Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29

*Rory*

I was in a forest I had never seen before.

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The trees stretched high into the sky, their leaves silver under the moonlight. The air was thick and electric, charged with something powerful, something unrecognizable yet felt so right.

I turned in a slow circle, confusion tightening in my chest. Where was I?

A soft breeze rustled through the trees, carrying the scent of fresh rain and something faintly familiar, a scent that curled around me, teasing at the edges of my mind like a memory I couldn’t quite grasp. The air felt thicker here, charged with something ancient, something alive, like the very forest itself was watching me.

I took a step forward, then another, my bare feet pressing against the cool, damp earth. I wasn’t entirely in control of my movements. It was as if something was pulling me in, an unseen force guiding me deeper, toward the center of the clearing ahead.

And then, I saw her.

A wolf.

She stood perfectly still, her back turned toward me, her head tilted slightly as though she sensed my

presence.

But something was wrong.

She was blurry, like looking through fogged glass, her edges shifting, refusing to settle into focus. My pulse kicked up, unease crawling down my spine.

I took a hesitant step forward, then another, and the closer I got―

The more beautiful she became.

Her fur was white, but not the kind of stark, empty white that swallowed light. It shimmered, soft and iridescent, with intricate silver–grey swirls weaving across her body like markings from an artist’s brush. They glowed faintly, pulsing under the moonlight, as if alive.

She was unreal.

Otherworldly.

My heart pounded, my breath caught somewhere in my throat.

Then, she moved.

Slowly, gracefully, she turned, and our eyes met.

I gasped, stumbling back as a cold rush of recognition slammed into me, knocking the air from my lungs.

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Chapter 29

Her eyes.

They weren’t amber, like all wolves‘ eyes.

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They weren’t gold, or brown, or any color I had ever seen before.

They were silver.

Pure, luminous, almost glowing.

And I knew.

I knew who she was.

My chest tightened, my voice barely a whisper.

“Zerina.”

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My voice came out as a whisper, filled with awe and guilt and every other emotion that was bundling up in me -too many to name but not stable enough to identify one.

She took a slow step toward me, and I moved to meet her, but she growled.

It was deep, guttural, furious sound that rumbled through my bones and made me freeze in place.

“Z–Zerina,” I stammered, my hands shaking. “I–I’m sorry. Please, I never wanted-”

‘You allowed the Unmarked ones to poison me. Her voice boomed through my head, not spoken aloud, but inside my mind like the first time she spoke to me, ringing so loud I winced.

I swallowed hard. “I–what? Please forgive me! I will die!”

He huffed, lowering her upper body in a way I recognized as defensive. She didn’t see me as human. She saw me as the enemy. And I couldn’t blame her.

‘Even knowing it was poison, you still took it. Who says you are worthy of my forgiveness?‘ My stomach dropped.

“The Unmarked ones?” I whispered. I had only ever heard that phrase once–from Dhara.

Did

my wolf know about the wolves like Dhara? The special ones?

I wanted to ask. I should have asked. But Zerina’s rage was suffocating, and all I could focus on was winning

her back.

“Please,” I begged, stepping toward her. “I don’t want to take it I swear but I needed it to survive. I thought-”

Her growl deepened, her silver eyes flashing dangerously.

‘You chose them over me,’ she said, her voice like ice and fire, searing through my skull. ‘You silenced me.

Buried me. Killed me.’

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Chapter 29

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“No!” My chest ached, the pain clawing deep, twisting into something almost unbearable. “I didn’t kill you! Zerina, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t know-”

But she didn’t care.

Her silver eyes flashed, and in an instant, she lunged. A guttural snarl ripped through the air, so loud, so raw, that something inside me shattered.

I screamed and ran.

The clearing blurred around me as I bolted, my feet barely touching the ground, my breath ragged. The silver–lit trees stretched endlessly ahead, but I had no sense of direction–only the desperate need to escape.

Zerina was right behind me.

Her growls shook the earth, the ground trembling beneath my feet with each thundering step. I could hear her breathing, hear the sharp snap of her teeth, so close to catching me, so close to tearing into me.

“Zerina! Please!” I sobbed, my voice hoarse, desperate, my legs burning as I pushed forward. “I— You have to understand!”

But deep down, I knew the truth.

She wasn’t just trying to scare me.

She was trying to kill me.

And if she did–if she ended me here, in this subconscious world…She wanted to take over.

A wolf could force a shift at the brink of their human’s death, and exist independently.

If Zerina killed me, she would be free. She would exist without me.

The human side of us could exist without their wolf if the wolf died, too, but it was extremely rare. We were interdependent, after all.

But she had no plans of dying.

She would no longer need me. She would no longer be withheld because of me. And hell, I almost gave in. The guilt of suppressing her was too much. But then I thought of Mona, and Dhara and Matt, hell even Xander… how would they take it?

I had to fight for a way where both of us could live happily. Where I can finally have a relationship with my wolf.

But I had no idea if I could outrun her.

“RORY!”

I stumbled.

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Chapter 29

That wasn’t Zerina’s voice.

“Rory, wake up!”

The world ripped apart.

I gasped, bolting upright in bed, my heart racing so fast it hurt.

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My room was dark, the only light coming from the dim glow of the moon filtering through the window. My skin was damp with sweat, my breathing ragged.

And then I saw him.

Xander.

He was kneeling beside my bed, his blue eyes wide, frantic, concerned. His hands gripped my shoulders tightly, his bare chest rising and falling with the force of his own heavy breathing.

“Rory-” He swallowed, his jaw clenching. “What was that?”

A choked sob left my throat.

“She hates me,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Xander’s brows furrowed. “Who?”

“My wolf,” I hiccuped, my entire body shaking. “Zerina. She–she hates me.”

Xander’s face softened, and before I could even process what was happening, he climbed into bed beside me.

He didn’t say anything as I snuggled into him, pressing my face into his warm chest. His arms came around me tightly, holding me securely, protectively, like nothing in the world could touch me as long as I was here.

“I’m sure she doesn’t,” he murmured against my hair.

“She does,” I sniffled. “She told me I let them poison her. She–she wants to kill me, Xander.”

His arms tightened. “No, she doesn’t.”

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