Serena woke to the sun hitting her face. Dex had his head in his hands leaning on the window.
"Dex?" Serena asked.
He looked up sharply and crossed the room in two strides.
"Thank gods."
He started kissing her face everywhere, and she pulled him down on top of her. She could feel his emotions through their matebond. The first time really she'd been able to with this degree of clarity.
He was upset, guilt-ridden, and afraid.
"Hey… it's okay," she said, giving him a kiss, while she surged calm into him through their matebond.
He jolted in surprise and went still.
"What is wrong?" she asked, brushing his hair back with her fingers.
He swallowed. The touch lingered, slow and gentle, and it felt entirely too good.
"My wolf marked you again," he said quietly. "I am sorry."
Serena's face flushed at that. They were having sex. Dex felt it and then laughed despite being upset.
"Oh, now you are shy?" he teased. "You were not a few hours ago."
"Dex," Serena said, scandalized, shoving him back. He let her. She flipped them easily until he was on his back and she was straddling him.
She glanced down and froze.
She was wearing a silk chemise.
Her eyes flicked back up to his.
"You act like we haven't done this song and dance before," he said grinning, entirely too pleased with himself.
Serena stared at him for half a second, unimpressed, then grabbed a pillow and tried to throw it at him.
Dex caught it easily and used the momentum to roll them, flipping her onto her back in one smooth movement.
She screamed high-pitched surprised, and then they both burst into laughter.
He kissed her again, softer this time, then pulled back. The humor faded from his face, replaced by real concern.
"Are you alright?" he said. "I have never heard of someone being marked twice. You were out for half a day."
"I'm fine," Serena said grinning.
That didn't make Dex feel any better.
Serena gave him a quick kiss on the lips, surprising him.
"When my wolf spoke to me in my dream, she said your venom was helping me fight off the silver poisoning."
Dex grinned, unable to stop it. The expression was boyish and ridiculous, pure pride like he had personally wrestled the problem into submission.
It made Serena laugh.
"Do not let that go to your head," she warned.
He lifted a brow, smug and unapologetic.
"Too late," Dex said. "I am already telling my wolf he is a medical miracle."
Serena looked down, the memory of the burn on her arm surfacing sharp and sudden. Her brow furrowed as she thought.
The library. She needed to go there. The certainty settled deep in her core, heavy and insistent.
She slipped off him without a word and stepped away from the bed.
"What do you need?" Dex asked.
She jumped, realizing he had been watching her the entire time. Heat rushed to her face as another thought followed right on its heels. He had given her clothes every time she changed. Or changed her himself while she was unconscious.
Gods. That was mortifying.
She felt like she was overstepping. It was irrational and she knew it was, but the unease still curled in her stomach at the idea of going into his closet in his quarters.
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head once.
Dex did not buy it for a second.
He grabbed a pillow and hurled it at her with enough force that it smacked her square in the side and knocked her right out of her spiral. She startled, then laughed despite herself.
"You are the worst liar in all of Drakenfell," he said, already moving.
A second later he tackled her gently back onto the bed, pinning her beneath him, the tension shattered cleanly by his grin and her inability to stay serious around him for more than five seconds.
✦✦✦
Dex still had not mentioned the mark on her arm. That alone was maddening. She knew others who had it. She had felt them when she channeled into their energy. There was no mistaking that.
And yet, as they walked down the hall with their fingers interlocked, every single one she recognized suddenly developed an urgent interest in the architecture.
No eye contact. Not a glance.
It was ridiculous.
As if she was not supposed to know, despite the small detail that she had literally tunneled into their energy like an uninvited guest and taken notes. There was no version of reality where she did not know exactly who they were.
She was now well past curious about the damn mark. She would find out through hell or high water.
As they walked, she was already mentally cataloging where to start in the library.
Dex broke her out of her thoughts.
"What are you thinking, Serena?"
She glanced at him, surprised he had caught her so easily, then smiled when she saw the grin on his face.
She sighed. "I can't tell you."
At this point, she was fairly certain he had taken a blood oath along with the others.
He hummed like he was considering that, eyes bright with amusement.
"You are about to do something sneaky that is bad," Dex said, "but also cute."
"I would do no such thing," she said, looking mock offended.
He laughed and scooped her up without warning. She squealed high-pitched in shock, as he lifted her, the sound breaking into laughter.
"Preventative measures," he said, now also laughing as he carried her down the hall like he had won something.
She was going to shadow him that day, at his insistence. As his mate, she would be with him through his duties. There was no point in delaying things, and more importantly, he did not want her out of his sight.
Unfortunately, his first task was deeply unglamorous. Paperwork. Mountains of it. She would be in the way.
"Could I meet you after you finish that?" Serena asked, still walking with him. "There is something I need to take care of."
Dex frowned immediately. He did not like the idea of her being out of his sight, and he especially did not like the vague phrasing of something. He could delegate the paperwork, but would need to organize it first.
He studied her for a second, already calculating how fast he could make the problem go away.
"I will be quick," she added, brushing her lips against his and smoothing his hair back. "Then I will be with you the rest of the day."
Dex grinned, that boyish, unguarded smile that only ever showed up around her.
"Okay," he said. He was not thrilled, but she was far too convincing.
She squeezed his hand once and then turned, heading in the opposite direction before he could rethink it or decide to follow her anyway.
✦✦✦
First things first. She needed to deal with the nagging pull toward the library before it drove her insane. It sat in her chest like an itch she could not ignore.
And she wanted answers.
Answers about the mark burning in her forearm that had not stopped since she woke up. Answers about why everyone who shared it suddenly could not manage eye contact to save their lives.
Five minutes passed.
Dex slowed in the corridor, rubbing a hand through his hair. The urge to mindlink her hit hard and fast. He almost did it.
Almost.
That would be excessive. He knew it. He swallowed it down and kept walking, jaw tight, tension settling into his shoulders as he forced himself to give her space he did not actually want to give.
Serena entered the library and nodded to the head mage librarian as she always did.
"Hello, Master Thalen."
As usual, he looked faintly startled by her politeness.
"Would you be able to unlock the restricted section for me?" she asked, already bracing for the question about permission. He had asked her every single day for two weeks.
This time, he did not.
"S-s-sure, m-my lady," he said, fumbling with his keys.
She paused, watching him. He had not sounded like that when he helped heal Elara. He had been calm then. Focused. Steady. Now he looked like she might explode if she breathed too hard.
The thought made her frown.
The gate swung open with a soft metallic click.
"Thank you, Master Thalen," she said, dipping her head respectfully.
He looked taken aback again. Almost flustered. And still, very deliberately, avoiding her eyes.
Something tugged at her, sharp and unfamiliar. Before she could talk herself out of it, she turned back around. He was still watching her.
"Master Thalen," she said gently. "Have I offended you, or made you uncomfortable?"
He finally looked at her, but didn't speak.
"I apologize if I have," she said to him, swallowing.
His arm twitched at his side. She knew he bore the mark. Maybe him speaking to her at all affected the blood oath he took.
She softened instantly.
"Do not worry if you cannot answer," she added quickly. "You have always been kind to me. And please know, if I have offended you, it was from ignorance. Never malice."
He said nothing.
"Thank you for opening this," she said, nodding once. "I will be on my way."
She turned and passed through the gate, the questions burning brighter now than the mark on her arm.