The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate

The portal had been closed for four seconds and Fin was already staring at the wall where it had been.

Xeon:You’re staring at a wall.

Fin:I’m thinking.

Xeon:You miss her.

Fin turned, jaw tight, and moved towards his study.

Work. Structure. Routine. The three things Fin Shadowclaw used to survive emotions he didn’t like. He sat behind his desk, pulled the first report, and started reading.

Xeon:Assign this to your Beta and Gamma. Go check on her.

The first spike came at nine.

A lance of pain through his left shoulder that made his pen drag across the page. Fin straightened, hand going to the spot instinctively, and breathed through it.

It was going to be a long day. They were already putting her through it.

He went back to the report.

✦✦✦

By ten, he’d cleared his entire desk.

Days of work done in a few hours because sitting still was not an option and productivity was the only socially acceptable form of panic.

Approved three trade routes. Denied a border request. Reassigned two patrol units and written a letter to the Thornvale regent that he’d been avoiding for a month.

He moved into meetings, and was mid-sentence with his Beta and Gamma when another spike hit his ribs. His words stopped. His Beta glanced at his Gamma.

He exhaled, slow, through his nose, and picked up where he left off as if his mate hadn’t just taken a blow hard enough to make his vision swim.

Xeon:She is being hurt.

Fin:She’s training.

Xeon:Training should not feel like this.

He was right. This was past normal exertion. The rhythm had changed. What had been steady, controlled effort had shifted into something sharper. Irregular. The cadence of a body being pushed past its design limits by someone who didn’t care where the line was.

Fin stood in middle of the meeting. Sat back down. Stood again.

Everyone was watching him. His Beta and Gamma exchanged a look that communicated volumes. The look said: he’s doing the thing again.

He didn’t notice.

Xeon:She just fell off a dragon.

Fin:You are not helping.

After the meeting ended, when he was back in his study, pain lanced on his forearm. It was strong enough that his vision whited at the edges. He sucked air through his teeth and pressed his palm flat against the desk.

Xeon:Portal. Now.

Fin:No.

Xeon:She is in pain. We carry her home and never let her leave again.

Fin:That is not a plan.

Xeon:It is the only plan.

He was pacing in his study. The reports were abandoned, the trade dispute forgotten. Their matebond was a live wire now, every sensation arriving amplified and unfiltered. Her pain, her exhaustion, the grinding determination underneath both that said she was not going to stop no matter what it cost her.

That was the worst part. He knew she wouldn’t stop. She never stopped. She’d crawl before she’d quit, and he knew because he’d watched her do exactly that.

No. He was done.

"Aeron."

His Master Mage appeared in the doorway within thirty seconds, which meant he’d been close. Which meant he’d anticipated this.

"Don’t," Aeron said.

"I wasn’t going to say anything."

"You were going to ask me for a portal to Drakenfell."

Fin’s silence confirmed it. He pressed both palms flat against his desk, head bowed, breathing controlled.

Another spike. This one was blunt, a blow to the stomach, and Fin’s abs contracted involuntarily.

"That one was bad," he gritted out, shooting Aeron a look that would have made lesser men reconsider their career choices.

Aeron, to his credit, did not flinch. "Give her until noon. If it gets worse, we reassess."

It got worse.

Of course it did. Because nothing involving Serena Frostborne had ever, in the entire history of Fin knowing her, been easy.

By eleven, the matebond was delivering a constant low-grade burn that sat in his muscles like acid.

By twelve-thirty, his hands were shaking from the effort of keeping his wolf down. Every cell in his body screamed at him to move.

He went to the yard to clear his head, and run drills with his elite unit. Blade work. Controlled, precise, the kind of repetition that usually quieted his mind.

Another jab of pain hit mid-strike on his left side. It was deep, his blade swung wide and his sparring partner barely ducked in time.

The yard went silent.

Fin straightened. Reset his stance. "Again."

His sparring partner, to his enormous credit, did not ask questions. He did, however, take a significantly larger step backward before resetting his stance.

✦✦✦

Aeron carried Onyx to Fin’s study at three forty-five. He froze as soon as he opened the door. Fin looked worse than what he imagined.

He’d imagined a little rough, irritated. What he got was a man who’d been at war for over eight hours and was ready to punch a hole in the wall.

"Don’t tell me to wait," Fin gritted. His eyes were solid molten gold and his voice was no longer singular.

"Hyran just contacted me. Training’s done. She’s moved to magical practice with him."

Fin’s jaw loosened. Marginally.

The pain through the matebond shifted. The physical ache receded, replaced by the quiet intensity of Serena directing magic under pressure.

He sat back down. Picked up his pen. His hand was still shaking.

Onyx curled up on his lap, blinking up at him.

Xeon:When she returns, we do not let go of her.

Fin:Done.

Xeon:For all day tomorrow. Minimum.

Fin:Agreed.

Xeon:Two days.

Fin:Don’t push it.

The pen touched paper. He managed half a sentence before the burning started. Like his own energy was being sucked from him. But it was hers.

Xeon:That doesn’t feel right to me. Not normal. I’ve been in enough Alphas to say that.

He set the pen down and stood, forgetting Onyx was there.

The dragon was ready, latching his tail around Fin’s torso and claws in his shirt just in time.

Fin didn’t notice.

"Aeron."

Aeron appeared. Again, within thirty seconds. Again, too close to the door.

"Portal."

"Fin."

"Now."

"She’s with Hyran. It’s magical training. You cannot help with that."

Fin stared at him.

Aeron held the stare.

"Make the portal," Fin said, voice low. "I’m going to get her."

"You aren’t."

"I am."

"She can handle it. You know she can. The question is whether you can."

✦✦✦

Fin’s fists were clenched so tight his knuckles had gone white. Every muscle in his body was coiled, the posture of a man one word away from overruling his most trusted advisor and walking through a portal regardless of consequences.

He’d already delegated the rest of his tasks, unable to work.

Xeon:When her wolf heals, we will need to teach her how to block it. That’s the only way—

Fin:No. I’m not going to do that. If she’s in pain, I need to know.

Then the matebond shifted.

A portal formed in the center of his study. Serena stepped through it.

She looked like she’d been through a war and lost negotiations with the winning side. Her hair was pulled back, loose strands stuck to her temples. A bruise blooming along her jaw.

Her eyes found his immediately.

"Serena." Her name fell out of him.

Onyx made a noise, launching himself off of Fin, onto Serena, with the manic energy of a baby dragon who had zero intention of sharing her.

Fin crossed the study in three strides and pulled her into his arms, Onyx in between them.

The tension drained out of her like someone had cut a wire. She breathed him in and the relief that poured through their matebond was so enormous it made his chest ache.

He held her, chin resting on top of her head, and he breathed for the first time since she left.

Xeon:Do not let go. Ever.

Fin:I wasn’t planning on it.

The portal snapped shut behind her.

He led her to an armchair, pulling her into his lap, Onyx latched onto her and on her lap.

He peppered her with kisses, making her laugh. But something was on her mind, he could feel it.

"Tell me, baby. What is it?"

Her eyes widened, then a smile tugged at her lips. "You are really good at that."

"That’s because you’re mine." He pressed his forehead to hers. "Is it about Viremont?"

Serena shook her head. "No. It’s about Maelor."

She swallowed. "He saved my life and Hyran trusts him. When I use my Fae magic around him, I keep hearing whispers."

Her cheeks heated because telling someone you hear whispers is never a normal thing.

"What are the whispers saying?"

"That Maelor is a traitor and I shouldn’t trust him." Serena took a steadying breath.

"The verdict is still out on Maelor then," Fin said after a moment.

Serena blinked. He just took what she’d said to heart, without questioning it or saying she needed to see a doctor.

"Serena. You could tell me the walls were talking and I’d interrogate every stone in this castle before I told you you were imagining things," he said. "With Maelor, what do you think?"

Again, Serena was taken aback with how this conversation was going.

"I think I’m not the person to ask. I lumped every Fae on the continent of Orosia in the same bucket and realized in the second kingdom that they were not all bad. And the amount of times I’ve been told Fae are known for tricks is comical."

"You aren’t giving yourself enough credit, Serena. Most wouldn’t admit that. The fact you have, means you should trust your instincts."

Serena opened her mouth. Then closed it. That easy. To tell him that, and have him take it at face value.

He kissed her forehead. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too."

Fin held her tighter, and made a mental note to have a conversation with Aeron about Maelor Vantheos that Serena would never know about.