Chapter 30 Let Them Burn
EDEN
Flames erupted from my palms, furious. The nearest shelf of cereal boxes caught fire instantly. Boxes crackled and blackened. People screamed and scattered. But I wanted more! I wanted everything to burn! They had no clue how much I suffered!
They didn't understand how deep my scars went! They had no fucking right to criticize me. Did they think they were better than me? Let them burn! Every single one of them!
Maris grabbed my arm. "Indie stop!"
Never.
The flames climbed higher, raging towards Carla and her friends. They stumbled back, their eyes wide with sudden terror.
I felt the power blazing, wild and hungry, feeding off every ounce of humiliation and fear I'd swallowed for years.
Then a small hand tugged my sleeve.
"Mummy... it's cold."
Lila's tiny voice pierced right through the haze and snapped me out of my cruel fantasy.
I looked down. She was soaked and shivering, tears rolling down her cheeks.
The heat in my chest died instantly.
I dropped to my knees, pulling her into my arms, shielding her from the stares.
"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered, rocking her. "I'm so sorry."
Maris crouched beside us, her voice shaking. "We need to go. Now."
The insults kept coming, raining down like stones as we started to leave.
"Running away already, Flamekeeper? Can't handle a little truth?"
"Whore! You think you can just come back and spread your legs for our alpha?"
"Take your bastard and get out of our pack!"
Each word stabbed me in the chest, but I didn't look back. I couldn't. If I did, I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop myself from turning around and ending them.
Maris grabbed the cart handles and shoved it forward like a battering ram. People parted. Some stared. Some whispered. A few looked ashamed. Most didn't.
We made it to the checkout. I don't remember paying. I don't remember bagging our purchase. I just remember Lila's face pressed into my neck, her breath hitching like she was trying not to cry, and the way my hands shook so badly I could barely hold the bags.
Maris loaded everything into the boot while I buckled Lila into her car seat. My daughter's eyes were huge and red-rimmed, but she wasn't crying anymore. She just stared at me like she was waiting for me to tell her it was all going to be okay.
I kissed her forehead. "It's okay, baby. Mummy's got you."
She nodded.
I slid behind the wheel. Maris climbed into the passenger seat.
I started the engine.
My hands were white-knuckled on the wheel, my breathing ragged. I could still feel the heat under my skin, restless, waiting for permission.
I pulled out of the parking lot.
The second we were on the road, the dam broke.
A whimper tore out of my throat. Tears blurred the windscreen. I didn't dare wipe them away. I didn't dare take my hands off the wheel.
If Lila hadn't said my name...
If she hadn't looked at me with those terrified eyes...
I would have burned them all.
And I wouldn't have stopped.
The thought made me sick. I pressed my lips together so hard I tasted blood.
Zade's voice slipped into my head, soft and sudden, like cool water on fevered skin.
'Bunny? What's wrong?'
I flinched.
His presence in the bond was warm and calming.
'I can feel you. You're shaking. Talk to me.'
I swallowed hard, forcing my inner voice to steady.
"I'm fine."
A bloody lie.
'I'm fine. I'm just... grocery shopping. Lila wanted strawberry ice cream.'
Another lie.
He went quiet for a while.
'Indie.'
The way he said my name made my chest ache.
'I'm okay,' I sent back, trying to push calm through the bond. 'Really. We're on our way home.'
There was silence again. It was longer this time.
When he spoke again, his voice was so soft.
'You're lying to me.'
I took a shaky breath, trying to stay calm.
'I have to be,' I whispered through the bond. 'For now... I have to be.'
He didn't push.
But I felt him linger in my subconsciousness, soothing me. And I was grateful for his presence.
...
At the sight of the pack house gates looming ahead, I exhaled the breath I'd been holding. My knuckles were still white on the steering wheel, but the sight of those iron bars parting slowly felt like coming up for air after being underwater too long.
Safe.
We were safe.
Lila was humming softly in the back seat, kicking her little legs against the car seat, already asking if we could watch cartoons when we got inside. Maris sat beside me in silence, her phone face-down on her thigh. Neither of us had spoken since the supermarket. There wasn't anything left to say that wouldn't make the rage fire up again.
I pulled into the driveway. The moment I killed the engine, the quiet felt too loud.
I unbuckled Lila, lifted her onto my hip, and pressed my lips to her temple. She smelled like strawberry lollipop and baby shampoo.
"We're home, baby," I whispered.
She nodded against my shoulder.
Maris grabbed the grocery bags. We walked up the steps together.
The omegas were waiting at the entrance.
Three of them—young girls who usually smiled and curtsied when they saw me—stood stiffly in the foyer. Their hands were clasped in front of them, their eyes wide and glassy. They gave me no smile or greetings. The tension in the air was just so thick I could literally taste it.
My stomach churned with discomfort.
"What's wrong?" I asked gently.
One of them—Anya, the youngest—glanced towards the staircase as if she was afraid that the walls were listening.
"The Luna..." she whispered. "She's... in a very bad mood."
I blinked.
"The Luna?"
Anya swallowed. "Miss Enid."
I felt Maris tense beside me.
Lila lifted her head. "Mummy, who's Luna?"
I forced out a counterfeit smile. "Nobody important, sweetheart."
I adjusted Lila higher on my hip and started up the stairs towards the alpha's private wing.
The hallway leading to Zade's quarters was darker than usual. The curtains were drawn.
I reached the double doors and found that they were cracked open.
I pushed them wider with my shoulder.
Enid stood in the centre of the sitting room.
She wore a crimson silk robe that pooled around her. Her blonde hair was perfect, her makeup flawless. But her eyes were wild.
The moment she saw me, she moved.
Her hand smacked across my cheek so hard my head snapped to the side. It stung. I tasted copper from where I bit my tongue.
Lila whimpered.
"You stole my gold necklace. The one with the ruby pendant. I know it was you."
I blinked through the sting.
"What?"
One of the omegas—Anya again—stepped forward from the doorway, her voice trembling.
"I... I saw her with it, Lady Enid. This morning. She was holding it."
My mouth dropped open.
Flabbergasted didn't even begin to cover it.
"I have never touched your jewelry," I said slowly. "I've been with my daughter. Or with Zade. Or asleep. That's it."
Enid's lips curled.
"Liar."
Was this some kind of nightmare?
Lila started to cry against my shoulder.
"Maris," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "Take Lila inside. Now."
Maris didn't hesitate. She reached for my daughter.
Lila's arms tightened around my neck. "Mummy—no—"
"I'll be right there, baby," I whispered, kissing her wet cheek. "Mummy just needs to talk to someone. Go with Aunt Maris. Please."
Maris gently pried Lila's fingers loose. My daughter's sobs grew louder as she was carried away.
"Mummy! Mummy!"
The doors slid shut behind them.
Enid moved closer.
"You think you can walk in here and take everything?" she hissed. "You think you can spread your legs for him, parade around like some cursed whore, and no one will notice how pathetic you are? You're nothing. A used-up reject. A healer who can't even heal her own broken life. You're draining him, Indie. You're killing him slowly, and you're too weak to see it."
What the hell was she talking about? She wasn’t making any fucking sense, and that made me angrier.
I felt the flames ignite under my skin.
Enid kept going.
"You'll never be Luna. You'll never be anything but the mistake he keeps coming back to because he's too broken to know better. And when he finally sees you for the weak, pitiful—"
I lunged. My hand wrapped around her throat, and golden flames erupted from my palm.
Enid's eyes widened in shock.
She screamed.
The flames licked up her neck, blistering her skin, and licking up the ends of her perfect blonde hair.
She clawed at my wrist.
I squeezed tighter.
A dark voice purred inside my head in approval, almost pleased.
Kill her. She hurt you. She’s the reason your daughter is crying! End her.
My grip tightened.
Enid's eyes rolled back, her whites showing.
The omegas gasped. Someone whimpered.
I felt the fire grow higher, ready to consume—
"Bunny?"
I froze. Zade’s voice had just come from behind me. I released her instantly, and Enid collapsed to the floor, gasping, coughing, and clutching her scorched throat.
I spun.
Zade stood in the doorway, formally dressed. He had a blank look on his face. And behind him was Mason, who looked shell-shocked.
I stared back at them, my chest heaving.
“What is going on here?” Zade finally said, and I parted my lips. But Anya beat me to it.
“Alpha! She attacked the Luna for no reason at all!”