Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Rory

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“Someone’s at the gates,” Mona said, breathless, as she burst into the training hall. “And Vallin’s losing his mind.”

I wiped the back of my wrist across my forehead, catching the sweat before it reached my eyes. The room still smelled of iron and cedar, the lingering aftermath of sparring practice. Xander, Matt, Dhara, and I exchanged a look that didn’t need words.

Because no one came to the Academy gates anymore–not unannounced, not without reason.

“Who?” Xander asked, grabbing his jacket.

Mona hesitated. “You won’t believe it unless you see.”

That was all the warning we got before we followed her through the main corridor. The air felt different as we moved–charged, like the walls themselves were listening. Students gathered in clusters, whispering as we passed. By the time we reached the courtyard, the crowd had doubled.

And in the center, standing between two wardens, was Lillith.

Her hood was down, her dark hair wind–tangled, eyes shadowed with exhaustion. But she stood tall, her chin lifted as if daring anyone to tell her she didn’t belong.

It was strange, seeing her like that. Once, her presence had filled a room with venom. Now, she looked like a woman who’d been walking too long without a destination.

Vallin stood opposite her, arms folded, expression unreadable. His calm, when it came, was never a good sign.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” he said evenly.

“I know.” Lillith’s voice was hoarse. “But you know why I did.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Someone whispered her name like a curse.

I stayed near the back, half–hidden behind Xander’s shoulder. Every instinct screamed for distance. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been smiling as I almost burned alive.

But there was something different in her eyes now.

Regret.

She reached into her coat slowly, and the wardens tensed, hands brushing their blades. Vallin didn’t move. She withdrew a folded letter, sealed in wax, and held it out.

“I kept this,” she said. “I didn’t understand what it was then. But I do now.”

Vallin took it carefully. The seal was marked with the symbol of the old Council–the same one that had

12:17 Wed, Oct 15

Chapter 115

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sanctioned the Solstice ritual.

He broke it open, eyes scanning the page. Silence stretched long enough for my stomach to twist. Then his jaw tightened.

“She’s telling the truth,” he said at last. “She was under Durnham’s command from the start.”

The courtyard erupted in shouts and disbelief. Vallin raised a hand, and the noise died like it had been cut with a blade.

“Durnham forged her orders. He used her position, her loyalty to the Council, to channel the ritual through her. She wasn’t the architect. She was a pawn.”

Lillith flinched, but didn’t look away. “I tried to stop it when I realized what it was,” she said quietly. “But by then, the door had already begun to open.”

Her words made my skin prickle. The memory of the circle, the fire, the pull of Zerina’s voice tearing through me–it all pressed against my chest again.

Xander’s hand brushed mine, grounding me. I squeezed it back.

“So you want forgiveness,” Vallin said, tone still even but softer now. “Is that it?”

“No.” Lillith’s eyes flicked toward me then, and the crowd seemed to disappear around us. “I just want peace.”

For a long time, I couldn’t speak. There was too much between us–betrayal, anger, fear. But standing there, looking at the woman who had once been the monster in my nightmares, I didn’t see a villain anymore. I saw another casualty of Durnham’s reach.

Vallin looked at me. “Rory?”

It startled me, hearing my name said like judgment. Everyone turned.

I stepped forward slowly, the gravel crunching under my boots. Lillith’s eyes met mine, and for the first time, she didn’t try to defend herself. She didn’t hide behind power or pride.

“I hated you,” I said simply. “For everything you did. For what you almost made me become,”

She nodded. “You were right to.”

“But I also know what it’s like to be trapped in his shadow.” The words left me before I could stop them. “You wanted freedom and he offered chains painted gold. We all fell for it once.”

Her lips trembled just slightly. “Aurora-”

“I’m not forgiving you for him,” I said, my voice low but steady. “I’m forgiving you for me.”

A breath she’d been holding finally escaped. It was the sound of something breaking quietly,

Vallin turned to the wardens. “See that she’s given quarters. She stays under supervision, but she’s not to be harmed.”

12:17 Wed, Oct 15

Chapter 115

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The crowd scattered in murmurs, tension bleeding into confusion. Some looked angry, others relieved. Xander lingered beside me as the wardens escorted Lillith toward the east wing.

“She’ll be watched,” he said.

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