Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Chapter 86

*Rory*

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The chains rattled when I pulled, a dull clank that scraped down my arms and left the skin under the cuffs

raw.

It healed every few hours. Only for me to start pulling again and remake the bruises.

I’d already tested them half a dozen times since Durnham left-twisting my wrists until my shoulders screamed, jerking hard enough that the iron dug into bone.

But desperation makes you repeat stupid things. And stopping meant surrender.

I leaned forward until the cuffs cut into my ankles, braced, and pulled with everything I had left.

Nothing. The wall at my back trembled, my lungs burned, but the iron didn’t move.

I slumped against the stone, sweat running down my temples. The damp air pressed into my lungs, sour with mildew and the stink of old blood. My arms trembled with exhaustion, but it wasn’t the strain hollowing me out, it was the silence.

I reached inward for Zerina for the umpteenth time, the way I always had, like reaching into a pocket where something precious should be waiting.

As always, it came up empty. Every time I pushed, the emptiness pushed back. It was blank, cold and unyielding, like glass. I whispered her name against my teeth. Nothing. The ache widened in my chest until it felt like my ribs were being pried apart.

I tried for Xander too, waiting for the steady tug of his bond. Gone. Just more glass. The silence made me feel thinner than my own skin.

The drip in the corner mocked me still. I wanted to scream again, but my throat was too raw. So I kept pulling until my vision blurred, until my body shook and the only sound I managed was a ragged groan. And still, the

iron held.

The door scraped open.

I flinched hard, cuffs clanging against each other.

But it wasn’t Durnham.

A man stepped in, arms full with a tin plate and a dented cup.

Blond hair fell into his eyes, the kind of golden that didn’t belong in a place this damp. His jaw was soft, almost delicate, until I saw the scar that cut ragged from ear to chin. It looked wrong on him, like it had been

carved into skin that wasn’t made for violence.

He looked my age, maybe a bit older. Handsome, but not in the sharp way Xander was-handsome in a softer way that already looked out of place in this dungeon.

13:20 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 86

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He froze when he saw the marks on my wrists, the raw skin, the way I was still straining against the cuffs. He gulped, looking paler than what was supposed to be deemed possible.

“Gee,” I drawled, though my throat scarped against itself. “Way to make a girl feel good about herself by looking at her like that.”

His eyes widened, as if he didn’t expect me to talk. I know I looked like crap. I didn’t know how long I was here, but I was sure that blood, dirt and waste didn’t make a lady pretty.

He cleared his throat. “You’ll tear yourself apart if you keep pulling on those chains.” His voice was quiet, almost too quiet.

The words landed different from how I imagined Durnham would have said them. Not cold or rehearsed. It was almost…concerned and… genuine?

I narrowed my eyes anyway. “What’s the pity for? You think looking at me like that helps?”

The sting in his face was instant, like I’d slapped him harder than any chain. He shifted the plate to his other hand and set it down on the floor between us without meeting my eyes.

Good. Let him hurt. I didn’t need kindness here. Kindness in chains was worse than cruelty.

But when he finally glanced up again, the look was the same-reluctant and uneasy.

It became evident to me then. He didn’t want to be here. His mouth pressed tight like he was swallowing words he wasn’t allowed to say.

“You don’t approve,” I said, flat.

He blinked.

“You don’t want me locked up,” I pushed. “So why are you here?”

He swallowed, throat bobbing, and for a second I thought he wouldn’t answer.

“Because if I don’t bring you food, someone else will. And they’ll hurt you doing it.”

“You don’t know me,” I spat. “Why do you care who hurts me?”

“I do,” was all he said-no expounding. He pushed the tray closer to me.

The honesty cracked something in me I didn’t want cracked. I sat straighter against the wall, studying him harder. His eyes were blue. Kind eyes. Too kind for this place.

“Then don’t just bring food,” I said carefully. “Let me out.”

His whole body stiffened.

“I can tell you don’t like it. You think I belong in chains? You don’t. I see it on your face. So prove it. Let me

out.”

13:20 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 86

:

“I can’t.” His voice broke slightly on the word. “He’d-” He cut himself off, shaking his head.

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“Then at least my wrists,” I said quickly, leaning forward until the iron bit. “My ankles. Just a little slack. I can’t breathe like this.”

He looked at me then. Really looked. His hands twitched at his sides, restless, fighting with themselves. He took one step closer, then another. My breath caught.

He crouched, close enough that I could see how the scar twisted when his jaw clenched. He reached for his pockets, where a set of keys were. His fingers hovered near the cuffs with a trembling that made his fear evident.

For a moment, I thought he’d do it.

And then the door slammed wider.

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