Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 20

Imperial 20

*Rory*

I didn’t stop walking until I reached the half–bathroom on the ground floor.

38%

+49)

I lived here for days before starting at Azure Crest, and in that time, Xander barely looked at me. I had spent my hours in this house wandering, getting to know its halls and rooms, learning the layout of a home that was supposed to be mine but never felt like it.

And now?

Now, it felt even less like home.

My phone pinged with a message from Mona, asking if I was okay. I told her I’d be up in a minute.

I turned on the faucet, splashing cold water onto my face, inhaling deeply as the droplets dripped from my chin.

I looked up at my reflection and almost recoiled.

I looked like shit.

My eyes were puffy, my lips slightly swollen from how hard I had bitten down on them, trying to hold back the storm of emotions threatening to burst through my chest.

I grabbed some wipes from the cabinet, rubbing at my melted makeup, wiping away the mascara streaks before rinsing the remaining residue off my face. My skin was bare now, stripped of all pretense, all masks, leaving only me.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I caught a reflection in the mirror behind me.

Xander was there.

I turned just as he stepped in, closing the door behind him and I gulped.

He didn’t say anything at first, and I expected more yelling, expected him to continue berating me about what I had done.

Instead, his blue eyes flickered over my face, taking in the wetness on my cheeks, the remnants of my ruined makeup, the exhaustion in my expression.

“Have you been crying?” His voice was low and deadly.

I nodded, surprised by the question.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing. “Why?”

“You don’t want to know,” I mumbled as I looked away.

He was silent for a moment before stepping closer, to my utmost surprise, he cupped my cheek.

1 froze.

His touch was warm, completely contradicting the cold detachment I had come to expect from him. It sent a slow, unwelcome shiver down my spine, awakening something deep and unfamiliar within me. I had a perfect view of those icy blue eyes, the ones that usually held anger, frustration, resentment, the ones that had glared at me across countless rooms, filled with nothing but obligation and indifference.

But now?

Now, they held something else entirely, Something unreadable, something that sent my pulse skittering, making it impossible to look away.

His fingers tightened slightly against my skin, grounding me, his thumb grazing the curve of my cheek in a motion that felt almost… tender.

1/3

Chapter 20

“Tell me.”

His voice was firm but quiet, a quiet that was somehow more powerful than any growl, any threat. A quiet that carried a weight–a command, a plea, a demand all wrapped into one.

As if daring me to lie to him.

I swallowed hard, my skin tingling beneath his fingers.

“The grief from Eden’s death… finally got to me,” I mumbled, looking away.

I braced for him to pull away, to go cold, the way he always did when Eden was mentioned.

But he didn’t.

He just stared at me, his thumb grazing the curve of my cheek in an almost absentminded caress.

“Is that why you feel obligated to search for her murderer?” he asked.

I hesitated, then narrowed my eyes slightly. “Does this mean you no longer think I did it?”

Xander’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he cupped my other cheek, holding me completely still, his grip firm but careful.

“Answer my question, Rory.”

I exhaled a shaky breath. “No.” My voice wavered. “I kind of… vowed that I would a few weeks ago.”

His jaw ticked, and I expected the rebate to come then.

But instead, he said, “I’m sorry.”

I blinked, my breath hitching.

“Come again?” I didn’t think I heard that right.

“I’m sorry for making you cry again.”

I was so shocked that ! didn’t even know how to respond. Xander? Apologizing?

He let out a slow, steady breath, “But don’t ever do this again. Especially when you know you’re a target, okay?”

I shuddered as his warm breath fanned my nose, my heart hammering violently in my chest.

“Okay, Rory?” His voice was even lower now. “You can’t put yourself in danger again for someone who’s already dead. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

1 understood the words leaving his mouth, sure.

But the words in his eyes?

Those were different.

Gosh, maybe my emotions were wreaking bavog on my mind, but I could have sworn that swirling in those stormy blue eyes was actual worry.

For me.

Not for the alliance.

For me.

213

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify