The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 392

Chapter 392: Elephant? What Elephant?

Fighting with blades and wolves when she had perfectly good magic was fucking stupid.

Unfortunately, no one had asked Serena for her extremely correct, highly logical, and deeply unappreciated opinion on the matter.

Two training captains stepped forward.

First up: Captain Calder from Drakenfell who Serena knew well. He was part of the Draken Forces and the Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame.

Second: Captain Thane from Shadowclaw. He had given Serena one blade lesson a few days ago, only to announce to Fin that she fought like a rogue like she wasn’t standing right there.

Damn straight I do.

One from each pack to cover ’blind spots.’ Everyone knew that was complete bullshit. It had nothing to do with training and everything to do with the giant elephant in the room: one girl mated to two Alphas. The attempt at balance did absolutely nothing to ease the thick tension humming through the arena.

Captain Thane approached first, his expression warm and full of deference, clearly honored to be training the Alpha’s mate.

Aurelia: That wasn’t the face he made when he told Fin we fight like a street animal.

Serena: He said rogue.

Aurelia: Same thing. It’s rude. Let’s set him on fire.

Serena: You’ve mentioned that. Several times.

"Luna," Thane greeted.

The word Luna landed on the arena the way a stone lands on still water.

Every person in the arena heard it. Nobody reacted to the word.

A Shadowclaw captain had addressed Serena with the title reserved for the Luna Queen, and the address was casual, practiced, carrying the comfort of a word that had been used inside Shadowclaw’s walls long enough to lose its novelty.

Emotions from both of her mates crashed through the twin matebonds like a tsunami.

Fin’s was pure pride and uncontainable joy.

Dexmon’s was jealousy and territorial rage in the purest form. Just an Alpha hearing another pack claim his goddamn mate, rolling off the captain’s tongue with an ease that suggested this was old news, because inside Fin’s inner circle it apparently was.

Underneath that, was hurt. Like Serena had been hiding this from him. She had just found out herself.

Serena blinked, swallowing thickly.

She wasn’t listening to Thane at all anymore. Thane, completely unaware, kept talking like he hadn’t just lit a fuse on a very jealous bomb.

Serena: Gods, Dex is so upset right now.

Aurelia: Control the face. Don’t get emotional. We play their game, we swing their stick, we smile, and then they stop hovering and we get to run in the woods where nobody makes us hold things.

Serena: You really hate the sword.

Aurelia: The sword is a personal offense to everything we are.

Aurelia: I like Elara.

Serena: Everyone likes Elara.

Aurelia: She lies well. I respect that in a human.

"Understood." Thane pulled a small leather pouch from his belt and opened it. "So you are unaware when you are in wolf form and cannot shift on command. Prolonged silver poisoning before a first shift will do that. We will use reinforcement conditioning to build the association between the shift and positive stimulus." He pulled a strip of dried chicken from the pouch. "Wolves respond well to chicken."

Aurelia: CHICKEN.

Aurelia’s voice hit Serena’s skull at maximum volume.

Aurelia: He is going to wave CHICKEN at me like I am a puppy in Obedience school. The Luna of Shadowclaw and Crown Princess of Drakenfell’s wolf! Moon Goddess’s favorite! I am outraged and disrespected.

Serena kept a straight face that required every ounce of composure because Aurelia continued for one minute straight.

Aurelia: He wants a bitch? I’ll be one. I will BITE him. I will shift right now and BITE him, and then I will eat the chicken because it does smell good, but the biting will come FIRST, and I want that to be clear. The biting is a CHOICE. The eating is INCIDENTAL.

Two minutes, actually. Aurelia was on a roll.

Aurelia: And this man. This stick-swinging, rogue-calling, chicken-carrying man wants to CONDITION me. With POULTRY.

Make that three straight minutes of uninterrupted wolf outrage delivered at a pitch and intensity that would have been impressive if it weren’t happening inside Serena’s skull.

Serena: Aurelia. I need you to stop talking so I can hear what he is saying.

Aurelia: I will stop talking when the chicken is removed from my presence. REMOVE IT. NOW.