The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate-Chapter 100: Kill The Bond Or Kill The Bitch

Serena’s ribs screamed every time she inhaled. Her knuckles had split open again, blood smearing against the cloth wrapped around them, and her cheek throbbed where Agnes’s ring had caught bone.

Was it worth it?

Every single second.

She sat in Garrett’s tent, waiting for him to step back through the portal. She’d already told Tiberon she’d apologize.

"What are you thinking?" Elara asked, watching her carefully.

"I’m not going to make that decision on my own." Serena’s voice was firm.

"Then let’s stop pretending we’re not all thinking the same thing." Elara straightened. "Cards on the table. Everyone. If someone held a blade to your throat—" She paused, glancing at Serena’s neck. "Too soon. Sorry. But if they did, what would you say?"

Serena didn’t hesitate. "Break it."

Hale exhaled slowly. "Break."

Dexmon crossed his arms, jaw tight, knuckles white. "She deserves the guillotine if it were up to me."

No one disagreed.

"Right then." Elara nodded. "I agree. Break. But it’s still up to Garrett."

A portal opened and Garrett stepped through. His eyes went straight to Serena.

"I am sorry I got into a fight with your fated mate," Serena said immediately, voice even. "And for calling her a felon."

Garrett studied her before answering. His expression fluctuated between disbelief and disappointment. "I’ve never seen you do that. And I’ve seen you both get into some trouble growing up."

Serena swallowed down guilt. She felt bad that this affected Garrett. Not about what she did to Agnes.

"Serena, I..." he cut himself off, clearly weighing whether this should be said in front of an audience.

"I know, Gare..." Serena answered his unspoken thought. She knew what he was thinking. She knew she wasn’t herself. Yes, that was out of character. She’d never been pushed to that point of a fist fight. And she felt no remorse for it.

Garrett’s face went from pained to concerned, then to resigned. "Did she start it?"

"No. I did. She apologized and listed out what she did wrong. With some Agnes-style undercut comments."

Serena’s face gave nothing away.

"Did she really shave her omegas’ heads and cut up dolls?" Garrett asked after a minute.

"Yes," Serena and Elara answered at the same time.

"She really thought you were trying to seduce Dexmon when it started..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head. "It got out of hand. But that’s no excuse."

"I wasn’t," Serena said forcefully, and the edge in her voice had nothing to do with Agnes. "I hadn’t spoken with Dexmon more than a few times."

Pain flickered across Dexmon’s face before he locked it down. She’d already moved away from him, sitting by Elara, and she wouldn’t look at him.

"But this is about you," Serena continued. "Not anyone else. You and her. You can feel her through your matebond. I can’t."

"Right..." He searched Serena’s face. She knew what he wanted.

She took a deep breath, really not wanting to be the person to do this. "I believe her that she cares for you. What she did is insane. Her father’s under arrest. Her alternative is to return to Drakenfell and face trial or take a throne." Serena didn’t soften her words. "From my vantage point, that’s all she’s ever been after."

Her words were cold. Not like her.

Garrett blinked. Twice. Like she’d slapped him with her voice instead of her fists.

"Damn," Garrett said shaking his head. "I’ve also never heard you sound like your father." He exhaled. "Assuming the decision is to break, then."

Serena’s throat burned. "No. I want to tell you to break it. But once you do that..." She met his eyes, and something raw passed between them. Two people who had already lost too much. "I think you should sleep on it." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Serena." Garrett’s voice cracked. Actually cracked. The sound of it hit Serena somewhere deep. "My wolf is trying to mark her constantly. Every second. I don’t think you understand what that’s like. Fighting your own instincts every moment of every day."

Serena understood more than he knew. She’d been fighting her own instincts since the moment she saw Dex with Agnes. Fighting the pull to turn to him for comfort and then remembering he was the reason she needed it.

"I understand, Gare. It’s not easy. Survive one more night, think on it, and decide tomorrow."

Garrett moved over and ruffled her hair. She smacked his hand away. "Boundaries."

"You being crabby is hilarious," Garrett started laughing. "I mean gods."

"I disagree. Don’t take the night. Break it," Elara said from next to Serena. No hesitation now. "Serena punched her. Serena Frostborne. Not a mean bone in her body. Take that at face value."

"I’m leaning towards breaking it. It’s not worth it."

"If you break it, then she stands trial at Drakenfell. We let her off as a courtesy to you," Hale cut in. "That courtesy ends the moment the matebond does."

The implication hung in the air. Agnes would face judgment. Real judgment. The kind that ended with blood.

Garrett’s jaw locked so tight a muscle jumped in his cheek. "I understand." He looked at Serena, and something shifted in his expression. Something urgent. "I need a word alone with you."

"No, you don’t," Dex jumped in the conversation. "She’s had enough for one day."

Serena turned and looked at Dexmon like he’d spoken in a language she no longer understood.

Elara had an identical expression on her face.

The audacity. The sheer, breathtaking audacity of him thinking he had any right to speak for her.

Serena moved her attention back to Garrett, deliberately turning her body away from Dex. "Can Elara stay?"

Garrett seemed to be torn about something. His eyes flickered to Dex, then back to Serena. "Yes," he finally answered.

"We will meet you back at our tent," Elara announced to Hale. Her tone left no room for argument.

Neither Hale nor Dexmon moved.

"Why do you need Serena?" Hale asked after a tense moment, not making eye contact with Serena. His voice was careful. The voice of a Beta who sensed something wrong but couldn’t name it.

Garrett’s jaw ticked. "That is between her and me."

Elara turned to Hale, searching his face. Something passed between them. A conversation without words.

Dexmon was fuming. His wolf was clawing at his insides, howling, demanding he grab Serena and carry her out of here. Away from Garrett. Away from all of them.

But worse than the fury was what he felt through the matebond.

She didn’t trust him and she didn’t want anything to do with him.

Every time she looked away from him, it was deliberate. Every time she spoke to someone else instead, it was a choice. She was erasing him from the room with her silence, and it was working.

"Serena." Dex stated her name like it was the only thing keeping him tethered. His voice was forced calm. The kind that came before something broke. "I don’t like it. No. I’m not leaving you here."

No one moved.

The silence stretched, tight as a wire about to snap.

Hale’s jaw tightened. "We are in the middle of a War Summit. Agnes is tied to Darkhowler, and we all saw what she’s capable of. I’m not leaving either of you alone here."

Reasonable. Logical. The voice of duty.

Serena and Elara glanced at each other, a lifetime of communication passing in a single look, then Serena looked back at Garrett.

"Can we move to Hale’s tent?"

"Yes," Garrett agreed.

Serena and Elara looked at Hale. Dex might as well have been furniture.

Hale studied Serena for ten seconds, as if some silent communication were going on between them that Dex wasn’t privy to.

He finally gave a reluctant nod. "I’ll be nearby."

Again, as if Dexmon wasn’t there. As if he didn’t exist. As if he hadn’t just heard the woman he loved choose everyone in the room over him.

✦✦✦

Dexmon couldn’t feel his hands. He’d been clenching his fists so long the blood had left them.

Garrett, Serena, and Elara were in Hale’s tent. He and Hale stood nearby, neither pleased.

"Serena is sleeping in our tent tonight. Elara already told her she could, and her stuff was moved," Hale said."In our spare bedroom."

Dexmon didn’t answer at first. So much had changed, and none of it was in his control. His wolf was demanding he go to her, hold her, fix this.

His hand ran through his hair.

Aegon: Go in there. Pick up mate. Carry mate to our tent. We hold her all night.

Hale spoke again. "Look, you weren’t yourself. It wasn’t your fault. Hearing it directly from Agnes helped me understand. But she’s upset. And Shadowclaw marking her certainly doesn’t help. He took care of her, saved her life, and is offering full military and open borders."

Dex’s head snapped to Hale.

Hale raised both of his hands. "I don’t want her to go there. But she was planning on annulling things with you and giving back the crown tomorrow. She wanted to after she broke the matebond, but she had a job to do here."

Dex’s chest cracked open at the words. Annulling. Giving back the crown. Like he was something to be returned. Like what they had was a transaction she regretted.

Hale clapped him on the back.

"Just give her the night to untangle everything. Elara and her both. Maybe see if Gav will talk with her for you. She trusts him."