Chapter 65 Cracking Illusion

Chapter 65 Cracking Illusion
INDIE
      The healer's hall was overflowing with suffering.

Rows of cots lined the long room, filled with pale, sweating bodies. Moans and coughs echoed off the stone walls. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the sour smell of sickness. There were so many people... pack members I should have recognized, but their faces blurred together in my mind.

My stomach twisted.

How long has this been going on?

West walked beside me, his hand resting lightly on my lower back. He was smiling, that gentle, concerned smile that made my chest ache with confusion. He carried a tray of drinks and food, offering water and broth to the sick as we passed.

"You're doing so well," he whispered to me, his voice warm. "They need you here."

I nodded numbly, but my skin crawled.

A flash of memory hit me without warning.

West's face twisted in rage. His hand cracking across my cheek. His voice screaming at me while I curled on the floor, protecting my belly.

I jerked, nearly dropping the cup in my hands. The memory vanished as fast as it came, leaving me shaking.

No. That wasn't real. That couldn't be him.

West noticed. He leaned closer, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.

"Are you okay, baby?"

I forced a smile. "Just... overwhelmed."

He guided me deeper into the hall, still smiling that perfect, loving smile.

Then he spoke the words that made my blood run cold.

"You can help them, Indie. Use your flames. Purify the pack. Burn the sickness out of them."

I stared at him, confusion slamming into me.

"My... flames?"

West nodded patiently, like he was explaining something simple to a child.

"Your special gift. The fire inside you. It's pure. It can cleanse anything corrupted. That's why you've been training so hard. To help during the plague. Remember?"

No. I didn't remember.

But the words felt familiar in a sickening way. Flames. Purification. Power.

I tried.

I closed my eyes and reached for that inner spark. The one that felt both mine and not-mine. Heat sparked weakly in my chest, then sputtered out like a dying candle. Nothing happened. No warmth. No fire. Only emptiness.

Frustration boiled over into fear.

"I can't," I whispered. "It won't come."

West's smile faltered for half a second before returning, softer.

"It's okay. You're tired. You've been through so much."

I couldn't breathe. The hall felt too small, too full of pain and eyes watching me. I backed away, muttering something about needing air, then turned and fled.

I didn't stop until I was behind the building, hidden from view. My back hit the cool stone wall, and I slid down, hot tears rolling down my cheeks.

'What is wrong with me?'

A voice echoed in my head right then. I recognized it right away.

'Bunny...'

Zade.

The name hit me like lightning. For one beautiful, painful second, I felt him. His strong arms, those violet eyes, and that dark certainty that I belonged to him.

Then the connection snapped, and I was left with a haunting silence.

I sobbed harder, curling into myself.

Footsteps approached slowly.

I didn't look up.

West crouched in front of me, close enough that I could smell his familiar scent, cedar and something faintly sweet. He stayed there for a long moment without speaking, just watching me with those soft, worried eyes.

"Indie..." he whispered finally, his voice gentle and low. "Baby, look at me."

I didn't want to. But I did.

He reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away. When I didn't, his fingers brushed my tear-stained cheek, his thumb wiping away the wetness with a heartbreaking tenderness.

"You're breaking my heart," he said. "Seeing you like this... it kills me."

His other hand found mine, gently prying my fingers apart from where they were clenched around my knees.

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles, one by one, slow and reverent. Then the other hand.

His mouth lingered on my skin like he was trying to pour love into me through touch alone.

"I know it's confusing right now," he continued softly, his voice soothing. "The plague, the pressure, everything you've been carrying... it's too much. But you don't have to carry it alone. I'm right here."

He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, his lips warm and steady. Then another on my temple. Then the bridge of my nose. Each kiss was slow, as though he was trying to anchor me back to him.

I melted.

Despite everything screaming inside me, my body leaned into him. My forehead dropped against his shoulder as fresh tears slipped down my cheeks.

He wrapped his arms around me carefully, one hand stroking slow circles on my back, the other cradling the back of my head.

"That's it," he whispered against my hair. "Let it out. I've got you. I've always got you."

I clung to him, my fingers fisting in his shirt, sobbing weakly into his neck. His heartbeat was steady against my ear. Familiar. Safe.

But in the back of my mind, that voice wouldn't stop replaying.

West held me tighter, rocking me gently like he used to do with Lila when she was tiny. His lips brushed my ear as he spoke.

"You're safe here. With me. With our family. Whatever you're feeling right now... we'll get through it together. I promise."

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted it so badly it hurt.

But even as I melted deeper into his arms, even as his warmth surrounded me and his sweet words filled the space between us...

I couldn't stop hearing Zade's voice calling for me through the dark.

...

The small dining nook off the kitchen felt deceptively peaceful.

Sunlight streamed through the window, warming the wooden table where Lila sat across from me. I'd managed to get some soup and soft bread into her, though she was eating slowly, her movements sluggish. I kept stealing glances at her, forcing a smile every time she looked up.

She still felt warm.

I reached across the table and pressed the back of my hand to her forehead again. Heat radiated against my skin.

My stomach sank.

"Lila, baby... are you feeling okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light even as panic lodged in my throat.

She blinked slowly, her spoon hovering above her bowl.

"A little hot, Mommy."

'When did this happen?' I thought frantically. She had been fine earlier — or had she? The memories kept slipping, like trying to hold water in my hands. One moment she was playing, the next she was burning up again. Or had she never cooled down?

I closed my eyes and reached inward, desperately searching for Rain, my wolf. The familiar presence that had always been there, strong and protective.

But all I got was silence.

A thick, unnatural wall where her spirit should have been. It felt like someone had locked her away.

Fear spiked through me, icy.

'Why can't I feel her? What's happening to me?'

Lila tilted her head, watching me with those big, innocent eyes.

"Mommy... where's my other daddy?" she asked suddenly. "And Uncle Leon? The one with pretty red hair like fire."

The spoon slipped from my fingers and clattered loudly onto the table.

I stared at her, my mouth dry, my heart hammering so hard it hurt.

"What... what did you say, sweetheart?"

Lila frowned, like I was being silly.

"The other daddy. The one with purple eyes. He holds me when I have bad dreams. And Uncle Leon makes funny faces and lets me play with his hair." She poked at her soup. "They were here yesterday, right? Or... was that a dream?"

Her words hit me hard.

Zade.

Leon.

Violet eyes. Red hair. Strong arms. Safety. Possession. Love so fierce it terrified me.

I gaped at her, fear and confusion twisting together in my chest until I could barely breathe.

"Lila... that was just a dream, baby," I said, my voice shaking. "There's only one daddy. West. Remember?"

Lila's little face crumpled.

"But... but he was real," she whispered, her eyes filling up with tears. "He called me 'princess'. Uncle Leon made me laugh. Why are you saying it was a dream?"

Tears spilled down her flushed cheeks. She dropped her spoon and started crying.

"I want the other daddy," she whimpered. "I want Uncle Leon. Where did they go? Why won't you tell me?"

I reached for her, pulling her into my lap even though her skin was burning hotter than before. I rocked her gently, pressing kisses to her damp curls while my own tears fell silently.

"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Mommy's just... confused right now. It's going to be okay. I promise."

But even as I said the words, dread coiled tighter in my stomach.

Because Lila remembered them.

And if she remembered Zade and Leon...

Then maybe they were real.

And maybe everything West was telling me was a lie.

Wasn't it?