Chapter 21 Yours
INDIE
Every alpha in the clearing froze for a moment. Then they moved. A roar rose from dozens of throats at once. They shifted mid-stride, fur rippling over skin. Their claws lengthened, their eyes blazing gold and red with rut-mad hunger. The air turned electric, saturated with their scents.
It had to be a set up.
Zade clamped his hands on my hips, lifting me higher against the rough bark. The torn silk bunched uselessly around my waist.
"No one touches what's mine," he growled against my skin.
Then he sank his canines into the side of my neck. I cried out, my legs locked tighter around him. Golden flames exploded outward from my skin. They didn't burn him.
They roared to life in a blazing wall, several feet high. The fire hissed and snapped as if it were alive. And when the first wave of alphas slammed into it, they recoiled and screamed, their flesh blistering.
And then I saw West.
He stood at the edge of the clearing, his claws out, his chest heaving. His eyes—those familiar blue eyes that once looked at me with love—were locked on us. On Zade's fangs in my throat. On my legs wrapped around another man's waist.
For one frozen second our gazes met.
And everything came crashing back. Every single time he cheated. Every time he humiliated me. His brutal rejection.
He'd made me feel small, unwanted, and broken.
And now he stood there watching someone else actually claim me. Rage and grief and triumph collided inside my chest.
So, I looked straight at West. Then I fisted my hands in Zade's hair, yanked his mouth back to mine, and kissed him hard, deep, filthy and possessive. My tongue tangled with his, tasting him. I moaned into his mouth loud enough for the entire grove to hear.
Zade growled his approval.
I broke the kiss just long enough to lock eyes with West again. Then I smiled.
West's face was pale, his eyes glassy. His fists were clenched so hard blood dripped from his palms where claws had pierced skin.
He deserved this. And more.
Zade's forehead dropped to mine.
"Mine," he rasped.
I cupped his face, my thumbs brushing the sweat from his temples.
"Yours," I whispered back.
He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. His eyes had darkened to near-black, his pupils blown wide with possession and lingering fever.
"Hold on, Bunny."
Before I could answer, he scooped me into his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. My arms looped around his neck instinctively as he straightened, heading back towards the temple.
The flames moved with us, scorching the ground black where it touched, forcing the alphas to scramble back or burn. Zade walked through them without hurry, his boots crunching over singed earth.
I clung to him, my face buried in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent. My body still trembled from the heat gnawing at my insides.
The clearing had gone deathly quiet except for the crackle of flames and the low, frustrated growls of the men who couldn't reach us.
Elder Mara stood rigid on the dais, her crimson robes billowing in the hot wind kicked up by my fire. Her silver eyes were wide with shock and fury.
Zade stopped directly in front of her with me cradled against his chest.
"Bring out her daughter," he said. "Now."
Mara's throat worked. She tried to hold his stare, but her gaze darted to the bite on my neck, then to where our bodies were still locked together, then back to his face.
"The child is—"
"Safe," Zade finished for her, his tone mocking. "For now. But if one more person tries to use her as leverage, I'll resurrect every corpse buried under this grove and let them eat the elders for breakfast. Starting with you."
A ripple of unease moved through the remaining alphas. Even Mara flinched visibly, her shoulders jerking as though his words had physical weight.
A smirk curled the corner of Zade's mouth.
"Here's a fun fact, Elder. I hear the dead. All of them. Every soul you've sacrificed on your altar, every maiden you've bled for your little 'stabilization' rituals... they talk. A lot. And they're very chatty about how much they'd enjoy watching me peel your pretty silver eyes out and feed them to the crows while you're still breathing."
Mara's knuckles whitened on her staff.
"You dare threaten—"
"I dare a lot more than threaten," he cut in, his voice dropping lower. "Hand over the girl. Or I start collecting tongues. Yours first."
For one long, suffocating second, no one moved.
Then Mara lifted her chin, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her.
"Bring the child," she snapped to an attendant hovering at the edge of the dais.
Moments later, Lila was carried forward, still wrapped in her blanket. Her cheeks were flushed, but her breathing was better now. An attendant hesitated before stepping close enough for Zade to take her.
He shifted me carefully in one arm and reached for Lila with the other. My little girl stirred, blinking up at him.
"Mommy...?"
"I've got you, sweetheart," I whispered, reaching out. Zade settled her against my chest, between us, her small head tucking under my chin.
The flames around us flared brighter for a moment, then it dimmed slightly.
Zade turned without another word to Mara.
We walked.
Through the parted wall of fire, past the stunned, snarling alphas who could only watch, past the blackened earth and the scent of scorched fur. No one dared follow.
I pressed my face into Lila's curls, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.
We were almost at the grove's edge when a furious voice pierced through the silence.
"Indie!"
West shoved through the alphas, his eyes wild with rage.
"You're just going to walk away?" he bellowed, his voice cracking. "After everything? He's—he's your fucking stepbrother!"
I froze.
Zade stopped walking.
Then Zade turned his head slowly, his violet eyes cold and murderous.
West kept coming, his chest heaving as he pointed at us.
"You think I didn't know?" West snarled. "Your mother married his father, Indie. That makes him your stepbrother. And you're letting him claim you in front of the entire fucking territory like some—"
Zade's growl was lethal.
"Finish that sentence," he said softly, "and I'll feed you your own tongue. Slowly."
West flinched but didn't back down.
"She's my wife," he spat. "Legally. In the eyes of the pack. And you—you're disgusting. You grew up in the same house. You shared the same dinner table. And now you're—"
I lifted my head.
"Enough."
My voice wasn't loud, but it carried.
West's mouth snapped shut.
I looked straight at him.
"You cheated on me for years," I said. "You let your mistress poison our daughter's mind against me. You never really wanted me. Not enough to fight for me or keep your promises."
I tightened my arms around Zade's neck.
"He's my mate,” I said. “My true mate. The one who came for me when you threw me away. The one who's protecting our daughter when you couldn't. So, yes. I chose him. I choose him every single day."
West's face crumpled.
An emotion so raw and ugly flashed through his eyes.
Zade didn't wait for him to speak again. He turned his back on West and started walking again.
And as Zade carried us both towards the temple gates, with Lila sleeping against my chest, I pressed my lips to his jaw.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He tilted his head just enough to brush a kiss against my temple.
"Always, Bunny."
We passed through the massive iron gates of the temple without resistance.
Outside the gates, the world felt different, somewhat clearer. Waiting there was a line of black SUVs, with windows tinted so dark they looked like voids.
Zade's men were already out of the vehicles—ten, maybe twelve of them—standing in a loose semicircle, their postures alert.
When they saw us, a ripple of tension ran through them, followed by relief.
Mason, Zade's beta, jogged forward, his eyes darting over me, then Lila, and Zade. He reached for Lila, scooping her into his arms.
"Alpha," he said, his voice urgent. "We've got a problem."
Zade didn't slow his stride. He kept walking towards the nearest SUV, still carrying me.
"Speak," he said.
Mason fell in step beside us, lowering his voice even though the only ones close enough to hear were his own men.
"The revenants are rising again. Faster this time. Three packs were hit in the last twenty-four hours, and people are talking."
Zade stiffened.
"Talking," he repeated flatly.
Mason's jaw tightened. "They're saying you're the one raising them. That the alpha who hears the dead is finally losing control."
My stomach twisted.
Zade's arms tightened around us both, almost imperceptibly.
"That's not all," Mason continued, his voice dropping further. "There's more. The packs are mobilizing. Some are calling for your head. Others want to use the chaos to challenge you. And—"
He stopped short.
One of the SUV doors opened, and a woman stepped out. She had long blonde hair, her red dress clinging to every perfect curve.
She moved with the grace of someone who knew exactly how beautiful she was. Her smile was slow, sweet, and sharp enough to slice.
I’d never seen her before. Just who was she?
She tilted her head, her eyes sliding over me, then Lila. Then back to me.
"You must be the mistress," she said, softly. "I'm Enid. Zade's Luna."
I froze.