Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Chapter 108

*Xander*

“Tell me she’s breathing.”

AD

That was the first thing I said when Vallin walked out and left me with her. He didn’t answer. He just gave one of those unreadable looks that meant he’d already told me what I didn’t want to hear. So I sat beside her bed anyway, watching her chest rise and fall like proof that he was wrong.

She hadn’t moved since the ritual. Vallin said her body was recovering, that this kind of magic took more from her than it gave back. But the memory of her convulsing in my arms–eyes rolled white, light searing through her skin–wouldn’t fade. I kept hearing the sound of her gasp, kept seeing her go still, like every ounce of life had been burned out of her.

Now she was quiet. Too quiet. Her hair clung damp against her temples, lips pale, fingers twitching only when her dreams got bad. I couldn’t tell if she was fighting her way back to me or drifting somewhere I couldn’t follow.

Azrien was pacing inside my head, low and restless. He hadn’t stopped since the circle cracked beneath her. Every time her breathing hitched, he pressed harder, as if he could crawl out through my skin and get to her himself.

‘She’s alive,‘ I told him again.

He didn’t believe it any more than I did.

The chair creaked under me as I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. The sunlight through the window reached the edge of her blanket, and dust danced in it like it had nowhere better to be. The Academy had gone too still. Even the wind outside sounded different–like it was afraid to touch the walls.

I must’ve been sitting there for hours before the door opened again. I didn’t look up until I heard the drag of another chair scraping across the floor.

“Still here?” Matt asked. His voice was rough, like he hadn’t slept either.

“Where else would I be?”

He sat down beside me, arms on his knees, looking at her the same way I had been–like she might disappear if we blinked. “You’ve been at her side since last night.”

“She’d do the same for me.”

He huffed something like a laugh but didn’t argue. The silence that followed wasn’t awkward. We’d had worse.

After a while, he said quietly, “She’s tougher than both of us.”

“She always has been.” I looked at her hand in mine, tracing the faint bruises on her wrist. “Vallin said Zerina stirred for a moment. Just faintly. But it’s a start.”

Matt nodded, eyes still on her. “That’s something. More than we had before.”

17:31 Wed, Oct 8 N

Chapter 108

60

MURUSHOTO

He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, I should’ve said this a long time ago. I’m sorry, Xander. For being an idiot. For what I said. For everything that came after.”

I turned to him, brow furrowed. “You really want to do this now?”

“Yeah. I need to.” He exhaled. “I let my temper get in the way. I thought I was helping her, but I wasn’t. I made it worse for both of you.”

“You did,” I said. “But you’re here now.”

He blinked. “That’s it?”

“What, you want a speech?”

He let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “You’re terrible at this.”

“Never said I was good at forgiving.”

“No, but you’re better than you used to be.” His tone softened. “You think she’s gonna wake up?”

“She will,” I said, more sure than I felt. “Vallin said it takes time. That bonds aren’t just light you can relight. He said they’re like suns. You wait for them to rise again.”

Matt made a face. “You ever notice how Vallin makes every answer sound like a riddle?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling faintly. “It’s his way of not giving us hope or taking it away.”

We fell quiet again. The only sound was the rhythm of her breathing and the faint hum in my chest that had never really left since the ritual. Azrien had stopped pacing. That scared me more than when he growled.

Matt’s voice dropped. “You’re scared.”

“I’ve already failed her once,” I said. “I wasn’t there when she needed me most.”

“You almost died saving her, Xander. You did what you could.”

“Almost doesn’t count.”

He turned toward me, jaw set. “Then don’t fail yourself this time.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means stop acting like she’s already gone. You can’t keep trying to save her from ghosts.” His gaze held mine. “Be here for her. That’s all she’s gonna need when she wakes.”

I wanted to argue, but the words died somewhere in my throat. He was right.

He stood, stretching his shoulders. “I’m getting some air. Try not to break the chair while I’m gone.”

He left without waiting for a reply. The door clicked shut, and the room sank back into the kind of quiet that pressed against your ribs.

17:31 Wed, Oct 8 W

Chapter 108

I looked at Rory again. The sunlight had faded into a softer gold that brushed her face, making her look too peaceful for everything she’d been through. My hand brushed hers again, thumb tracing her knuckles.

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