Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35

*Rory*

“I have to mark you.”

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The moment those words left his mouth, the world narrowed. The air turned heavy, thick with meaning and consequence, and for a second, I didn’t even feel my own heartbeat. It was like the universe itself had paused, just long enough for me to feel every inch of betrayal crawl up my spine.

I blinked once, twice, trying to decide if I’d heard him right. But he stood there–rigid, unreadable, expectant.

“You have to?” I echoed, my voice quiet but sharp enough to cut glass. The heat inside me started to rise–not the warm, buzzing pull of our connection, but something cold and furious, something laced with disbelief. “You have to mark me?”

Xander didn’t flinch. Of course he didn’t. He stood there, arms crossed, shoulders tense, eyes trained on mine like he expected this reaction. Maybe he did.

Maybe he knew I’d lash out.

“I’m not saying it like it’s a punishment,” he said quietly. “It’s a precaution.”

A precaution.

I laughed–bitter, humorless. That was even better. So he wasn’t even marking me because he wanted me. He was marking me as ‘precaution.‘ I knew I killed his pack member, but I wasn’t some serial killer that needed to be watched and tracked.

“Oh, so now I’m a danger to everyone around me?” I scoffed. “That’s it, isn’t it? You slept with me, and the next day, I’m suddenly a ticking time bomb you need to keep under control.”

He winced, but didn’t deny it.

I stepped closer, my fists clenched at my sides. “You weren’t saying that last night when you were inside me, Xander.”

“Aurora,” he warned, jaw tight.

“No.” I shook my head. “You don’t get to act like this is some duty now. You don’t get to touch me like that— kiss me like that—and then treat me like I’m just another threat you need to neutralize.”

He didn’t speak, not right away. Just held my gaze with that same intensity that used to make my knees weak but now only made my stomach churn.

“You can’t just decide that,” I said, stepping back as my voice rose. “You don’t get to ignore me, shove me aside like I don’t matter, then wake up one morning and decide it’s convenient to play mate.”

“You’re twisting this,” he said, voice low.

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Chapter 35

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“Am I?” My voice cracked. “Because just this morning, you swore we’d never do anything like that again. You said it meant nothing. And now, you want to mark me? But now you do. It’s a hard no for me.”

His eyes darkened. “I didn’t say it meant nothing.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“It’s not like that,” Xander said, his tone taut, strained. He ran a hand over his face, and I didn’t miss the tremor there. “This is about protection, Rory. You’re vulnerable right now. Your wolf is-”

“My wolf is what?” I snapped, taking another step away, needing space, needing to breathe. “Dangerous? Volatile? A liability?”

His mouth tightened.

“So now that I’m too unpredictable for your liking, you suddenly need to stamp your claim on me to make sure I behave?” My voice broke around the words, my hands shaking. “You think this fixes anything?”

He finally stepped forward, his voice lower now, but no less intense. “This isn’t just about control. It’s about keeping you safe.”

“Why now?” I asked. “Why is this suddenly so important?”

Xander looked away, his hands flexing at his sides. “Because your wolf is waking up. Because she’s stronger than we thought.” He looked pained at that… even scared?

This sobered me up a bit as I remembered seeing the look on his face when I started shifting. There was a moment when my eyes changed that he looked stunned–terrified. What had he seen?

“This is bigger than I thought and I need to protect you. Because she’s dangerous, and if we don’t anchor her soon-”

I took a step back, shaking my head. “So that’s all I am now? Something to be anchored?”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“But it’s what you said.”

He exhaled roughly, dragging a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“No,” I snapped. “You’re trying to control me. There’s a difference.”

Xander’s eyes flashed. “I would never-”

“You already are.” My voice was quiet, but sharp. “You’re doing exactly what everyone else has done. Contain me. Muzzle me. Dose me with poison so I don’t inconvenience anyone.”

He flinched at that. Good.

I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. “I’m not a liability, Xander. And I sure as hell won’t be your problem to manage.”

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Chapter 35

He reached for me, but I pulled away.

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I laughed. Not because it was funny–nothing about this was funny–but because I needed something to keep the panic from taking over. “You didn’t care about keeping me safe when I was begging you to acknowledge what we were. You didn’t give a damn when I was confused and lost, trying to understand why you

hated me for something I couldn’t control.”

“I never hated you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“I stayed away because I thought it would be better for you,” he said, and the rawness in his voice stopped me cold.

I stared at him.

“You what?”

He didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “There are things about me, Rory… things I didn’t want you anywhere near. I thought if I kept my distance, you’d have a chance at a normal life. I come with too much baggage. More than you can handle.”

My breath caught in my throat.

“And all this time… you thought I was too fragile to handle the truth?”

“No. I thought the truth would destroy what little chance you had at peace. You already didn’t want this marriage-”

“Neither did you,” I countered.

“But it was necessary for me. You were just dragged into it. This… This would’ve been too much for you.”

“And you decided that all on your own. Am I that weak and fragile to you?”

“Rory…”

I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around the words, but they didn’t make sense. Not really. Because if he cared–if he really cared–he would’ve told me. Trusted me.

“Then tell me,” I whispered. “Tell me what’s so terrible that you’ve built this wall between us. Let me decide if I can handle it.”

He looked away, jaw clenched, like the request physically hurt him.

“I can’t.”

“You won’t,” I corrected, my voice soft but razor–sharp, slicing through the space between us. And the weight of that single word landed like a blow to the chest–one that neither of us could pretend didn’t hurt.

Silence stretched between us again. Long. Tense. The kind of silence that screams louder than any argument.

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Chapter 35

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It pressed in on my lungs like a vice, filling every corner of the room with words neither of us could bring

ourselves to say.

He didn’t deny it.

Didn’t try to soften the truth or fight back.

He just stood there, unmoving, his jaw tight, his eyes flicking toward the floor like it was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world. That alone told me everything. That this wasn’t about fear of how I’d react or trying to protect me anymore.

It was shame.

It was self–loathing.

I took another step back, distancing myself not just physically, but emotionally too–peeling myself away from the last thread of hope I had been stupid enough to cling to.

My voice dropped, the tremor in it betraying the storm inside me. “You want to mark me, Xander. You want to bind our lives. Our souls. Our wolves.” I shook my head, blinking back tears I didn’t even realize had formed. “But you won’t even let me in. You won’t let me see you. Know you. Trust you.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening. “What does that say?”

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