Chapter 29 Unfortunate
INDIE
I spun in a slow circle, my heart hammering against my ribs, trying to find the door that had been there only seconds ago.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
West's mother stepped out from between two massive trunks. She wore the same navy coat she'd always worn to pack meetings, the one with the silver wolf pin on the collar. Her smile was small and polite.
"There you are," she said again, her voice soft.
I took a step back. My bare feet sank into moss that felt too real.
"This is a dream," I said. My voice sounded thin and childish.
"Is it?" She tilted her head, studying me like I was a disappointing piece of art. "Or is it the part of you that still knows where you belong?"
I shook my head. "I belong with Zade. With Lila. Not—"
"Not with the pack that raised you?" she finished gently. "Not with the husband who gave you a child? Not with the life you threw away for a monster who hears the dead?"
My stomach churned. "He's not a monster."
She sighed, the sound full of disappointment. "Indie, sweetheart. Come home. The pack needs its Luna. Lila needs her mother. West... West still loves you, in his way. He's willing to forgive."
Forgive.
How dare she? After everything she did to make sure I was disgraced and embarrassed?
"No," I said. My voice cracked, but I refused to show fear or hesitation. "I'm not going back."
Her expression didn't change, but something colder moved behind her eyes.
"That's unfortunate."
She took one graceful step closer. The moss didn't make a sound under her shoes.
"You know," she said conversationally, "Lila's been so very tired lately. Poor thing. All those fevers. All those nights she cries for you. The healers can't explain it. But I can."
Ice slid down my spine.
"What did you do?" I breathed.
She smiled again.
"A very small dose. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to keep her weak. Just enough to remind you what's at stake. Four months, Indie. Four months until the antidote wears off completely. After that..." She spread her hands. "She'll deteriorate. Slowly. Painfully. And no healer in any pack will be able to stop it."
My knees buckled. I caught myself against a tree trunk, the bark biting into my palms.
"You've been poisoning my daughter," I breathed.
"I'm giving you a choice," she corrected gently. "Come home. Resume your place as Luna. Be the mother and wife you were always meant to be. And Lila will recover fully. The fevers will stop. And she will grow up strong, surrounded by her real family."
I stared at her.
The rage came slow at first, then all at once, like fire catching dry grass.
I moved forward.
"You don't get to touch her," I said, my voice shaking with fury. "You don't get to use my baby as leverage."
Her smile didn't falter. "Then watch her fade, Indie. It's your decision."
My hand moved before I could change my mind. The slap cracked across her cheek like thunder.
Her head snapped to the side. The polite mask shattered. For one second her eyes flashed with something feral.
I stumbled back, my chest heaving. And then the grove dissolved.
Trees folded inward like wet paper. The ground tilted.
I jolted awake with a gasp, my heart slamming so hard it hurt.
I was sprawled across Zade's chest.
Sunlight poured through the curtains in warm golden bars. His arm was still slung over my waist, heavy and warm. His breathing was slow and even.
But he wasn't asleep.
His violet eyes were open, watching me with amusement.
I scrambled upright, nearly falling off the bed in my panic.
"Zade—" My hands flew to his forehead, his cheeks, and his neck. "Your fever—how do you feel? Are you—"
He caught my wrists gently, tugging me back down until I was half-draped across him again.
"Easy, Bunny." His voice was rough from sleep, low and amused. "I'm fine."
I froze, my palms flat on his bare chest. His skin was cool.
"You're... okay?" I whispered.
He lifted one brow. "Better than okay."
I exhaled shakily, relief crashing through me so hard my eyes stung.
Then I realized how I was positioned, straddling his hips, wearing nothing but his shirt from yesterday. Hold up, just how long did I sleep for? The time had been around 01:30PM when I'd made Zade take a bath because of all the blood. And Lila...
My mind flashed back to the terrifying dream, shivers racing down my spine.
Zade's gaze darkened as he took me in.
"Look at you," he murmured, his hands sliding up my thighs, his thumbs brushing the sensitive skin just under the hem. "Waking up all wild and worried. Scrambling over me as if I might just disappear."
I ducked my head, heat flooding my face.
"I—I thought—"
He tugged me down until my chest pressed to his, his lips brushing my temple.
"You thought I was dying again?" he teased softly.
"Maybe," I mumbled into his neck.
He chuckled warmly.
"Never gonna happen, Bunny. Not when I've got you to come back to."
I lifted my head just enough to glare at him, though it lacked any real heat.
"You're impossible."
"And you're adorable when you're panicking." His hands slid up to cup my face. "Bad dream?"
I hesitated. Then I nodded.
He searched my eyes for a long moment.
"Tell me later," he said softly. "When you're ready."
I swallowed hard, nodding again. It had to be just a dream, right?
He pressed a slow kiss to my forehead, then another to the tip of my nose, then the corner of my mouth.
"Stay here," he murmured against my lips. "Just a little longer. Let me hold you."
I melted against him, tucking my face into the crook of his neck.
His arms tightened around me.
Lila was safe down the hallway. Zade was breathing under me, alive and warm.
For now, that was enough.
So, I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat.
...
The supermarket smelled like fresh bread and disinfectant, the kind of normal, comforting chaos I'd almost forgotten existed. I'd decided to make a hearty meal for the packhouse.
Lila clung to my hand, her little fingers sticky from the lollipop Maris had bought her at the entrance. She kept pointing at everything.
Maris walked beside me, pushing the cart with one hip, her phone in her other hand. She was mid-rant about how the pack's grocery delivery service always forgot the oat milk when she suddenly stopped talking.
I glanced over. Her face had gone pale.
"Maris?"
She didn't answer. Her thumb was frozen on the screen.
Lila tugged my hand. "Mommy, can we get the strawberry ones?"
"In a minute, baby," I murmured, my eyes still on Maris. "What's wrong?"
Maris swallowed hard. She turned the phone towards me.
The photo filled the screen.
Me. Straddled across Zade's lap in the SUV, my legs wrapped around his waist, his hands gripping my hips.
The caption beneath it, in the pack's private forum thread, sent my heart racing.
"Flamekeeper seducing her own stepbrother. No wonder the Alpha couldn't attend the moon feast ceremony last night. Too busy getting drained by his cursed sister. #PackShame #CursedBlood"
My stomach dropped through the floor.
Lila tugged again. "Mommy?"
I forced a fake smile. "Yeah, sweetheart. Strawberry ice cream. Let's go."
Maris shoved the phone into her pocket. "Indie—"
"Not here," I whispered. "Not in front of her."
We turned down the next aisle.
Three women stood blocking the way. They were pack members. I vaguely recognized her from the old days. The tallest one, Carla, had her arms crossed and a nasty smirk.
"Well, look who's back," she drawled. "Shopping like a normal housewife. Cute."
The other two exchanged glances and snickered.
I tightened my grip on Lila's hand. "Excuse us."
Carla didn't move. Her eyes darted down to Lila, then back to me. "Heard you've been busy corrupting the Alpha. Spreading those cursed flames all over him. No wonder he was too sick to show his face last night. Couldn't even stand up straight after you were done with him."
Sienna leaned in, voice syrupy sweet. "Stepbrother, right? That's what everyone's saying. You grew up in the same house. Shared the same dinner table. And now you're riding him like—"
"Stop." My voice came out low, shaking. Flames flickered at my fingertips before I could stop them. I clenched my fists, hiding them behind my back.
Carla laughed. "Oh, look. The cursed bitch is sparking. Careful, girls. Don't want to get burned by the family-fucker."
Lila whimpered and pressed closer to my leg.
That was it.
I stepped forward, putting myself between them and my daughter. "Walk away."
Carla's smirk faltered for half a second, then she recovered.
"Or what?" she sneered. "You'll set us on fire? Like you set the Alpha on fire? Everyone knows why he's sick. You're draining him. Sucking the life out of him with your filthy—"
A plastic water bottle sailed through the air.
It hit me square in the chest, the cap popping off on impact. Cold water exploded across my shirt, soaking through to my skin. Lila screamed as the splash caught her face and dress.
I spun.
One of Carla's friends stood with her arm still raised, another bottle in her hand. She smiled.
"Oops," she said sweetly. "Slipped."
Rage roared up my throat.