Alpha Xander's Undoing Chasing my Unknown Mate Back novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4

*Rory*

I woke up to the sound of a loud beeping. Everything ‘clean’ filled my senses. It was antiseptic, a little bitter, with a little hint of the artificial fragrance contained in soaps and cleaners.

The second I opened my eyes, I regretted it.

I blinked, trying to focus, my head pounding like I had been hit by a truck. The bright lights above me made my vision blur before I finally realized where I was—the infirmary.

What the hell happened?

Memories were a haze, my thoughts sluggish, but then—there it was. A shift inside me. A presence I hadn’t felt in so long I almost didn’t recognize it.

It moved like a shadow in the back of my mind, sluggish, quiet—but awake.

I inhaled sharply.

My wolf.

My heart leapt into my throat. The last time I had felt her—really felt her—was the night I turned sixteen, the night she woke for the first time. But I had barely gotten the chance to know her before my father shoved my ‘medicine’ down my throat and forced her back into the dark.

Now, after two long years of silence, she stirred.

For the first time in forever, I felt… whole.

I gasped as the memories came rushing back—fainting in the cafeteria, that one realization that struck me before it all went black.

My lips parted as I tried to reach out to her, my mind tentatively brushing against hers.

‘Hello?’

Nothing.

I tried again. ‘Are you there?’

A low, unimpressed chuff was the only response.

I blinked in surprise. She was angry.

‘Why don’t you want to talk to me?’ I asked hesitantly.

She didn’t answer, but I could feel the simmering resentment beneath the surface, a slow-burning rage that had been festering for years.

And then it hit me.

She wasn’t just mad at me. She was furious.

At me.

‘I didn’t have a choice!’ I pleaded, desperate to explain myself. ‘I didn’t know—I thought the medicine was keeping me alive! I passed out today because I forgot it! Doesn’t that mean I need it?’

She didn’t answer.

I sighed, feeling my time slipping away as I thought about what would happen once they knew I was awake. No doubt my father would shove another vial down my throat soon.

‘What’s your name?’ I asked desperately. ‘I’m Aurora. But everyone calls me Rory.’

I was met with silence again.

Then, finally, she spoke—her voice low and sharp like ice cracking over a frozen lake.

‘Zerina. My name is Zerina,’ she said, and I gasped. ‘And I know who you are, Aurora.’

Zerina.

My breath caught in my throat. ‘That’s a beautiful name. And your voice…’ It was like a melody—so mature and strong, full of power and command. I could listen to her in my head all day.

Gosh, I wanted to listen to her all day.

She didn’t respond.

I swallowed, my fingers clutching at the thin blanket draped over my body as I gathered my thoughts.

‘Zerina… is it true? Is Xander really our mate?’

There was a long silence. Then, softly—

‘Yes.’

A rush of emotions flooded through me. Confusion. Relief. A strange, irrational hope.

If he was my mate, then… we were meant to be. Right?

I barely had time to process it before the infirmary door swung open with a loud bang.

I flinched.

My father stood at the entrance, his face carved from stone, but his dark eyes burned with anger. Behind him, Mona lingered, worry tightening her features.

Disappointment hit me like a slap when I realized Xander wasn’t with them.

“Rory.” My father’s voice was sharp, cutting. “You deliberately skipped your medicine, didn’t you?”

I sat up, my head still spinning, my heart hammering from the sheer force of his anger.

“No, Dad! I just—I forgot it at Xander’s house, I swear!”

His lips pressed into a thin line as he stepped forward, pulling a small glass vial from his pocket—the familiar dark liquid swirling inside.

The sight of it sent a chill down my spine.

“Then take it now,” he ordered.

Zerina’s voice echoed in my head. ‘No. Please don’t.’

It was the first time since she spoke to me that I actually heard emotion in her voice. She was terrified.

For the first time, I hesitated.

“No, Dad.” My voice wavered, but I forced myself to sit straighter. “I met my wolf. She’s lovely.”

The blood drained from his face.

That’s why he didn’t know.

A desperate thought shot through me. “Right before I passed out, did you catch a whiff of my wolf’s scent?”

Mona frowned, thinking. “Yeah, a little, but that’s because I carried you here. It wasn’t strong enough to be noticeable, but it was there. And it was beautiful, Rory. I can’t quite place it, but it was beautiful.”

My heart leapt. “Maybe Xander—”

“Xander?” Mona scoffed, rolling her eyes. “He didn’t even want to carry you here himself. I don’t care that he’s my future alpha—he’s an asshole.”

Before I could respond, the door slammed open. Again.

Xander stormed in, his face twisted in fury. That seemed to be going around a lot today.

“You’re supposed to be taking medicine and you haven’t?”

I flinched. “It was only one day! I was just so focused on moving to campus that I forgot. But Xander, you have to listen—”

I was excited to tell him. To explain. To fix this.

But he cut me off.

“No, you listen to me, you little murderer.”

His words were a slap to the face.

“I don’t care what happens to you, but you can’t die. My future depends on it. My pack depends on it. If you die, so does my chance of taking over Snow Pack with Emerald Pack.”

Something inside me shattered.

“So take your fucking medicine and don’t let this happen again.” His blazing eyes darted to Mona, and she didn’t back down with her glare regardless of who he was. “And you, make sure she takes it.”

Then, he walked out, slamming the door shut behind him.

He didn’t care about me.

Not even a little.

This was all because of the alliance that our marriage formed. When he rushed over to me when I stumbled in the cafeteria, it wasn’t for me. He didn’t care about me.

He didn’t want me. And he never would.

To him, I was his lover’s murderer and annoying little sister who he had to inconveniently marry.

A single tear slipped down my cheek, and I wanted to cry. But I stopped myself and my jaw clenched.

You know what? Screw him.

I didn’t want someone so cruel as my mate anyway.

He would never know.

And I would never tell him.

He could go straight to hell.