Chapter 59: Broken Leash

ZADE

Every step I took sent fresh waves of ice through my bones, but I kept walking anyway, one hand braced on Leon's shoulder because my legs had decided they no longer wanted to fully cooperate. The powder was still buzzing faintly at the edges of my mind, making everything feel slightly too bright and too distant at the same time.

I could hear them before we reached the kitchen.

Enid's sobbing. Indie's voice.

An ugly sensation twisted in my gut.

When we stepped into the doorway, the scene startled me.

Indie stood frozen at the counter, her face pale, her eyes wide with horror. Enid had tears streaming down her face.

The smell of burning eggs and bacon filled the air.

I took in the knife lying on the floor. The way Indie's shoulders were trembling. The raw desperation on Enid's face.

Unease crept in. Surely it wasn’t what I was thinking, right?

My voice came out rough when I spoke.

"What's going on?"

Both women jerked at the sound of my voice.

Indie turned towards me, and the look in her eyes—guilt, fear, and pain—made my chest constrict.

Leon's grip on my arm tightened slightly, steadying me.

"Zade..." Indie whispered. Her voice cracked.

I didn't move closer. I couldn't. My legs felt like glass.

"Someone speak," I said, my voice lower. "Now."

Enid wiped at her face, but the tears kept coming. She looked at me with wide, wet eyes. I knew right away that I wouldn’t like what she was about to say.

"I was only trying to help," she whispered. "You're dying. And she... she's making it worse."

Indie flinched as if she'd been struck. If I weren't so sick, Enid would have paid with that flinch with her blood.

Leon stiffened beside me, probably sensing my growing irritation.

"Explain," I deadpanned.

Enid's lower lip trembled.

"Her flames," she continued, her voice shaking. "Every time she trains, every time she draws strength from the bond to grow stronger... it's feeding the drain. It's pulling more from you. The brighter her fire gets, the faster you fade. I felt it. I've been feeling it for days."

She took a shaky step towards me.

"If she stays bonded to you... if she keeps pulling from you... you won't survive this. The only way to give you a real chance is if she rejects the bond and breaks it completely before it kills you."

The kitchen went deathly silent.

I stared at Enid for a long moment. Then my gaze slid to Indie.

She looked as though her heart had just been ripped out.

Indie believed her. I could feel it.

At least part of her did.

A slow, cold laugh scraped up my throat. It sounded wrong even to my own ears.

"So that's it?" I said softly. "You want her to reject me. To sever the bond. To walk away and take half my soul with her... because her fire is too bright for my rotting body."

Enid's tears fell faster.

"I don't want you to die," she cried. "I can't lose you. You saved me. You gave me a place here. You—"

"Enough."

My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the room like a blade.

I took one shaky step forward, Leon moving with me so I wouldn't fall.

My eyes never left Indie.

"You really think I'd let you do that?" I asked her, my voice hoarse. "Do you think I'd let you rip us apart to save me?"

Indie's lips parted, but no sound came out.

"Come here, bunny."

She hesitated only a second before moving towards me. When she was close enough, I reached out with a trembling hand and cupped her face, my thumb brushing away the tear that had slipped down her cheek.

"I don't care what she says," I whispered, loud enough for only her to hear. "I don't care what the bond costs me. You are not leaving me. You are not rejecting me. And you sure as fuck are not sacrificing yourself to keep me breathing."

My grip tightened slightly, possessive even through the weakness.

Behind me, Leon let out a shaky breath.

Enid made a small, pathetic sound.

But I only had eyes for Indie.

"Tell me you understand," I said, my voice dropping into that dark, dangerous register I rarely let out. "Tell me you're not considering it."

Indie's eyes filled up with fresh tears. Her hand came up to cover mine where it rested on her cheek.

"Zade..." she whispered.

The single word held all of her emotions.

And for the first time since Sweetpea appeared, I felt something colder than the drain settle in my chest.

Because if Indie even thought about leaving me to save me...

I would drag her back kicking and screaming.

Bond or no bond. Hell or high water.

She was mine. And I was hers. Even if it killed me.

...

The balcony air was cool against my skin, but it did nothing to soothe the unnatural weakness in my bones. I sat in the wide wooden chair, my legs stretched out on the ottoman, staring at the dark treeline beyond the packhouse. The powder was still humming faintly in my veins, making everything feel slightly detached, like I was watching my own life through fogged glass.

Leon knelt in front of me on the floor, his strong hands working slow, firm circles into the arch of my right foot. The touch should have felt strange. Instead, it felt... grounding. Annoyingly so.

"You really think she won't try to leave?" Leon asked, his voice low enough that the wind almost carried it away.

My entire body tensed.

I hated the sound of those words. Hated how easily they slipped from his mouth. Hated that some part of me had already asked the same question in the dark corners of my mind.

"Don't," I said, my voice cold and flat. "Don't say that shit out loud."

Leon's hands paused for half a second, then continued their slow massage, his thumbs pressing into the tense muscle.

"I'm sorry," he rasped. "I didn't mean to push. I'm just... worried. She looked destroyed in the kitchen. If Enid planted that seed deep enough—"

"I said, 'Don't.'"

The words came out colder. Leon went quiet, but his touch stayed gentle and careful. He switched to my left foot, working the stiffness out with steady pressure.

A few minutes passed in heavy silence.

Then soft footsteps approached from behind us.

Indie stepped onto the balcony carrying a tray of fresh fruit. The sight of her made my chest loosen, just a little.

She smiled, the light in her eyes drawing me in.

"Hey," she said softly, setting the tray on the small table beside me. "I brought something light. You need to eat."

Without waiting for permission, she picked up a piece of mango and brought it to my lips. I opened my mouth and let her feed me. The sweetness burst across my tongue, pushing through the metallic aftertaste the powder always left behind.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice gentle as she offered another piece.

"Like death warmed over," I answered honestly. "But better with you here."

A faint flush coloured her cheeks. She glanced at Leon, then back at me, and picked up another slice of mango. This time she turned toward him.

Leon looked surprised, but he leaned forward and accepted the fruit from her fingers, his lips brushing her skin for a brief second.

"Thank you," he said, his golden eyes soft.

Maybe killing him might be better after all.

The three of us fell into a strange, fragile rhythm. Indie continued feeding us both in turns.

Leon's hands never stopped massaging my feet, while Indie sat on the arm of my chair, occasionally brushing hair back from my forehead or tracing lazy patterns on my shoulder.

For a few minutes, it almost felt peaceful.

Then Leon spoke again.

"You know... sometimes you remind me of a machine, Zade. Like everything inside you runs on perfect, cold logic. I can barely read your thoughts even now. You’re as cold and unfeeling as—”

The words hit wrong.

My foot jerked hard before I could stop it, my heel connecting solidly with Leon's ribs.

He grunted, more from surprise than pain, and rocked back slightly.

"Careful," I growled, the powder making my voice rougher than usual. "I'm not a fucking machine."

Leon rubbed his side, but his mouth curved into a small, crooked smile.

"Message received, Alpha."

Indie let out a soft laugh, the sound easing some of the tension in my shoulders. She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my temple, then offered Leon a strawberry as a peace offering. His eyes never left hers as he took it.

The moment stretched, soft and strangely intimate. Indie's hand rested on my chest. Leon's thumbs pressed into the ball of my foot.

For once, I didn't fight the feeling of them both being this close.

Then heavy footsteps approached from inside the house.

Mason appeared in the balcony doorway, his face grim.

We all tensed.

"Sweetpea was found," he said without preamble.

Relief hit me first.

Then Mason continued, lowering his voice.

"She's dead."

Indie's hand froze against my chest. Leon's fingers stopped moving on my foot.

I stared at Mason, the powder's buzz turning into a violent static in my ears.

"Dead?" I repeated softly.

Mason nodded, his expression dark.

"Enforcers found her body near the eastern ridge, half-buried under leaves. She had no visible wounds... but her eyes were wide open.”

The balcony went deathly silent.

Indie's breathing hitched. Leon slowly rose to his feet, all softness gone from his posture.

I felt the cold that had been creeping through my body turn into something darker.

Sweetpea was dead.

And if Varak had used her up completely... then the real monster was no longer hiding behind a child's face.

It was coming for us.

Directly.

But how?