Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Chapter 96

*Rory*

“Move.”

The word came like iron. A shove followed, chains biting into my wrists as I stumbled forward. My body screamed, knees nearly buckling, but I forced myself upright before Durnham could call it weakness. My instinct was to fold, to keep my chin down because he liked me small, silent, manageable. But then something struck me square in the chest.

The ghost-thread.

It burned sharper than it ever had, threading through my ribs like wire pulled taut. My breath caught as I snapped my head up without meaning to.

The clearing spread wide around me, firelight spilling in warped shadows across the vehicles they were loading. Men muttered as they shifted supplies, chains rattled, and smoke coiled from the torches. I should have seen none of it. But my eyes cut past all of it.

The treeline.

At first, I told myself I was imagining it. The hunger in my chest was just grief playing tricks again. But then I saw him.

Xander.

Half-shadow, half-wolf. His outline bled against the trees like something the night itself tried to hold back. His shoulders were rigid, chest heaving, his skin rippling faint with the pressure of the beast he caged. And gods, the air around him-Azrien’s fury leaked so thick it was as if the forest itself wanted to catch fire just from his restraint.

The moment slammed into me. Relief so fierce it felt like pain. My whole body wanted to break: to run, to cry, to laugh, to scream, anything but this awful stillness the chains allowed. So I did the only thing I could. I stared.

His eyes caught mine.

Every ache since the Solstice-losing Zerina, losing the bond, waking in that dungeon to the drip, the silence -every second of hollow agony split apart under the weight of his gaze. My throat burned, but I refused to look away.

“Rory.”

Isaac’s whisper snapped against my ear. He was crouched near me, hands taut on his knees. His blue eyes cut to mine, then followed the line of my stare into the trees. I felt his body tense when he found what I was looking at. His jaw locked, the scar across it pulling white.

“Don’t,” he hissed, so soft I almost missed it. “Look away. Please.”

But I didn’t. I wouldn’t.

13:22 Wed, Sep 17

Chapter 96

N

…

:

:

៩

39

55 vouchers

Durnham’s voice carried through the camp, calm as ever, speaking low to the men as if the world bent around his pace. He gestured at crates, chains, torches, never once raising his tone. And yet I knew. I felt it in my bones. He knew exactly what I was staring at. He always knew.

My heart thundered in my ears. I tried to breathe past it, tried not to crumple under the fact that he was right there, close enough that I could taste him on the air. Alive. Fighting for me. And I couldn’t move.

Isaac leaned closer, lips barely parting. “If he sees you-”

“He already does,” I whispered back, cutting him off. My voice shook, but my eyes never wavered.

The truth was raw. Staring at Xander hurt almost worse than the silence. Because it reminded me what had been stolen-the heat of the bond, the steadiness of Zerina’s voice, the certainty that I wasn’t alone. I had none of that now. Just this ghost-thread that burned sharp enough to bleed.

But it was enough to make me lift my chin higher.

For one long breath, we just looked. His eyes pinned me like they had claws. I could feel everything in them: love, fury, apology, promise. Every word we hadn’t been able to say since the world fractured. I poured back everything I had left-every scrape of hope, every ounce of defiance. If this was all we had, then I would not waste it.

Isaac shifted beside me, restless. He muttered again, “Aurora, please—”

I ignored him.

The pull between Xander and me stretched across the firelight, taut and dangerous. Azrien’s growl rumbled in my chest though I couldn’t hear it, only feel it through

the phantom thread. I wanted to collapse into it, to

believe that if I reached hard enough I’d snap the chains and run straight into his arms.

But the world never gave me what I wanted that easily.

A shout tore the night.

Not Xander’s. Not mine.

One of the guards near the vehicles barked a warning, blade raised toward the trees. My stomach dropped.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify