Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Chapter 102

*Rory*

Blood.

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That was all I could smell when the forest finally went quiet again. It wasn’t the sharp copper bite of a scratch or a nick–it was thick and drowning, enough to make my stomach churn. Mona lay flat in the dirt, Dhara’s hands pressed to her ribs, Matt crouched beside her with blood smeared up his forearms. Her shirt had been cut open, and every shallow rise of her chest came with a wet rattle that I’d never heard from a person before.

“She’s bleeding out,” Matt said, his voice low, raw. “I can’t stop it-”

“You will stop it,” Xander snapped, his voice so sharp it cut through the ringing still left in my ears. He was on his knees too, blood streaked across his jaw where he’d wiped at it with the back of his hand. His palms were clamped over Mona’s side, the pressure making her groan even though she was half–conscious. “You’re not dying here, Mona.”

The words sounded like a command, like he thought sheer will could bully death into retreat.

I hovered uselessly at the edge of them all, chains rattling whenever I moved, wrists raw from where they’d bitten deep during the fight. My body ached, but none of it mattered. All I could think was this is because of me. Durnham had dragged me like bait through these woods, and the Venatorum had followed. Scouts I could imagine fending off, but assassins? That was different. Assassins weren’t sent to test–they were sent to end.

And Mona had almost ended with them.

Dhara’s voice cut hard through the dark. “We can’t stay here. They’ll regroup.”

“She’s not moving like this,” Matt argued.

“She won’t survive if we don’t move,” Dhara shot back. She looked up at me then, eyes sharp, golden and steady, and for one terrifying second I thought she was about to say what none of them wanted to: it’s her fault.

Instead, she snapped, “Help me make a stretcher.”

Matt cursed under his breath but obeyed, tearing at branches, pulling off cloaks to braid them into something that could carry Mona’s weight. Xander didn’t move at first. His hands stayed where they were, pressed against Mona’s body like letting go would make her slip completely away. His jaw worked, muscles jumping under his skin, Azrien’s growl flickering just enough that I could feel it down my spine.

“Xander,” I said softly.

His

eyes flicked

up,

wild and blue, and for a heartbeat he looked at me like he didn’t even see me. Like Azrien had filled the space where I usually lived.

“She’s not dying,” he ground out.

“She’s not,” I echoed, though my voice didn’t have his steel. “But you need to let them carry her if you want

10:41 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 102

her alive.”

Something in his chest cracked then. He pulled his hands back, smeared with red, and stood so abruptly that I staggered when the force of his presence passed me. His shoulders were rigid, fists flexing like he needed to hit something–anything–that wasn’t Mona’s broken body.

The stretcher came together quick. Dhara took one end, Matt the other, and Xander stalked beside them like a wolf daring the shadows to step out again. I brought up the rear, chains dragging through the undergrowth, wrists screaming every time I stumbled but I didn’t dare complain. Not when Mona’s blood dripped in a steady trail behind us.

We walked for what felt like hours, though it could’ve been minutes. My legs trembled under me, my throat burned, and every sound–the snap of branches, the rustle of leaves–had me flinching like assassins were about to pour out of the dark again.

Finally, Dhara slowed, nostrils flaring as she scanned the trees. “Here,” she said, guiding us into a ridge carved shallow by water long dried up. It dipped low, shielded by rocks, just enough cover to breathe without being

seen.

They lowered Mona carefully onto the ground, and for the first time since the fight I saw how pale she was. Her lips had gone gray. Her lashes fluttered, but her eyes didn’t open.

“Get me bandages,” Dhara ordered.

Matt ripped his sleeve without hesitation, tearing it into strips. Xander crouched low again, wiping at the blood with water from a flask. Mona stirred faintly under his touch, a sound leaving her throat that cracked my chest open.

“Stay with us,” Xander murmured, nothing like the command he’d barked earlier. Softer now, a plea. “You don’t get to check out, Mona. Not after everything.”

His voice shook, and I realized this was his way of breaking. He wouldn’t let himself cry. He wouldn’t even let himself curse the way Matt did. He’d just keep talking, steady and desperate, until she listened.

“Rory.”

Dhara’s sharp voice jolted me. She thrust a needle into my hand, already threaded. “You stitch. Your hands are smaller. You’ll be steadier.”

Panic clawed up my throat. “I–I don’t-”

“You’ll do it,” she cut me off.

My hands shook as I knelt by Mona’s side. Her blood was hot against my palms as I pressed the first strip down, and bile rose in my throat. My vision blurred, but I forced the needle through skin, tugging the thread tight. Dhara’s voice guided me-“closer, not too shallow, keep the pressure steady“-and somehow the wound began to close under my hands.

When it was done, I tied the last knot with fingers trembling so bad I thought it would slip loose. I pressed the final bandage over it, my whole body shaking with the effort.

“She’ll hold,” Dhara said, quiet now, almost gentle.

10:41 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 102

I sagged back, arms streaked red, chest heaving.

Xander’s hand landed on my shoulder, heavy and grounding. “You saved her.”

“No.” My throat cracked on the word. “I almost killed her. If it weren’t for me, she-”

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“Don’t,” he said, sharp enough that I looked up. His eyes were fierce, even rimmed red. “Don’t say that. Mona fought because she chose to. She fought because she believed you were worth it.”

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