The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate

He was supposed to be taking Onyx potty and getting him a fresh bottle so Elara could come into the war room.

"By himself?" they asked in unison, both already on their feet.

Serena and Elara were already moving towards the door. Both shot Gav a look of pure annoyance. He said he’d take care of Onyx.

Dex and Hale felt it immediately, their mates’ frustration bleeding through their matebonds like a low current of heat.

Dex:She is misinformed.

Serena’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t argue.

They sat. Neither of them looked happy about it.

"Next item on the agenda. You’re caught up on the administrative side. Now, you need to be caught up on protocol punishments."

Serena went very still, eyes widening.

"I was given a summary before I left," Dex said carefully. "Serena went against a direct order during the battle on the wall. I’m aware."

Dex frowned. "How long of a while?"

"Shall I, or would you prefer to deliver this yourself?"

That answer alone made Dex uneasy.

Dex:Neither do I.

In the span of ten minutes, Dex’s jaw had dropped several times and he almost shifted on the spot. Serena reported to him as part of the Draken Forces. But more importantly, she was his mate.

Hale’s head came up at the mentioning of Elara’s name.

Dex’s eyes moved to Serena. She was looking at her hands.

Serena and Elara glanced at one another, neither going to throw Aeron under the bus. So they stayed quiet. Sure. They made a portal. They’ll go with that.

"Without authorization," Tiberon confirmed. "They infiltrated enemy territory."

Dex’s jaw tightened.

Gav made a noise.

"Pillows," Dex repeated.

"Elara attempted a high-ground strategy by mounting his bed," he added.

"It did not work," Tiberon said. "He resumed pursuit. During the chase, they were cornered near a weapons rack."

Tiberon paused. Not for effect. For endurance.

Dex blinked.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"The head landed in Serena’s lap," Elara added helpfully. "She screamed for two minutes."

"I didn’t say I wasn’t."

Hale had his forehead back in his hands.

"Delivered is generous," Elara said. "Serena kicked it."

"You kicked a severed head into the arms of the High General," Tiberon repeated, the same way he had said it the first time, with the patience of a man who had been forced to say this sentence more than once and would never forgive the universe for it. "Accidentally. With perfect aim."

No words came out.

Gav lost the battle. A wheeze escaped his chest, high and strangled, and he pressed both hands over his mouth.

Dex’s expression flatlined.

"She what."

Dex sat perfectly still in his chair. His face had passed through several stages: shock, disbelief, horror, fury, more disbelief, and had finally settled on the expression of a man whose soul had physically departed his body and was currently hovering somewhere near the ceiling.

"Six hours for the first. Two hours for the second." She swallowed. "Twenty four hours total I was gone. If that’s against protocol, then I respectfully request the orders given to me be reevaluated."

Silence. Nobody talks back to Tiberon Drakenfell. But Serena just did and she held his gaze. No regrets. She meant every word.

"Yes," Tiberon said, cutting Dex off. "Which is why you weren’t given consequences for the throne rooms. Your commander, however, still needs to be made aware."

Dex didn’t react. The library was the literal last thing he gave any fucks about.

Serena exhaled, already wanting to go back to Shadowclaw. There was no universe where she’d be doing that punishment. At least that’s what she told herself. She saved their lives. She was here to see Dex and only Dex, because she missed him.

She shook her head once. No.

Tiberon closed the folder.

After he left, and the door closed, nobody moved.

"A decorative axe," he wheezed. "That got me last time you two got chewed out and it got me again."

Dex stood, and pulled Serena’s chair out from the table. She looked up at him, waiting.

Then he picked her up off the chair and threw her over his shoulder.

"Dex, put me down."

Hale stood and looked at Elara.

Hale thought about it.

"HALE."

The four of them disappeared down the corridor: two men carrying two women who had, in their absence, committed acts of war, assault, international diplomacy, decapitation by home décor, and a complete reorganization of the national archive system.