Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Chapter 62

*Rory*

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We fell into motion the way people do when the problem is bigger than the fear of it: each of us taking a corner of the weight and lifting.

Xander returned the books to their case. Mona disappeared and reappeared with a bundle of chalk, a stub of charcoal, and a roll of tape like she’d won a scavenger hunt. Definitely not questioning how she got those so easily.

By the time it was nightfall, we were ready to go. We had less chance of being caught at night.

Having a Terra wolf on our side made things all easier, considering the fact that the earth was willing to help us, since she didn’t like what was happening either.

The stairwell to the gym ran along the outer wall, so not many eyes saw us regardless.

We moved fast without looking like we were running. The kind of speed that doesn’t raise eyebrows until it’s already turned the corner. I counted steps without meaning to. Thirty-two to the gym. Seven to the basement door. Twnsty-one to the field lined with the half moon’s glow.

The air was chill, as if it knew what we planned to do and was already trying to punish us.

We had no idea if it would work. The moon wasn’t full, and it wasn’t ‘moonrise’ time as yet. But it was worth a

shot.

Control. That’s what I needed to grasp. That’s all. Push forth what I want to be seen, and not what lies beneath.

“Chalk,” Mona said, tossing the bundle to Xander like a medic throwing bandages on a battlefield.

He crouched and began to draw, using one hand to view the pictures he snapped of the book, and the other two do his magic.

I watched the circle take shape from nothing. It was much smaller than what it’ll be on Solstice, sure. But it seemed accurate so far. Three rings… marked with the relative runes.

“We’ll start with scent,” Xander said, glancing up at me. “Slight amplification. Nothing visual, nothing flashy. Think… then catch the peppermint in a closed jar. Hear-don’t chase.”

I stepped into the circle. It was big enough for two and looked like the one in the book, though under my boots, the chalk under my shoes felt like a soft scrape, as if I’d crossed a line I couldn’t uncross.

I centered myself where everyone will start on the day-in the unmarked ring- and closed my eyes.

“Okay,” he said, voice gentler than the word itself. “Push forth the natural.”

I reached for something small and found something honest.

‘I want to live,’ I said toward the place in me the moon might listen. ‘Not I am Chaos or I am nothing, but a

13:11 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 62

thread that felt like mine.’

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My next inhale came deeper. The air sharpened-Mona’s hair oil, orange and clove; the dusty sweetness of old wood; the mineral chill coming through the window glass. Not dizzying, not violent. Just… clearer.

The chalk under my feet did not flare. The air did not shiver with warning. Xander hummed once in approval.

“Good,” he said. “That’s it.”

But that was his mistake-making me feel like I achieved something. Because the moment I opened my eyes, it all went to shit.

The runes flared-too fast, too bright. The hum of them went from a low vibration to a sharp, rattling pitch that felt like it was drilling straight into my bones.

Then came the pull.

I didn’t even have time to brace before something yanked at my center-hard. The ring that should have kept me in place shoved me out like I was a splinter it wanted gone. My boots left the ground. The flash went white-hot and blinding.

Somewhere in the blur, I heard Mona shout. A rush of energy rippled outward, and all three of them went down-Xander first, then Dharra, Mona hitting the ground with a startled grunt.

The truth runes along the inner ring hissed, then caught with a thin blue fire snaking over the chalk, indicating that it knew I’d tried to cheat.

The flare died as quickly as it came, leaving the air scorched and the circle broken.

I winced, my knees hitting the floor hard as I scrambled up. My ears rang. My chest heaved.

Yet, despite my pain, I ran to help my friends.

“Shit-are you guys okay?”

Mona was rubbing her elbow, Dharra blinking like she’d been slapped, and Xander was already pushing to his feet with that look-half-assessing me for injuries, half-ready to take me back to his room and lock me in forever.

“I’m fine,” Mona said, shaking out her wrist. “But… what the hell was that?”

“That was the unmarked ring she doesn’t belong there,” Dharra murmured, eyes narrowing at the charred lines.

I hugged my arms around myself. “But did it have to throw me away?,” I said, my voice smaller than I wanted. “I didn’t even give it everything. I thought that was the point.”

“It is,” Xander said, stepping closer. “And this is why we practice. It’s your first try. You have to master all of it -not just scent. Sight, sound, instinct. Every natural sense you’ve got. You can’t control the circle if you’re only halfway in control of yourself.”

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Chapter 62

My throat burned. “I could’ve killed you.”

“You didn’t.”

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