Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

“Rory

CA 56 vouchers

The car jolted, and my head slammed against the metal wall. Chains rattled loud enough to drown the driver’s curse, but I didn’t care. The sound in my chest was louder. The ghost–thread burned so hot it felt like someone was dragging wire through my ribs.

Xander.

The image of him clung behind my eyes–half–shadow, half–wolf, standing at the edge of the firelight like the forest itself had birthed him. I’d seen him. I’d felt him. And then he’d been ripped away.

I shoved against the cuffs, wrists screaming raw. My breath rasped in the dark, every inhale clogged with oil and blood.

“You’re wasting your strength.”

Durnham’s voice slid through the space, low and calm. He didn’t even look winded from the fight outside. He sat opposite me, hands resting loose on his knees, as if the whole world wasn’t burning around us.

I bared my teeth. “He’s coming for me.”

“He already did,” he said, not unkind, not mocking–just flat. “And yet you’re still here.”

My throat burned, but I refused to give him the silence he wanted. “You won’t win.”

“You confuse survival with victory,” he replied, turning his gaze to the window. Torches flared and dropped outside as his men scrambled to keep pace. “What matters is who is still breathing when the dust settles.”

I wanted to scream at him, to claw at his face until that calm cracked. But the chains kept me bent, and the silence inside me kept me hollow.

Isaac sat near the door, shoulders drawn tight, eyes on the floor. He hadn’t looked at me since they shoved me into the car.

“Still proud of yourself?” I snapped. “Guarding your uncle’s prisoner?”

His jaw ticked, the scar across it whitening. He didn’t answer.

“Do you dream of chains too, Isaac?” I pushed harder. “Or do you just wear them wide open so he doesn’t notice you choking?”

That got him. His head snapped up, blue eyes blazing, guilt written plain. “You think you know something about me? You don’t know the cost.”

“Then tell me,” I hissed. “Tell me what makes serving him better than dying free.”

His mouth worked once, twice. Finally, his voice cracked low. “Because dying free doesn’t help the boy they were hunting.” He dragged a hand over the scar. “They left this as a reminder. That I survived what others didn’t. Because he pulled me

out.”

The words landed heavier than I wanted. I stared at the scar, ragged and raw against skin that didn’t fit it. A Venatorum mark. A brand of survival.

“You owe him your life,” I said, bitter.

“I owe him chains,” he shot back. “And chains still mean breathing.”

1/3

7:08 pm PM

Chapter 98

EX 55 vouchera

“Breathing isn’t living.” I said, softer now, though the venom stayed. “You know it. Otherwise you wouldn’t keep looking at

me like that.”

His throat bobbed, and he looked away again.

Before I could press him further, the world howled.

It wasn’t wolf. It wasn’t Venatorum.

The sound ripped through the forest, through the car walls, through my bones. Hollow. Empty. Hungry. It made my teeth. ache and my skin crawl.

The vehicle shuddered, wheels grinding against mud. Outside, men shouted, panic pitching their voices high.

“What was that?” someone yelled,

“Keep driving!” another barked.

The howl rose again, closer this time. The metal frame groaned like even it wanted to fold. Isaac went pale, knuckles white on his knees.

Durnham didn’t flinch. He leaned back, expression sharpened with something I hadn’t seen before–satisfaction. “The Hollow is awake.”

The car lurched harder, then screamed to a stop. My shoulder slammed into the wall, pain sparking down my arm. Shouts tangled with the crash of undergrowth.

Then–chaos.

The doors ripped open, torchlight spilling wild. Figures slammed in, steel clanging, voices breaking. I twisted, heart clawing up my throat.

And there he was.

Xander.

He tore through the gap like fire given legs, eyes feral, skin rippling with Azrien’s rage. His chest heaved, blood smeared, fists clawed. He didn’t hesitate. He ripped the nearest man out by the throat, chains snapping under his grip.

“XANDER!” My voice shredded itself raw.

His head whipped to me. Our eyes locked, and the phantom thread burned white–hot.

The Venatorum swarmed, but the others followed him–Matt’s blade flashed, Dhara’s claws cut deep, Mona drove her knife straight through ribs. The air reeked of blood and oil.

Durnhamn rose slow, unhurried. His calm stretched across the chaos like a leash. “Hold her.”

Two men grabbed me, dragging me back as I thrashed. My chains cut, wrists screaming, ankles scraping rock.

“No!” Xander’s roar split the night. He tore through the gap, fists flying, claws ripping. He was almost there–close enough that I could see the wild in his eyes, feel the heat of his breath.

Our hands stretched. My fingertips brushed his.

Then Durnham moved.

2/3

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify