, and other high ranking officers followed.

That was no casual meeting. All of their expressions carried tension.

Serena stopped walking.

"Gare?"

Garrett’s head turned. For half a second, his composure cracked, and she saw it.

Dexmon’s reaction was faster. His spine locked straight, gold flickering behind his irises before he blinked it away.

"Serena, you’re supposed to be resting."

Serena’s face went red. "Right. About that ... "

Garrett was already closing the distance. "Serena." He looked her over. "You look significantly more alive and conscious than the other day. Low bar, but still."

He pulled her into a hug.

Behind them, Dex’s jaw tightened. His eyes flared gold, wolf surging. He swallowed it down.

Serena didn’t notice.

"What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you too," he answered flatly.

"That’s not an answer."

Garrett’s expression didn’t change. Serena’s brows drew together. She could feel Dex’s discomfort at that question through their matebond. She didn’t glance in his direction right away to not give away that she felt it. But it was clear, Dex was holding back information and whatever he was holding back, Garrett knew about it too.

"I did want to talk with you, though," Garrett said, redirecting with all the subtlety of a siege ram. "Are you well enough to walk?"

Serena gave him a flat look. "I am fine."

Garrett glanced up at Dexmon. Something passed between them, wordless and strained. "I’ll bring her back in one piece."

Dex’s mouth pressed into a thin line. His worry slammed into her through their matebond.

She pushed calming back, and moved towards him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Don’t worry, Dex," Serena said. Serena could feel he was elated she did that and it made her grin.

She gave him a hug and he hugged her back.

"Why don’t you take him to see Velkaris," Dex said after a moment. He’d be close by that way and Velkaris would be there if anything odd happened.

"Oh good idea," Serena grinned.

Dex didn’t want to leave her to begin with and was fully planning on taking care of her in the afternoon. His protective instincts were in overdrive and he was well aware.

It didn’t help that he’d literally seen Garrett possessed the other day. He made a note to tell Serena about that. It’d somehow slipped his mind, which was insane.

✦✦✦

Velkaris spotted Serena before she’d cleared the archway.

He launched off the ground with a massive rubber stick clamped between his jaws, tail whipping so hard it sent a water trough skidding three feet. He barreled toward her at full speed before sliding to a stop. He pressed his enormous nose against her chest.

Serena laughed. Garrett was surprised.

"Hi," she murmured, scratching the ridge above Velkaris’s eye. He rumbled tail thumping against the ground hard enough to crack a flagstone.

Then nudged her again, harder, and she staggered but kept her balance. "Yes, I missed you too. You’re ridiculous."

"Velkaris, this is Garrett."

Velkaris turned his head towards him. Then opened his jaws and dropped the rubber stick directly into Garrett’s arms.

Garrett caught it. His knees buckled. He adjusted his grip, biceps flexing against the weight of the thing.

"This stick weighs more than I do," he said, half laughing.

Velkaris snorted, a warm blast of air that ruffled Garrett’s hair. Then the dragon turned back to Serena, circled twice, and lowered himself to the ground, curling his tail around her like a wall. He rested his chin on his front legs, one eye half-closed. Content.

Serena sat against his side. The sun was out and it was the first day it actually felt like spring. No snow or cold. Garrett set the stick down and dropped beside her, stretching his legs out.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Serena," Garrett started, then stopped. He ran a hand through his hair.

He took a breath. Let it out. Took another.

"I marked Agnes," he said. "And I’ve decided to keep her as my mate."

She waited for the anger. It didn’t come. Instead, she felt numb.

"Congrats, Gare." Her voice was steady. She meant it. "I want you to be happy. Just watch your back with her."

Garrett studied her face for a long time. Then his mouth twitched.

"You took that a lot better than the first time."

"The first time?"

"I’ve never seen more pitiful fighting. Both of you were ridiculous. The hair pulling." He started laughing, the kind that built from the chest. "Forty-five seconds of actual combat. Five full minutes of screaming insults."

Serena shoved him hard. But he barely moved, which annoyed her.

"I would have won if you and Dexmon hadn’t intervened."

Garrett started laughing harder.

"Neither of you would’ve. You would’ve pulled each other’s hair until the other one passed out."

"That did hurt," Serena admitted.

Garrett was still grinning. Serena fought the pull at the corner of her own mouth and lost.

The silence that followed was warmer.

"Are you going to tell me why you were meeting Tiberon and Dexmon in the War Room?" she asked.

The grin died. Garrett’s face rearranged itself into something careful. "Debriefing after the battle."

"Gare, you are the worst liar," Serena said.

"I’m an excellent liar."

"You are catastrophically bad at it."

"Fair." He exhaled through his nose. "Alright, I’ll be frank with you. I can’t tell you."

She searched his face for any crack, any give. There was none. Whatever it was, he’d made his decision, and Garrett Darkhowler didn’t unmake decisions.

Serena sighed, all the fight drained out of her. She pulled her knees to her chest, pressing her chin against them.

"Gare..."

"Yes."

Her face flushed red. The words sat in her throat like glass, every one of them sharp on the way out. She didn’t want to need to ask this. She felt guilt for even thinking of it. But she needed closure.

"Shadowclaw..." She swallowed. "He left without saying goodbye."

Garrett went very still.

"Did he say anything?"

"No," Garrett said immediately.

"I can tell you’re lying again."

He didn’t respond.

Her voice cracked. "It’s just ... we were getting close. He didn’t say goodbye." She shook her head, pressing her lips together until the trembling stopped. "Agnes is right. I am not the sharpest crayon when it comes to the opposite sex."

Garrett laughed. Short, surprised, genuine. "So that’s where the crayon comment came from on your side. I was wondering."

"He marked me three times, Gare." Serena’s face went redder. "I didn’t remember it then ... but I remember it now. But he didn’t say goodbye." She sighed. "Maybe that tells me everything I need to know."

He shook his head, still smiling, but the smile had something sad underneath it. Something careful. "First off, don’t ever tell me that you were marked by someone ever again. I do not need that image. And Second, are you and Dex patching things up?"

Velkaris opened one eye.

Serena and Garrett both saw it.

The dragon shut it immediately, pressing his chin flatter against his legs, the very picture of a creature who was absolutely, definitely, without question asleep and not eavesdropping.

Serena stared at him. Garrett stared at him.

"Yes," Serena said, still looking at the dragon. "We’re working on it."

"Do you love Dex?"

"Yes," she answered with no hesitation. The word left her mouth before the question finished landing. "I do. What happened wasn’t his fault. It was just ... emotional whiplash."

"I’ll say."

Garrett leaned back against Velkaris’s flank, crossing his arms. He looked at her for a long moment with something she couldn’t read, something between approval and grief. Then he looked away. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"For what it’s worth, Finnick Shadowclaw doesn’t do anything without a reason. Including leaving."

He held up a hand before she could ask.

"That’s all you’re getting."