The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate-Chapter 91: Daddy Issues? Acknowledged.

As soon as they stepped through the tent flap, Serena spotted Dex. Her stomach dropped. Of course he was here. Why wouldn’t he be?

She counted only ten teams present. The kind of setup that meant high risk and no margin.

She let out a breath as they approached.

All of them got down on one knee even with the ground soaking wet from the rain. Dex delayed. He must have missed the memo. But then he remembered she was the Draken Prime.

Serena had been expecting it, but she still hated it.

Fin looked at her with curiosity, his lips twitching. She didn’t like power, yet she drew it like a magnet. Most rulers had the opposite problem.

One of the many things he wanted to understand better about her.

He realized he had been staring a moment too long when she met his gaze. She held it briefly, then looked away first, already moving past him.

Gav glanced up, catching the exchange. He knew that look. That was the same look she gave Dex the day she started shadowing him. The one Gav saw and pretended not to. The one he cataloged because that’s what you did when you loved someone who didn’t know you were paying attention.

She stopped in front of King Tiberon, who remained on one knee, and said, "Thank you. Truly." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Tiberon met her eyes, nodded once, and rose without ceremony. The rest followed immediately, already shifting back into motion.

The moment passed cleanly.

Exactly as it should have.

Noticing that every dragon team was grouped together, Serena moved beside Dexmon.

"We have intelligence they’re bringing a fleet as large as they did in Drakenfell," King Tiberon announced, eyes on her. "Possibly larger. Can you feel them?"

Serena swallowed and took a moment, reaching outward, steadying herself as she counted. "Yes. Ten fire. Ten water. Three ice. Five storm."

Hale let out a low whistle.

"E.T.A.?" Tiberon asked.

"Fifteen minutes to engagement range," she answered. "From the forest line."

Tiberon turned, his gaze cutting across the assembled teams.

"You are here because you are the best," he stated flatly. "That is the only reason."

"You will not fail. Rotation on injury is mandatory and immediate. This engagement will be sustained, and it will be ugly."

Every rider there understood exactly what he meant.

Everyone except Dex, who was still stitching the pieces together.

Tiberon’s voice hardened further. "Arrow formation on every pass. Velkaris takes point."

"Every other dragon team remains the same. Kronk, starboard wing, echelon right. Solara, port wing, echelon left. Zenith, rear guard, high cover."

He turned to Serena.

"No shielding unless critical," he said. "You hold. They fire. You break only on my call."

"Understood," she replied.

"Arrow formation climbs above the weather," King Tiberon continued. "Kronk, Solara, and Zenith, you do not exist until I say you do. Velkaris advances alone on the fire dragons. Dex will force a ground engagement."

His gaze lifted to Fin and Garrett, already moving the board forward.

Fin spoke. "Shadowclaw and Darkhowler forces are stationed and prepared."

King Tiberon gave a nod, then his eyes went back to Serena. "Shield on impact from arrows. Then turn it off."

"Understood."

His words were cold. She wasn’t offended. He was right, and she had shielded a few times on accident the other night.

"Spotters are the primary target," King Tiberon stated. "Riders are secondary. Same protocol as the other night."

His gaze cut to Serena. "You will call lock and fire."

"She does not miss," King Tiberon added flatly. "If you do, that miss is yours."

"Oh, we’re aware," Gav remarked.

A couple of riders snorted.

Tiberon turned his head.

The sound died instantly.

"Alpha," Gav corrected, expression snapping to neutral.

Tiberon held his gaze a half-second longer than necessary. "Good. Then stay alive."

"Second arrows fire immediately," King Tiberon continued. "Third arrows are held in reserve."

His eyes cut across them. "Shoot only with positive confirmation. No guessing. No fishing."

"Reset and repeat."

He turned slightly. "Velkaris."

"Acknowledged," Serena answered instantly.

Dex didn’t answer.

None of this sat right with him. He didn’t like the plan, didn’t like being sidelined, didn’t like that Serena was apparently the lynch pin to this whole thing and she’s ridden Velkaris less than five times.

She shouldn’t be in this at all. Let alone flying point. None of this was right.

But command had been transferred, and that made it not his call.

Tiberon waited.

The silence stretched.

"Acknowledged," Dex finally replied, tight but clear.

"Kronk."

"Acknowledged."

"Solara."

"Acknowledged."

"Zenith."

"Acknowledged."

Tiberon scanned them one last time, voice low and absolute.

"Execute."

✦✦✦

Serena followed Dex down toward Velkaris, Hale falling in step behind her.

"That lake is in my top three dragon stories, Serena," Hale said as they moved.

Serena grinned and shook her head.

"Same," Taren called from behind them.

"They shock-proofed the area for tonight," Hale continued. "Every single healer ended up concussed."

"Alaric said Serena went flying," Taren added. "Hit the water hard. Then about a second later, Hale does the exact same thing and lands right on top of her."

"Ten out of ten," Serena said dryly. "Highly recommend."

Everyone laughed.

Everyone except Dexmon.

"All I remember," Hale admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, "is opening my eyes and thinking I’m about to get a kiss from Elara."

He grimaced. "Instead, I see Shadowclaw."

"He dove into the lake concussed to get you, Serena," Gav added, "but somehow managed to grab Hale instead."

More laughter.

"And then," Taren said, "he flipped all of us over like sacks of grain so we could breathe."

"Wrong girl," Gav quipped. "Excellent technique."

The laughter followed them all the way to Velkaris.

Gav laughed with the rest of them. Loud. Easy. Perfectly timed.

He’d been the one to carry her when she was unconscious and poisoned. The one who held her while she cried after breaking the matebond. The one she turned to first, when the world caved in.

Shadowclaw dove into a lake and they turned it into legend.

He kept laughing and joking. It was a talent.

Dex didn’t join in. His wolf surged every time Shadowclaw’s name was mention. He walked a step ahead, jaw tight, every joke landing wrong. The weight of what had almost happened settled heavier with every step.

Velkaris shot Dexmon a look that clearly said ’are you seriously pouting right now?’ He was. He absolutely was.

He then nuzzled Serena. She couldn’t help but laugh. "I missed you too."

It made Dex grin.

He wanted to talk to her. But Serena seemed to be looking everywhere except at him.

She got on Velkaris, jumping in one swift motion before he even thought to mount. So he wouldn’t help her or touch her. That was pretty clear.

He wanted to mindlink, but he’d learned the cuffs made that not private. This was killing Dex.

Velkaris huffed, seeming to understand and absolutely agreeing. Fix this now.

She pretended to be scanning the horizon for dragons, but she was actually avoiding him like the plague. Very intently with laser focus.

Those clouds weren’t going to watch themselves.

Velkaris launched. Dex could feel Serena’s emotions through their matebond, and he shook his head with a small smile at the lack of fear she had. She was such a natural at this and she had no idea.

It was pouring. Lightning split the sky in jagged forks. Hail pelted them sideways relentlessly, storm dragons already manipulating the weather.

They flew into an arrow formation above the clouds. Velkaris lowered alone. The dragons were staggered.

Serena’s eyes flashed gold. Gold pairs of eyes flashed back at random spaces throughout the storm.

"Ground. Basalt ridgeline," Dex commanded.

Arrows flew. And that’s when Dex’s night took a turn for the worst. That was only the tip of the iceberg.

A gold orb went around Velkaris. The shield cracked on impact. And Serena didn’t seem at all alarmed.

Velkaris did a Truebond Veil. Something Dex had never done. Velkaris did it with both Serena and him on his back. And Serena didn’t seem alarmed by that in the slightest.

Aegon: The other night Tiberon told her twice. She was reprimanded on the third time for not.

Dex: You’re joking.

Aegon: No. She was also alone on Velkaris. We were grounded. Tiberon agreed to let you spot for him first, before her.

All of that made Dex’s stomach churn and jaw clench. She did this alone without any training and his father had the audacity to reprimand her? No. None of that would have happened on his watch.

Aegon: The rest is fuzzy still. I lost consciousness before we were airborne and woke up when you drank her blood.

Dex: And she thought this entire time, that I chose Agnes. Why the fuck did no one tell her?

His eyes flared gold, Aegon wanting to surface in fury. Dex swallowed him down, forcing himself calm.

Dex: Get ahold of yourself.

The arrowhead formation reformed just as Tiberon’s voice sounded.

King Tiberon: Status.

Dex: Velkaris recovered. Fire and ice grounded at basalt ridgeline.

The dragons dropped into the clouds, and the world became hell.

Wind screamed from every direction. Rain fell sideways, then upward, then in spirals that defied physics. Lightning turned the clouds into strobe-lit violence. Thunder cracked close and hail fell size of fists.

Visibility dropped to nothing. It was the worse Dex had ever seen.

Serena stood on Velkaris’s back. Silas, Taren, and Lunaris all looked toward her.

She motioned toward three directions and mindlinked so they understood.

Serena: Storm dragons.

They oriented themselves to her directions, scanning. They knew that meant double spotters per dragon.

She pointed herself to a fourth storm dragon.

Dex felt his Hidden Flame mark go freezing cold.

That was new.

Serena: Lock.

Silas: Lock.

Lunaris: Lock.

Taren: Lock.

Serena: Fire.

First arrows fired.

Four bullseyes onto spotters.

Second arrows fired.

Four more bullseyes on spotters.

The first flash of light happened just as Serena fired her third arrow.

Bullseye.

Gold orb shields went up.

It didn’t matter. Dex wasn’t prepared. Whatsoever.

Shockwaves and flashes hit one after the other in a relentless chain. Her gold orbs shattered, each one larger than the last, accounting for the spread of the blasts. Even with those, they all went flying. She wouldn’t be fast enough to do individual shields, but she could do massive ones.

Parachutes deployed.

Meanwhile, Serena fired a fourth arrow while free falling.

Bullseye.