Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Chapter 68

*Rory*

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The note trembled in my hand as I showed it to Xander and Dharra. Mona’s messy handwriting burned into my vision as if the letters themselves carried heat.

*Don’t follow. He’ll use you to open it.*

I should have listened. I should have folded it back up, locked the door, and let someone stronger, smarter, less tangled in this mess take over. But the thought of Mona alone, caged or worse, erased that possibility before it had breath.

“We’re not stopping,” I said, my voice steadier than my heartbeat.

Xander didn’t argue. His jaw was carved from stone, eyes sharp, already calculating the fastest path to the east wing.

Dharra hesitated, eyes flicking from the note to me, her lips parted like she wanted to fight me on it. But she didn’t. She just blew out a tense breath, shoulders squaring, and nodded once.

The three of us moved as one, silent down the hall.

The corridors of the academy never felt emptier. The further we went, the colder the air became, until I felt it sinking into my lungs, heavy and wrong.

The ash trail glimmered faintly under the low light, a line of scattered soot leading us forward like breadcrumbs into a trap we were choosing to walk into.

Dharra crouched once, brushing her fingers just above the surface but not touching. “It’s alive,” she whispered. “Not ash. Not fully. It’s tethered.”

“Tethered to what?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Something unfinished.”

That word dug under my skin. Unfinished. Like a door waiting for the right hand to push it open.

We descended into the east wing, a part of the faculty building I’d never been allowed to see. It smelled old, damp stone overlaid with iron and something sour.

My throat tightened,

The deeper we went, the more the air vibrated. Low and steady, like a drumbeat beneath the floor. My aether -whatever it is-stirred in response, tugging at me with every step.

By the time we reached the sub-level stairwell, my skin prickled with static. Each rune carved into the walls glowed faintly, threads of light slithering like veins under stone.

I couldn’t look too long at them without my stomach flipping.

13:13 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 68

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“This is wrong,” Dharra muttered, her voice tight. She traced one glowing line without touching it, her face pale. “It feels…unfinished.”

“Then we don’t give it what it wants,” Xander said flatly. His hand brushed mine as he took point, positioning himself a step ahead like a shield. His posture screamed readiness, but there was something else in it too- restraint. He knew if he bolted, I’d bolt with him, straight into whatever teeth were waiting.

I gripped his sleeve. “If Mona’s in there-”

“We’ll get her out,” he cut in, the words ironclad, no room for doubt.

But I heard what he didn’t say. If we survive the getting.

The corridor narrowed, leading into a chamber hollowed into the earth. The ceiling was low, curved like a ribcage, each archway etched with more runes that flared faintly at our approach. The air here was thick enough to chew, saturated with smoke that wasn’t smoke.

And then the key appeared. The same one Durnham had.

It came in the air like it had always been there, glinting with dark metal, swinging lazily on nothing. My stomach dropped, bile rising.

The moment its arc cut through the chamber’s center, the runes blazed to life. Lines flared across the floor, a circle snapping shut around me before I even had time to breathe.

“No!” I threw myself backward, but the ground seized my boots, hot as iron.

Threads of light lashed up around me, binding my ankles, wrists, and chest. Heat licked across my skin, sharp and precise, not flame but something worse-a cage woven from my own pulse.

“Rory!” Dharra lunged forward, her hands outstretched. The instant she touched the edge of the circle, ash exploded up like claws, searing her palms.

She screamed and stumbled back, blood welling where the ash had bitten deep.

Xander hit the barrier an instant later. The sound was thunder, his shoulder slamming into invisible resistance. Sparks burst out, tearing the skin along his arm. He didn’t flinch, just snarled and shoved harder, his whole body braced like he could break it with will alone.

“Let her out!” His voice shook the chamber.

The air answered with silence.

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