Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Chapter 67

*Rory*

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Durnham didn’t walk toward us so much as glide, like his shoes never actually touched stone. The key in his hand swung lazily, each sway flashing a whisper of ash-dark metal.

“Perfect timing,” he said, as if we’d arranged this meeting. His voice was all pleasant surface, like a lake you could drown in without a ripple.

I didn’t answer. My gut had already twisted itself into a warning knot, and Zerina prowled close to the edge, pushing against the inside of my ribs like she wanted to see what would happen if she took over.

“What’s that for?” Xander’s tone was all frost and iron.

Durnham’s eyes slid to him, then back to me. “Faculty matter. Not your concern.” He lifted the key slightly, almost like a toast. “Though I suppose I can tell you it’s related to containment. Safety. You’d be surprised how often those two are the same thing.”

My skin prickled. Containment. Safety. Words people used when they wanted to make a cage sound like a kindness.

“And Mona?” I asked. I wasn’t going to dance around it.

He tilted his head, smile widening just enough to be deliberate. “In safe hands.”

The way he said it made the words worse. Like a promise given by someone who collects broken ones.

Dharra shifted beside me. “Safe from what?”

“From herself,” Durnham replied smoothly, ignoring her in favor of watching my face. “You understand, don’t you, Aurora? How certain wolves can’t hide from the moon forever? No matter how… creative their friends might be.”

My fingers curled into fists. That was a line meant to bruise. He was testing me, baiting me to snap. Zerina surged closer, her growl low and deep in my chest, heat licking my skin.

Xander moved half a step forward, a wall between us. “Careful.”

“Oh, I’m always careful,” Durnham said, but for the briefest second his smile cracked, letting something sharper show through. Something that looked like he’d welcome me losing control-just so he could say I proved him right.

I forced a breath past my teeth. “If she’s so safe, let me see her.”

“I’m afraid she’s… occupied,” he said. “And you have your own duties to prepare for.”

“My attendance at the Solstice ritual is my business,” I shot back.

“Ah.” His eyes lit in a way I didn’t like. “But you see, your presence is everyone’s business. The moon sees all,

13:13 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 67

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Miss Steele. And it’s… remarkably impartial.”

Before I could answer, he turned, like he’d already decided the conversation was over. But as he stepped away, something small slipped from his fingers and landed on the stone with a muted tap. A strip of parchment, no longer than my palm, covered in faint, curling runes.

Durnham didn’t glance back. Didn’t break stride. He just walked on, the key swinging gently at his side until he vanished into the faculty wing.

Dharra darted forward before I could move, scooping the strip off the ground and tucking it into her sleeve. “Got it.”

We stood there for a long moment, listening to his footsteps fade. The air felt heavier without him in it, which should’ve been a relief but wasn’t.

***

Xander’s room was the closest and safest place to breathe without walls listening. By the time we shut the door, my pulse had barely slowed.

Dharra pulled the strip of parchment free and laid it on the desk. The runes were faint, like they’d been inked decades ago and only just stirred awake. Even without touching it, I could feel the hum-low, deliberate, dangerous.

“It’s part of a containment seal,” Dharra said. “Not the kind you use for storage or study. This is Council-level extraction work.”

“Extraction,” I repeated, my throat dry.

She nodded. “Used to transport someone without their consent. Bind their power, block their wolf. You need permission from three senior Council members to even touch one of these. And even then, they’re supposed to be archived-not used.”

Xander’s jaw was a line of stone. “Which means if Mona’s been taken with one, it’s not just about shutting her up. It’s about using her as leverage.”

“Against me,” I said. The words tasted like ash.

Dharra didn’t argue. She didn’t have to.

I dragged both hands through my hair, the pressure behind my eyes building. “We can’t wait for the ritual. If they’ve got her-”

“We’re not running in blind,” Xander said, voice like a blade meant to stop me, “If we make a move without proof, we give them what they want. They’ll turn it on us.”

“And if we wait, we give them time to-“I broke off. I didn’t want to finish that sentence.

Dharra glanced between us. “The ash trail outside? It won’t last. The wind will take it by morning, or someone will sweep it away. If we’re going to follow it, it has to be tonight.”

13:13 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 67

My pulse jumped. Tonight. That was… too soon and not soon enough.

“We go,” I said.

Xander’s eyes held mine, weighing me. “We go smart. And we go together.”

I nodded once.

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